mmm-yoso!!!

Hida-Takayama - The Morning Markets, a Walk Around the Old Town, and Ranka Coffee

Hida-Takayama was one of those places that we wished there was bit more time for visiting. While we'd be leaving that day, we decided to get up early to wander around town a bit before all the day trippers arrived.

As I mentioned in my first post, it had snowed just a few days before we'd arrived. So, even though it was spring, the air was quite crisp. And oh so clean and refreshing.

There are two morning markets in Takayama. We headed first to the Miyagawa Market, located along the river in part of the old town. It was still a bit early and the vendors were either just arriving or just getting set-up.

We decided to stroll on over to the Jinya-mae Market, which is located in front of Takayama Jinya.

The historic streets of Takayama look like something out of a movie set during this time of the morning.

Even the more modern shopping areas have something fun to offer....I've mentioned how charmed we were with seeing Sarubobo everywhere around town.

We crossed over the stunningly beautiful Nakanishi Bridge.

To where the Jinya-mae Market is located. While things were just getting started here as well. It seemed that folks were all set-up for the morning and just waiting for customers.

Along with the usual handicrafts and souvenirs, there were some interesting local products available. We found the varieties of miso to be very interesting.

As well as the local produce.

We decided to return to the hotel and grab a quick breakfast. Which was a very simple western style meal.

We got a kick watching the television show....it featured the "Cherry Blossom" craziness and the news crew was filming from Ueno Park which we had just visited a few days prior.

Since our train didn't leave until 11, we decided to check-out, store our luggage at the hotel, and head back out. While our previous morning walk had been in a clockwise direction, we headed out in the opposite direction this time.

And decided to walk through the more modern shopping street this time. We stopped in at one of the grocers to have a look around.

Boxed Hobamiso ready to take home.

The produce in Japan always looks so beautiful......

One of the souvenir stores was open and we did some browsing. We both got a kick out of the Sarubobo "photo spot".....they wanted you to take photos here!

It was such a nice morning for a walk....though I don't think this pooch agreed.

And then back on over to the market......

The Missus suddenly remembered that She needed to purchase chopsticks for some coworkers. So we headed on over to Sanmachi Suji one of the historic streets in Takayama.

There was a chopstick shop we had seen the previous day. The shop wasn't open yet, but there was a coffee shop across the street, so we decided to get a little caffeine boost.

This was a pretty classy looking coffee shop.

And the prices were no joke, either.

We were in such a good mood that we decided on splurging a bit and getting that ten-dollar cup of coffee. Which was really smooth. We were instructed to have a walnut with the coffee which really changed the flavor of the coffee, bringing out a bit of acid.

It was a nice little break.

Ranka Coffee (藍花珈琲店)
93 Kamisannomachi
Takayama 506-0846, Gifu Prefecture, Japan

We managed to purchase some nice chopsticks for the Missus's friends and visited some of the shops on the street.

I ended up making a couple of purchases for later on and ran into two older women in one of the stores. They were AJA from Torrance and we chatted for a bit while the Missus shopped. They asked us what tour we were on and were quite surprised when I told them that no we weren't on any tour, we don't speak and Japanese, and we just travelled here ourselves.

By now, things were starting to pick up, and the Miyagawa Market was bustling.

It was also time to pick-up our bags and head to the train station.

We'd miss Takayama; but Kanazawa beckoned!

Hida-Takayama - Sakurayama Hachimangū Shrine and Dinner at Hida Takayama Kyoya

We took a short nap after visiting Hida Folk Village and having lunch at Maruaki. When we woke, it was close to dusk. We decided to take a walk around Takayama before settling in for dinner. As with many tourist day trip destinations; Hida-Takayama slows down at night. Things were so peaceful and relaxed. We got a kick out of watching these kids having fun around the Miyagawa River. Remember, it had snowed just two days previous, so that water must have been pretty cold.

Of course, the kids here must be used to the cold....I guess.

We loved walking the various "preservation" area streets of Hida-Takayama.

And with no one around; you felt transported back in time.

We saw a couple of sake breweries; you could tell by the "Sugidama" (cedar ball) hung in front of the business.

