Takayama

September 23rd--Our day started at 6:30 this morning with the alarm going off. We had to get up, dressed, eat breakfast, and catch the shuttle bus at 8:15. Before we could leave, we had to finalize our packing. We have transferred our stuff around in order to get all our necessities into only 2 suitcases for the next 6 days. Japan has this wonderful service where you can ship your luggage ahead to a future location. Since we knew we were going to be moving around over the next 6 days and we would be staying in traditional inns with small rooms, we decided this would be a great idea. So, off we went with only 2 suitcases and our backpacks. We are starting to wonder if we could have traveled the world like this the whole time, but we came to the quick conclusion that "probably not" was the answer. Anyway, the shuttle bus dropped us off at the Narita train station. We had plenty of time to get some money (our debit card only works at select ATMs and 7-11's here) and find our platform. We took the express train into Tokyo arriving about 10:00. We changed trains in Tokyo and boarded the Nozomi bullet train. It was a very nice train that seemed wider than most. That was good, because we were flying through the Japan countryside at close to 200mph! We arrived in Nagoya at 12:15 p.m. Here we had about 30 minutes before our next train left so we had plenty of time to grab lunch to eat on the train. We boarded our final train for the day that arrived into Takayama at 3:15. We had great views of the Japanese Alps along our journey into Takayama. It was very peaceful and somewhat reminiscent of the trains in Switzerland. All 3 trains were really nice. We had heard that they were clean and they win that award by far. In all the train rides, we've never seen cleaner bathrooms and that is saying a lot. After getting off the train, we navigated our way to the Rickshaw Inn. The Rickshaw Inn is a traditional inn with traditional Japanese style rooms. We are in the "Bamboo" room with a bathroom, small kitchenette and a tatami sleeping area. We have 3 futon style mattresses on the floor and it keeps reminding me of Girl Scouts camp. We do have a private bathroom (which is not common) but it is set up Japanese style. The best way to describe it is like a large RV bathroom. The Japanese take very hot baths, but completely bath and wash before getting into the bath. In a traditional, shared bathroom, everyone uses the same bath water so it is imperative that you are squeaky clean before getting in. So you have a shower nozzle outside the bathtub that allows you to soap up and clean, then get in the hot bath to soak and relax. After settling into the room, we ventured out to walk around the town. We chose Takayama because of its location in the Japanese Alps and its traditional neighborhoods. We walked through some of the traditional streets with various crafts stores and shops lining the streets. We finished off at Suzuya Restaurant where we had a enjoyed Takayama cuisine with Hobamiso Beef Steak and Butter-Yaki (chicken, sea food and vegetables cooked in butter). All of this was cooked over open flames at our table. We actually did the cooking being responsible for stirring the food until it was cooked. It was great...we are loving the feel of a small town in Japan and really getting to experience the culture. So much so, that we came back and enjoyed baths, traditional Japanese style! Very relaxing way to settle into your futon mattress on the floor!


September 24th--We got up and moving early this morning since it was our only full day in Takayama. After a quick snack breakfast in our room, we were out the door and headed to the Miyagawa Morning Market. We walked around this area for a while enjoying the many stands and shops. After about an hour, we walked down to the river and enjoyed the beautiful weather. There were many fish and ducks in the area that the kids loved watching. From here, we walked to the bus station which was right next to the train station. We purchased our bus tickets for the 11:00 a.m. bus to Hida-no-Sato where we would visit the Hida Folk Village. It was only about a 10 minute bus ride. We entered the village and immediately got to experience some fun traditional pictures. Playing dress up, shooting water guns and finding special stamps along the way were the highlights for the kids. We also enjoyed walking through some old traditional Japanese houses where, of course, we had to take our shoes off before entering. We also got to see what rice looks like in the fields, a wooden workshop and a lacquerware workshop. It was fun to experience parts of old Japan. After exiting the folk village, we walked across the street for a quick lunch before heading back into Takayama. We arrived back in Takayama early afternoon and went by the Hida Kokubunji Temple. The architecture here is really neat and we even got to see a local lady come to pray. She dropped money first and then rang a prayer bell. It was really cool to see the process. From the temple, we went back by our Inn where we knew there was a small playground. The kids played here for a little while before we walked to find ice cream. Everyone enjoyed the ice cream while walking to the Shiroyama Park. We knew how to get to the park, but were not sure about the kids playground inside of it. After hiking up some steep hills, we finally reached a map of the park. Luckily, it was in both English and Japanese, but the signs along the way were only in Japanese. So, Mike and I picked up on the first 2 signs of the Ninomaru Park which were 2 horizontal lines and what we called an @sign. We did successful locate the park and the kids immediately made friends with 2 local girls. They all played really well with each other for hours. Austin found a soccer ball and enjoyed playing with that while the girls did their thing. We left the park about 5:30 to go find some dinner. At the park, Mike and I had planned our agenda for dinner. We were going to just pick up a few things along the streets and enjoy some local flair, but we quickly realized that these types of items are more like snack items and aren't open at dinner time. So, we went back by the Rickshaw Inn for a restaurant suggestion and her suggestion was back in the direction we just came from. So, we took her list and just picked a local spot that specialized in the local Hida Beef, Maruaki Restaurant. This turned out to be a great experience...it was bright and loud which is a perfect combination for the kids. We ordered a plate of special Hida Beef, rice, sausages and a salad. We got to cook it all on our little grill at the table. The meat was so good. It was so tender and the salad had a wonderful ginger dressing on it. It was a great choice for us considering we just walked upon the restaurant. After our bellies were all full, we headed back to the Inn for Japanese baths. The kids even experienced the baths tonight before bedtime.