Japanese Travel Journal: Takayama

So . . . about Takayama.

A lot of people I talked to were a little surprised that I wanted to visit Takayama. Maybe it's because it's a good distance away (total traveling time: 6-7 hours, I'm not sure). Maybe it's because it's winter and rather cold and snowy here in the Japanese Alps. Maybe it's because I went by myself. Maybe it's all of the above. Benni-sensei and Hitomi-san were very supportive though (after Benni-sensei got over her "it'll be freezing" tirade). They were both a bit shocked when they offered to help me make reservations and arrangements and I told them that I'd already taken care of it.

Not that it was difficult to do. I got the trains figured out, and the hostel I chose - the Zenkoji Temple Hostel - is cared for by an American and an old Japanese guy who speaks very good English, so that was no problem at all.

Let's start with the trains. I enjoy riding on trains. This again may simply because it's a new experience for me and is therefore easy for me to enjoy, but I like to think it's because it's fun and entertaining. The important to remember while traveling is not to hurry. Hurrying just makes you worry, and worrying is no fun at all no matter what you're doing. This is true even when you miss one of your train transfers. The nice thing about traveling during the day in Japan is that another train will be along eventually; you might have to wait a little while, but that generally doesn't bother me. It gave me the chance to use the restroom and grab some lunch.

The downside was that I didn't get into Takayama until late. Here is my first glimpse at Takayama:

Not exactly thrilling, is it? Oh, well, that's life. Still, there's something nice about a snowy evening. And I got to take the same train back two mornings later, so I was able to see the absolutely gorgeous views of our trip through the Japanese Alps. (More on that in a future post about trains.)

I had no trouble locating the hostel (it's a freaking Buddhist temple, after all), and quickly checked in, ate dinner, and retired to my semi-private room for the evening. Even though I was put into a private room, because I had originally asked for the dormitory, they only charged me the dorm rate. There weren't any other single women staying in the female dorm, so Woody (the American caretaker) decided to make that change. No complaints from me.

The Italians arrived soon after I did and almost immediately left again to have dinner at an izakaya. They came back around 11, in time to party like it was 2009 in the kitchen. They actually weren't that loud. Fireworks went off at midnight, and afterwards, I crawled into my futon bed and fell asleep. I've never been one to celebrate New Year's Eve with a party.

On a side note, around 10pm, I heard sticks clanking together, followed by the call of the hi no youjin. It sounded like there was just one guy doing the work, so it was definitely not as frightening as Nick's encounter. It seemed more like a necessary (and rather unpleasant, considering the weather) public duty.

(nota bene: I found this website explaining a bit about the hi no youjin thing, in case you didn't read Nick's blog - http://kappanohe.blogspot.com/2007/11/beware-of-firehi-no-youjin.html)

The next morning, I got up around 9am and went downstairs for breakfast, which I had with Angelo, the Italian head honcho, and a German guy passing through Takayama in the midst of his three-week journey around Japan. We had an interesting discussion about which Asian countries to visit (the Italian - who has done much traveling - suggested western China, India, and the Himalayas). This was followed by a discussion on American politics; I'm always amused when people ask my opinion on Obama, mostly because I don't have much of one at the moment. I usually don't care to make predictions on how well a person will do as a president; only time will tell that.

Besides, I was inifintely more interested in the atmosphere of the room. Even with the heater on, it was a bit chilly in the room, and the only light came from natural sunlight through the windows. The German had hard-boiled eggs that he was peeling and eating, and everytime he started a new one, great puffs of steam would rise up from it, seen clearly in the golden morning light. The Italian's tea had the same effect, steam rising up from it in rolling whorls and spirals. It was mesmerizing.

I knew I didn't have a lot of daylight to spare, so by 10am, I was setting out to explore Takayama, armed with a map I had taken from the hostel's common room. I decided to head first toward the Hida Folk Village, but I took my time getting there, mainly so I could snap some pictures of the snowy landscape.

Because there are a couple of ways to climb the LARGE hill up to Hida no Sato, I decided to take a more meandering path through some backstreets and up to a Shinto shrine, which I'm glad I did. I like Buddhist temples just fine, but overall, I prefer the simplicity of a Shinto shrine. They feel more connected and grounded in nature - sometimes, temples feel a bit overcrowded to me, and I don't mean with people. Shrines feel more open to me, perhaps because they aren't as enclosed. They're exposed to the elements, with fewer buildings and covering a larger expanse of land, sometimes going up instead of just spreading out.

This shrine is the Tosyogu shrine, and there seemed to be some New Year's Day ceremonies going on (which didn't stop a family with FIVE obnoxious children from running amok and screeching at the top of their lungs). When I arrived, something was going on in the main hall involving drums and flutes and singing. As I was washing at the purification trough, a firetruck drove up to the shrine, followed by what was probably the entire brigade, and they all assembled under a canopy to receive a New Year's blessing from a priest. I had a good vantage point of it from further up the mountainside, but I decided it would be incredibly rude to take pictures of it. It was nice to watch, though, especially when they first arrived, because the firefighters were all in good spirits and laughing amongst themselves. Snow kept falling from the trees, and when it landed on one of them, the others found this incredibly amusing, and even he couldn't help but laugh. It was a very nice visit.