During this walk; we concentrated on the Northeastern side of the Old Town.

Just as we started walking up the street to Sakurayama Hachimangū Shrine it started....the "Golden Hour".

We got lucky again.

To the right (north) of the shrine is Takayama Yatai Kaikan where the floats for the Takayama Festival are stored, some of which are hundreds of years old. Of course, this was dusk and the place was closed. I'm certain we'll be back one day, so I'm keeping that on the "list".

Sakurayama Hachimangū Shrine dates back to the Fifth Century; you can find the story about the founding of the Shrine here. It's a short, but fun read.....and involves a monster, Ryoumen Sukuna, that has 2 heads, 4 arms and 4 legs! and you wonder where all those Japanese monster movies came from, right?

We made a brief stop to walk around a bit......I loved this poor little snowman, who was just trying to hang in there......

We really enjoyed the walk, but it was getting close to our dinner reservation time, so we headed down the street.

I knew if we found the stream that fed into the Miyagawa River, we'd fine our dinner destination.

And sure enough, a few blocks down we found Kyoya.

While trying to find a dinner spot during our one night in Takayama, Kyoya came up several times as a place to try local specialties.

The interior is rustic and warm.

The folks here are really tourist friendly, several of the folks spoke some English.

There are several "set" options on the menu and you know, the Missus was all about the "Hoba Miso Yaki". So we ordered the Hida Beef Luxury Set and the Hoba Miso Set.

The Luxury set (3000 ¥ - about $27/US) had the Hoba Miso with Beef, which was very nice....loved the flavor of the miso, earthy-beany, not salty, very savory.

But we still thought the nuanced flavor of the beef was lost in this.

There was also a serving of beef and yakiniku items.

While we felt, in terms of tenderness, the beef at Maruaki was better; these cuts had a more pronounced beefiness to them.

The miso soup was just delici-yoso....something I rarely say about miso soup; but man, the local miso is so good. Nice savory-beany tones, not salty, really great flavor.

And then there was the tofu.....man, this was the best bean curd I've had in a while. The look and texture seemed like that of frozen tofu....I asked but no one could understand what I was saying.

The flavor was so condensed.......

The Hoba Set (1300 ¥ - about $12/US) is basically vegetarian and we actually enjoyed it more than the beef....go figure.

Wonderful, creamy, savory goodness.

And this came with a larger portion of veggies and beancurd.

The cucumber had a nice fermented flavor; I'm thinking perhaps kasuzuke? There were two different types of tofu provided; the one that looked spongy really seemed like frozen tofu; I'd never had kouya tofu before and we both just loved it. The Missus loves Her frozen tofu....well, just tofu period and these two version had really condensed bean curd flavor.

Both sets came with pickles, rice, and that miso soup.

Funny, we came for the hoba yaki, but ended up loving the tofu...go figure. Maybe it was the three tokkuri of sake? But I think not.

In the end, perhaps Kyoya is a bit touristy......but it's done in the typical Japanese way, for Japanese and non-Japanese to enjoy. Nothing tasted dumbed down, the flavors were good, and the folks were pretty friendly. The prices may be a bit more, but we really enjoyed the place.

Hida Takayama Kyoya
1-77 Oshinmachi
Takayama 506-0851, Gifu Prefecture

There's a kind of quiet peacefulness to Hida-Takayama at night.......

That just set the right mood for us.....

Thanks for reading!

Hida-Takayama - Hida Folk Village and Lunch at Maruaki

Sitting right behind the Engineer made our 2 hour and change train ride from Nagoya go by rather quickly. It was very interesting to watch the Engineer and the different hand signals he used. We arrived at Takayama Station and made our way to the rather humble Hotel Hana. I'd read a bit about Takayama, or to be more precise when talking to Japanese about the town; Hida-Takayama to differentiate the town from others named Takayama. There's a rather well known Old Town, some charming sights, but I had the town on our itinerary for one specific dish....more on that later.

After dropping off our bags. It was too early for check-in. The front desk person didn't speak a lick of English, so you gotta love Google translate. We headed off, stopping first to take a look at the marbled Hida Beef. Hida Beef, especially "Hida-gyu" (versus Hida Wagyu) is considered by many to be even more delicate, with thinner muscle fibers than Kobe beef and is much treasured. We stopped at Maruaki to take a look.

