Takayama

After a leisurely start we walked from the hotel to the coach station next door to catch a bus to Takayama.

We left Kanazawa at around 11am and the coach had one stop at Shirakawa, a small place known for it's 'A' houses! It was pouring with rain so I stayed on the bus while Ed took a pic!

The bus continued on and we arrived on time at Takayama just before 1.30pm. the rain had stopped but it was definitely a lot colder. Takayama is in the Japanese Alps and the wind was also biting.

We walked the short distance to our hotel and left our bags before walking back into the centre of town. Takayama is one of the smaller places that we have visited and doesn't have the high rise buildings of larger cities.

We stopped at a small place for some food and had a skewer of the local Hida beef along with some Takoyaki and Maitake mushrooms in a soy sauce.

After food we walked through the pretty twin streets and to an exhibition of the Yatai floats. There are about 23 in total dotted around the town and half are used at a spring festival with the other half being used in autumn, paraded through the streets.

Next we a visit to Sakurayama Hachimangu Shrine, nestled in the hillside. There was also an exhibition of models of the local shrines, built in intricate detail.

We spent some more time walking through the streets, many of which seemed closed, before stopping at a tiny bar where Ed had a hot sake and I had a sake caiprihiani cocktail!

On the way back to the hotel we finally found a bustling street with some craft shops on. Back at the hotel we grabbed another layer before having our welcome drink and then walking back into town for some food. All of the restaurants are small and everywhere seemed full so it took us a while, and a stop at a craft beer place before we eventually found somewhere to eat and had chicken skewers (yakitori) song with fried chicken.

We tried to find a couple of bars that were in the Right Guide, without success so walked back to the hotel for cards in the rooftop bar at the hotel. (It got pretty busy with visitors playing the piano, often badly!)Read more