Blogs from Hida, Takayama, Gifu, Japan, Asia

It's a bit of an arduous journey to get to Takayama from Tsumago. Both are deep in the mountains of the Gifu prefecture. We had to travel all the way back east to Nagoya and then venture west again on another line again to get to Takayama. The scenery made the troubles worthwhile. Takayama is a bit of a Japanese hillbilly town. If rednecks are in Japan, they live around the hills here. But it is also a town of craftsmanship, history, cooking and Japanese pride. Here is where some of the finest lacquerware is made. And here is where the finest carpenters were sourced to build the temples of Kyoto. We had the chance to visit the Yoshijima House. The owner, a wealthy sake brewer and money lender, commissioned a local carpenter to build a ... read more

1st February 2011: Singapore – Nagoya - Takayama I love Japan simply because the connectivity between cities is so convenient. We arrived in Centrair Chubu International Aiport, strolled to the Access Plaza, boarded the Semi Express Train which departed punctually at 8.45am. Caught the Hida Express JR and arrived at Takayama Station right on schedule. It is only in Japan where I can pinpoint exact arrival time despite having to change 2 or 3 different modes of transport. It is wise to pre-book the return bus ticket to and from Shirakawago as some of the scheduled times require prior reservation. We left our bags at Oyado Koto no Yume and hopped onto the Sarubobo bus which dropped us off at Hida no Sato – the open air Folk Village. We were completely taken aback at how ... read more

Hida Folk Village - Situated on the foot of the mountains, Hida Folk Village presents as a heritage community with traditional Japanese farmhouses, storehouse for drying the rice crop, two mills, woodcutters hut, a sawmill, a fire lookout, and shrines, most of which have been relocated from the nearby villages and reconstructed for the exhibitions. Four thatched are designated as National Important Folk Cultural Assets. Visitors are encouraged to look round those houses and see 5,000 items of tools and devices which were used for local industries and agriculture. The volunteers demonstrate how the authentic product, e.g. wooden spoon was made and the past expertise was carried out, e.g. woodcutter slicing the timber, making the threads with the spinner. The silkworm industry’s exhibition includes the display of the alive silkworms eating mulberry leaves. The visitors are ... read more

It's a pretty quick and beautiful trip from Inuyama to Takayama; which was where my historical Japan tour was going to end. The limited express train goes through some beautiful gorges and the weather was nice and sunny. It was the prefect day to go around and enjoy some more samurai district history and everything that goes with it. Or so I thought. Apparently, Golden Week started that day and it was packed. Hard to move, hard to see things, and more importantly, I was pretty disappointed in the city as a whole. The samurai district; which is what the city is famous for, was really touristy and most of the interesting things....really weren't that interesting, in my opinion. I would duck into shops and they were all selling the same thing. I would try and ... read more

I’ve read Alex Kerr’s “Lost Japan” cover to cover today (Jeeva’s recommendation), and his cynical take on the concreting over of Japan’s cultural heritage has inevitably colored my response, especially to the artifical environs of Shirakawa-go, an assembly line of reconstituted thatched dwellings for the satiation of snapping salarymen, who wander around in a daze of incomprehension before returning to their fluorescent cubicles. Some comments on Mr Kerr’s diatribe about the Pachinko-isation of Japan. Yes the damned (intentional misspelling) rivers do run in pitiful concrete channels, the cities are assemblies of anonymous cubby-hole architecture populated by faceless business folk, and Hitachi tastelessly sponsors signage at every zen garden and buddhist temple, but the homogenisation of pop culture isn't unique to Japan. Every city in the world is acquiring it's own barcode, an imp... read more