I gotta say; the beef looked quite impressive. This coming from a guy who has had A5 Kobe Beef in said city.

We did stick around very long since I wanted the Missus to check out Hida Folk Village (Hida-no-Sato, 飛騨の里), which was, according to the friendly woman at the TI stand; about 45 minute to an hour walk, or a ten minute bus ride up the hill. Guess which the Missus choose?

Actually, it was a very nice walk. In spite of the sun it was fairly cool. In fact, the day before we arrived I checked the temperature for Takayama and this is what I saw.

I sent this to a friend of mine in San Diego and she said; "oh, it's about the same in San Diego!" And then I mentioned this was in Fahrenheit not Celsius!

It had actually snowed two days before we arrived! During the first week of April. The air was crisp and clean; it was a nice walk as we got to take in the sights along the way.

Including the Teddy Bear Eco-Village. For real.......

And yes, that's snow..... And no, we didn't stop here. Though perhaps you might if you visit Takayama.

There's a certain charm to Hida-Takayama that, combined with a cool weather really put us into a good mood.

In fact, we were in such a good mood when we arrived that we decided to take the touristy photo.....

So who's that charming red faced character....no not me, the other three? Well, we had no idea! We saw this character everywhere, so later in the afternoon, I went to the TI and asked. Turns out, these little fellows are known as Sarubobo (さるぼぼ), which literally means "Monkey-baby". Traditionally, grandmothers in Gifu Prefecture would make these doll for their grandchildren. It's a good luck charm and both of us wished that we'd actually bought one for us....a Sarubobo of our own! Next time for sure.

Hida Folk Village is an open air museum; with 30 structures, some close to 500 years old, many of them moved from their original villages to preserve them.

Of note are the gasshō-zukuri styled houses, thatched roofs built at a steep angle like hands joined together in prayer (gassho).

The farmhouses are beautifully preserved and we get a look into how daily life was in these villages.

And the traditions.....

The snow on the structures and the fact that we had the place almost all to ourselves really added to the atmosphere.

Just think; if we'd arrived just two days earlier, we wouldn't be walking around quite as much.

We took a short break and got some drinks from the ever present vending machines.

And bade our farewell to Hida Folk Village. If you're ever in the area; a visit is highly recommended.

We headed back down to Takayama. The walk had done its work on our appetites. While walking back, we decided to head back to Maruaki and check out the restaurant. Which is located right next to the shop.

The place was doing some major business and the crowd seemed mostly tourists of all nationalities.

On the wall are photos of the farmers who provide the beef for Maruaki.

And while most folks were ordering one of the set meals of Hida Beef; there was one item I was after - Hoba Miso Yaki.

This dish from the Gifu area is meat and vegetables, with local miso grilled on Magnolia (Hoba) leaves. The Missus loved the version we've had at Okariba in Kyoto, so when planning this trip, I added Hida-Takayama to the itinerary.

The meat was very tender, the beefiness mild, as was the miso, beany-nutty, but not too salty. It almost felt criminal to eat such good quality beef this way; mixed with miso and vegetables.

The meal came with a simple salad; very crisp and refreshing, a light sesame dressing.

Salads can be quite expensive in Japan and I think the Missus was missing this; so we ordered a Beef Salad. Man, the seared beef in this was very tender and tasty.

Service was so-so, fairly professional, quite detached, probably a bit jaded with having to work with tourists all the time.

But we enjoyed our meal.

Hidagyu Maruaki
6-8 Tenmanmachi
Takayama 506-0025, Gifu Prefecture

Now it was time to check in and take a load off.

Thanks for reading!

The Nakasendo Trail - Onward to Tsumago

After heading uphill at Magome; the well marked trail meanders off; up and downhill, across roads and sometimes for short spans alongside the highway.

Occasionally, you'd hear the ringing of the "Bear Bell" off in the distance. So, we started doing the same as well when coming across those bells.

You'd sometimes come across a small village.....

Some of which look like the real life rendition of a painting.