After finishing at Tosyogu, I continued on my way to Hida no Sato. I passed a number of other things I'd like to see on my next trip to Takayama: the Hida Takayama Museum of Art, Matsukura Castle Ruins and Walking Course, and the Forest of the Seven Lucky Gods. If I'd had a decent pair of winter boots and if it hadn't looked like it was about to start snowing, I probably would have explored the Forest. Instead, I walked on up to Hida no Sato.

The Hida Folk Village is what most people mentioned when I told them I was going to Takayama. It's a World Heritage site and is apparently very important in preserving certain aspects of Japanese history. Much of the information at the site is about the architectural importance of the houses, most of which were built between the 1600's and the 1700's. Many of the houses could be walked through and were filled with interesting items from the village's history. I'd like to come back in warmer weather, because many different tours and demonstrations are given when the weather permits. Also, visitors can make their own crafts and such at each demonstration. Still, despite the relative quietness of the village (there were no demonstrations or additional tours that day), it was a rather active place and quite beautiful to see. Very peaceful.

As I left Hida no Sato, it began to snow a bit heavily, so I stopped at the Little Bear Cafe & Shop to warm myself and have some lunch. A nice, cozy place, and not too cute for my taste, though it was a bit cloying at times. I had some fairly greasy pizza (but with lots of yummy tomatoes) and a delicious green tea latte that did a wonderful job of warming me. I browsed the gift shop a while, bought a little bear and some sweet nuts for Kozue-sensei, and headed back down to Takayama.

Unfortunately, it was still snowing steadily, but this bothered me less than I expected. Maybe because it was such a novelty to me. I stopped in a Circle K to buy some soba noodles for dinner (and to look at the Kit Kat selection, but nothing new there), and when I came back out, the snow had slowed down considerably and it was quite pleasant out. So, instead of going back to the hostel, I decided I had plenty of daylight left to explore some of downtown Takayama.

To the north of Takayama is a longish trail with a number of shrines and temples, but I knew I wouldn't have time to do all that (another thing to save for later!), so I settled on just staying close to the JR station. I visited another Buddhist temple, which had a stone sarubobo figure to rub for good luck.

For more information on sarubobo figures: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarubobo

Then I went off to try to find the Kusakabe Folk Museum, but I never did find it. Instead, I found some neat Edo-period houses, and more importantly, food! I had a sweet potato manju (steamed bun) that was delicious, as well as a a stick of grilled mochi. Mmm, yummy. I also found a glass-encased steer, which I at first thought had something to do with the New Year (2009 being the Year of the Ox and all). Then, I realized I was standing in front of a steak restaurant. Apparently, Hida beef is purported to be REALLY GOOD beef, and there are lots of steak restaurants in that area of the city. Another thing to do the next time I visit!

By this time, it was starting to get dark and snowing harder again, and I decided it was time to head back to the hostel. Plus, my feet were tired and cold and more than a little bit wet. I took my stuff up to my room and decided not to turn the heater on yet to save on the gas, so I went back downstairs to the kitchen for a snack. There I met Angelo, and he told me a little more about his travels. He's been traveling for a long time - the last time he came to Japan was 35 years ago! A bunch of his traveling companions came in to use the computers, and I hung around a while drinking tea and just listening to them talk. Then they left to have dinner.

I decided to bring my Kindle down to the kitchen and read some, which I'm glad I did, because I got to meet some new arrivals to the hostel, including a mother and daughter from Australia. The daughter is a university student, double-majoring in Japanese and Ancient History. While we had dinner (they had Cup of Noodles, while I had my soba), we talked about what it was like to live and travel in Japan - they'd already been to Kyoto and Nara and were heading to Tokyo after their stay in Takayama. Finally, they went off to bed, and I read a little while more before heading up to my room to turn on the heater and get ready for bed.

The next morning, I heard the Italians leaving as I packed my things. I had breakfast with a Swiss couple and got to have a short conversation with Tommy, the hostel's Japanese owner as he did laundry. I asked him and Woody when the best time to visit Takayama would be, and they both suggested coming during the summer. There are festivals in spring and autumn that are really great to see, but the city is more crowded. And Woody said the summer weather was still nice enough to explore in. So, I'm thinking about maybe going back sometime in late spring/early summer or in late summer/early autumn. I'm not entirely sure yet, but I'm definitely going back.

I had a great time in Takayama, and though I think it's more fun to travel with friends, it's also nice to have some alone time and do things by myself. Especially around the New Year, when I like to take time to just sit and think about all the stuff that's happened the previous year and what new wonders await me in the new one. I got the chance to do that at Hida no Sato, sitting by one of the gas heaters and watching the steady snow. I'm very glad I decided to take the trip, and I'm looking forward to going again.

And, I've already stuck to one of my New Year's resolutions: to do more traveling! And also to improve my Japanese, but I think that's true any day of the week.

I've got more traveling to do before my vacation is over. Tomorrow, I'm going with Benni-sensei and Ayuka-chan's family to Nikko, and who knows what we'll end up doing there! I'm sure I'll come back with still more pictures.

Which reminds me. I took about 140 pictures in Takayama, so I have way more than I posted here. To see them all:

Album 1: http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/album.php?aid=9344&id=1515469097
Album 2: http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/album.php?aid=9425&id=1515469097
Album 3: http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/album.php?aid=9429&id=1515469097