I'm going to break up my weekend trip to Hida Takayama into 3 posts, because I packed so much into 2 days! I started my journey leaving the dorm at 5:45 Saturday morning to catch the 6:13 train to Shinjuku in Tokyo. At Shinjuku I wandered around a bit trying to find the bus station, but luckily I had given myself plenty of time just for that reason! I found the station, picked up my tickets and we were off! The highway bus took 5 1/2 hours to reach Takayama, and it went up through the mountains where there were tight winding roads, tunnels, and a lot of snow. I didn't get to take any pictures though, we were going too fast and it was raining pretty hard.
When the bus arrived I jumped right into seeing the sights that were highlighted on the map I picked up from the tourist information center. First up was this pagoda - I had to hide under another tower to take the picture because it was raining!
Around town I saw the remnants of a few snow piles. Even though it was raining, it took a long time for them to melt - it was pretty cold there!
I'm a sucker for a nice temple gate! The lions are a nice touch, I think.
Walking in the shopping area, I saw this lucky cat. He was very lucky, he caught a fish!
There are many rivers in Takayama, and some pretty bridges. I
The houses are perched right next to the river. That brown one seems a little perilous!
This is a row of shops that used to be private homes - they are a type of architecture that Takayama is known for.
This is the way leading to the festival floats museum - I wish that it hadn't been so cloudy and rainy, but it is still a beautiful view!
By the time I had reached the museum the rain had really picked up and I was soaked and pretty cold. It was nice to get inside and be warm for a little bit. I listened to a description of the exhibit on a tape recorder. Every spring and fall there is a festival in Takayama with a parade that features these floats. There are 20-something floats in the spring and 11 in the fall. The floats shown in the museum rotate, usually from only the fall floats, but there was a spring float there now too because it's regular storage space was being repaired.
The floats are very ornate and most were built in the mid 1800's. They are covered in gold leaf, which was originally to help keep the wood from rotting.
In this picture you can see the door in the background that they use to get the floats in and out of the exhibit - it isn't tall enough for the float, but the tops can sink down into the body of the float, letting them get out the door!
After seeing the floats I did some shopping along the main streets and then decided I had had enough of the rain and the cold and found where I was staying - Minshuku Sosuke. Here is my room. It was small, but nice - it had a tatami mat floor and a low table with some cushions to sit on.
Here is where the bedding is kept in the cupboard. There are some futon mattresses and some blankets and a pillow. After dinner I moved the table aside and put it all on the floor and slept great! At a higher budget ryokan, they would do this for you, but this worked just fine!
There was a TV and a heater. The heater came in very handy to dry all of my clothes that had gotten wet in my water-resistant, but not water-proof backpack. In the corner with the towels was a yukata robe and an overjacket for the robe. I changed into these and headed for the bath not long after I got there. Many people also wore them to dinner. If I had known that, I wouldn't have worried so much about getting my clothes dry!
There was a tea set in my room and a thermos full of hot water. I made myself a nice cup of tea and had some cookies I had bought at the grocery store when I was done shopping. After I had my tea I went to the Japanese style bath, where there are a few showers in a room with a giant bathtub. As long as you don't mind sharing with your fellow guests, it is wonderful. I finally got warm, and I was relaxed for dinner.
Dinner was really a feast! There was a common dining room on the first floor. There were 9 parts to dinner - not shown in the photo was thinly sliced Hida beef with mushrooms and broccoli cooked over a little fire. There was also some green soba (a regional dish), raw white fish, pickles, pickled radishes, fried sardine (maybe?), rice, miso soup, and a packet of chicken and salmon in a cream sauce. I didn't think I could eat it all, but all of a sudden it was gone, and I was very full! It was so nice to have dinner and breakfast included so I didn't have to worry about finding a place to eat on my own!
After dinner I went back to the room and relaxed. By the morning all of my things were dry, the weather was looking better and George the gnome and I were ready for another adventure.
No comments:
Post a Comment