There are a couple of restrooms along the way and a few rest stops. The mild drizzle, wasn't much more than a mild nuisance. After heading down from the summit of the Magome is this place; the Tateba Tea House (Ichikoku Tochi Tateba Chaya), a nice rest stop.

Volunteers from the local preservation association runs this quaint, rustic tea house, and it gives you insight into life during the days before electricity and other conveniences.

A "kagizuru", the traditional Japanese hearth is central heating; though there was also a wood burning cast iron stove onto one side. We learned that the smoke keeps insects and pests out and helps to harden and treat the wood.

There was a tour group of German and French who were just getting ready to leave when we arrived. The guide greeted us in Japanese and I answered. When I thanked her for the nice history of the building she looked shocked, then laughed. I guess we really can pass for Japanese here! You get a nice pot of tea and some snacks gratis. Just don't forget to leave a small donation so this place can keep on doing their thing.

It seems that everything has a story here. Like this union of two cypress trees that have been joined as one.

A "Husband and Wife" tree.

The forest near the halfway point between Magome and Tsumago is quite beautiful. Tall, straight trees reach to the skies.....

The crystal clear water in streams roll pass.....

Much like when we hiked the Samaria Gorge; we found some fallen branches and ended up using them as walking sticks.

Leaning them against a wall at the outskirts of Tsumago, thinking they may be of help to folks walking in the opposite direction one day.

Eventually, you get to the hill that overlooks a couple of villages with Tsumago in the distance.

And you follow the signs as the trail leads to Tsumago.

Tsumago itself is quite atmospheric; you feel like you've stepped into the past.

And the overcast skies and occasional drizzle seemed to add to things.......

We came across this display in one of the buildings.

Man, it was quite an impressive Hinamatsuri (Girl's Day) display. According to the sign; this region celebrates Hinamatsuri one month later than other areas.

If you'd like to see the panoramic photo below; I'd click on it to enlarge.

The Missus was just struck by the harmonic beauty...but I was getting hungry.

Since the Missus can read Kanji; She pointed out this Soba Shop.

So we decided to grab some lunch.....

Hot Soba sounded quite nice on this damp day.

The Missus went with this version of Sansai Soba.

I went with the Tororo (grated yam) version.

Nothing fancy, but nice a soothing on this day. The noodles were not quite the texture I enjoy, but the broth was quite nice.

Turns out this place is pretty well known in the guide books and such.

Yoshimuraya
860-1, Azuma, Nagiso,
Kiso,399-5302

Bellies full, we headed off to the "bus station".......

For the bus to Nagiso.

Our train from Nagiso back to Nagoya, wouldn't be leaving until nearly 4pm, so we stopped by a shop and got some tea and wagashi.

We arrived back in Nagoya a few minutes after 5pm. It had been a wonderful day.

Thanks for reading!

And if you want a bit more; check this out

Doing Part of the Nakasendo Trail - Starting Off in Magome

As I've mentioned before; during our trips we like to take a detour; whether flying over the Nazca Lines, spending a night in a tent in the Grand Erg Oriental (albeit, quite a luxurious tent), hiking from Matra to Taphin, the Samaria Gorge, or the Great Wall from one province to another (sounds more impressive of an effort than it is), I try to plan something that's "fun" for the Missus. Which usually means I'll be huffing and puffing along while the Missus has a blast. While planning this trip; I'd read about the Nakasendo Trail, one of the "Five Routes", the administrative routes created during the Edo Period, which connected Edo (now Tokyo), to the outer provinces of Japan. Because of where I had projected our "path" on this trip, taking in that Kyoto was a "must" and trying to make it as fun and interesting for us as possible; I picked Nagoya as our hub for a whopping three nights....remember, the Missus doesn't like staying anywhere too long. So when I read about the most frequented (and easiest) portion of the Nakasendo trail, from Magome to Tsumago being within easy reach....I thought it would be a great day trip.

And so, there we were waiting for the Shinano 1 on track 10 at the JR Nagoya Station. We were bushed and it seemed the Ekiben pickins' were a bit slim (there was something we wanted to try, but it was too early), so we did the obvious and headed to.....the vending machines.....

And a few yen later, we had some nice hot black coffee (there's a brand I like, but for some reason I can't remember it right now) and some red bean soup and some corn soup (I've loved the stuff since I had it on Sapporo). Though we didn't do nearly as well as the older gentleman who was hitting the Kirin at 7am! For those who watch Gourmet Samurai and saw episode 1 (FWIW, while I enjoy GS, I really enjoy Midnight Diner: Tokyo Stories) and saw the inner turmoil of deciding whether to have a beer with lunch or not.....that dude had no qualms! You gotta admire such decisiveness, right?

The train took us to Nakatsugawa. Of course, due to my not quite understanding the bus schedule from Nakatsugawa to Magome; we arrived a bit early.

Though when you're on vacation, those things seem minor....so we set about to grab a cup of coffee and maybe a snack and headed off from the train station.

And found there wasn't much going on at 745am in Nakatsugawa....at least close to where we were at.....

I did mention that the visitor center/TI opened at 8am, so we headed there.....

Where there is the inevitable "local products" shop....something we love so much. The Missus bought some local tea and I grabbed one wagashi......the Missus loves persimmon, so I got what I basically believe is suikanshuku, thinking I'd grab some tea from the vending machine. But, after paying for our stuff, the really nice gentleman working, insisted that we have two cups of the local green tea.

Which is why we both love Japan so much. Anyway, along with some water....and those two cups of tea.....well, the Missus really loved the little treat.

Soon enough, the bus was leaving.......it was about a 25 minute bus ride....and to think the Missus wanted me to walk to Magome!

We finally made it to the stop, at the bottom of the street from Magome.

The air was so crisp, the view beautiful.....and so quiet. No cars are allowed on the main street in Magome.

So we headed up from the main road.

It's a beautiful walk up the winding streets that takes you to a different time.

The Missus and I decided to wait and let the other pass and head off. No offense, but there's a kind of amazing lack of chatter in Japan that makes us want to hear something other than the sound of voices.....

So we took our time.......look at the specials of the day served here!

We saw a stand selling steamed buns and decided to stop there and have our breakfast.

It was what seemed to be an intentionally rustic little stand, to fit in......with all the charm that is Japan. The service was gracious and kind and the steamed buns were decent....I actually enjoyed the preserved vegetable more than the eggplant, for that wonderful spinach-chy, slightly salty, chlorophyllic flavor I enjoy. 

We then headed up the hill.........

And then down, to come across something interesting.......

So every 200 meters or so are these bells....and from what I heard, you can go to the TI and get your own, handy-dandy, anti-black bear bell.......so you ring the bells to scare away the bears. But being the somewhat cynical person I am, I wondered two things; heck if I were a black bear, this wouldn't scare me away....this would be the "dinner bell", though secondly, we saw some interesting four paw tracks along the way....which freaked me out a bit......and I forgot to take photos....my bad. Still, it was fun to hear the bells "ringing" along the way....take no chances and all that, right?

The trail itself went up and down hills and even across current roads/highways......

But you'd always come across something interesting....like the replication of the traditional town notice board.

These Kosatsuba laid down the law for all who passed.

The Missus really enjoyed this hike. Along with the seasonal beauty......

Was a bit of history. Which made things a lot easier.....at least for me.

Thanks for reading!

Where in the world are we (again)? Part 1

It's been a tough couple of months and we needed to get away.

We'd had the outline of this trip planned for a while and after some consideration pulled the trigger.

It's easy traveling here and we learn something new and fun at every turn....like what a "Hanami Party" is. Folks here get (even more) goofy this time of the year.....I think this has something to do with it.

We started in familiar surroundings.....the Missus wanted Her horumon fix.

Check that one off the list.

We then headed to a city we've visited before, but spent a couple of days here this time.

And even went on a rather easy and fun hike on an ancient trail. Where you needed to ring the bells to avoid....well as the sign says.

In terms of eating, well we stayed with some of the "local specialties".

Including some really great noodle soup eaten on the Shinkansen platform of all places.

It had snowed a few days before our arrival at our next destination. And there were remnants everywhere.

We enjoyed the beef and the style of food here.

We're on the train to our next destination. Hope everyone is safe, sound, and warm, where ever you might be.