Takayama

Day 8

Packing up our case, we headed to the Omisch Fish market. We were able to jump off the JR bus right outside and wheel our cases round with us. The market was bigger, more extensive and full of more locals than the fish market in Tokyo. It was also full of Kanazawa’s famous crab, at nearly every stall. Unfortunately, many of the stalls said no photography which is shame - I love to see and photograph markets in places I visit as it gives a real insight into the food and culture.

We then jumped back on the JR bus to Kanazawa station and took the train to Toyama, changing here to get the Hida limited express up to Takayama. The hida train has panoramic windows and the hour and a half journey up to Takayama was the best train ride I think I’ve ever been on. The views were just incredible, particularly due to the Autumn colours. It just looks completely unreal and goes on for miles. On arrival at Takayama station, we went to drop our bags off at our guest house. The guesthouse tau is really lovely, we had a private room with a shared bathroom but everywhere was really clean and comfortable. Ours was a Japanese room with futons and there was free access to tea and coffee in the social living room downstairs. After dropping off our bags, we headed to the Sanmachi Suji District. The streets are beautiful, lined with traditional houses, shops, restaurants and sake breweries. We managed to sample a few sakes, and miso soup. We also treated ourselves to a bottle of sake to take home with us.

For food, we really fancied trying the region’s famous hida beef. We found a restaurant that did a hida beef curry and had a couple of beers. The curry was incredible, served simply with rice. We absolutely need to learn how to make it at home now. We enjoyed a couple of beers and headed back to our guesthouse.

We also discussed how much we had enjoyed our ‘travel’ days between places. The trains here are so good, and actually enjoyable. You really get to see so much of Japan on the trains. We also managed to work our itinerary to ensure we saved something for the morning of our departure that was doable with our cases, head off mid morning and arrive at our hotel to leave baggage with them or check in and then head out to explore for an afternoon. This has also meant making the most of our time in each place. Each place has been so different! We are never going to see everywhere or hit every place on a tourist list but try and do a bit of research before we arrive to prioritise what we want to do or see.

Tip: When searching routes on google maps and apple maps, it gave me a bus option from Kanazawa to Takayama. This wouldn’t have been a JR option and therefore cost us more. I simply googled ‘ Kanazawa to Takayama using JR pass’ and loads of answers came up on forums and other websites. It’s also helpful to do this when you are in a town or city too. Apparently hyperdia works well for a lot of people, it didn’t download for ages for me and then I couldn’t get it to actually work! Googling worked just as well though.

Steps: 11,000

Day 9:

Leaving the guesthouse nice and early, we headed down towards a morning market which the locals attend and there are stalls of mainly fruit and vegetables. We strolled through the Sanmachi Suji District to see it in the daylight and carried on, heading towards the Sakurayama Hachimangu Shrine. We’d also read that the Higashima Walkway started from here. The shrine itself was beautiful, there is then a path towards the right hand side which takes you steeply up a hill and you walk through a number of smaller shrines. Once you reach the top, there are some great views of the Japanese alps through the trees. The autumnal colours were stunning, it was perfect to just walk through a sea of reds and oranges. We then carried on walking down the road and reached a café called Ichii. The views of the alps from the café and surrounding area are just unbelievable, you can see the majority of the alps from there. We arrived around 10.30 and had a wander around kitayama park behind the café until it opened at 11am. We hadn’t had breakfast, so we were pleased to get coffee, shared a doria (amazing rice bowl topped with curry sauce and then cheese) and shared a piece of chocolate cake. We enjoyed it, all whilst looking across at the spectacular view.

We continued to follow the road back down into town. It was due to rain heavily in the afternoon, so we did a bit of browsing in the beautiful shops in the Sanmachi Suji District and headed back to our accommodation a bit earlier. We were excited as we’d looked up a restaurant called Sakurajaya, the reviews were incredible and it was also recommended in the book at the guesthouse. We braved the rain and walked the 20 minutes from our guesthouse to the restaurant. It was in a heavily residential area and we did wonder if we’d gone wrong. We also got there for around 6pm because we were worried it would be fully booked. We didn’t need to worry, it was empty when we arrived and we got seats at the bar. The owner told it was very unusual and the world cup had condensed his busy times this year. Many of the reviews tell you to book or be disappointed too. For the first 45 minutes or so, we had a private chef. There is a large tapas style menu, and Hiroshi advises you to pick around 5 or 6. We ordered a gin and tonic and a beer and started with sashimi salad and homemade bread on the chef’s recommendation. The best thing about the restaurant is watching this showman create your meal. His mother also assists by topping up water and supporting him in the kitchen. He spoke excellent English and we enjoyed hearing about the food and dishes he was creating. The food itself was absolutely incredible - some of the best food we have ever eaten. In total, we ordered: sashimi salad, homemade bread, mixed tempura, roast duck and pork. We were joined by a young Japanese couple who had opted for a set menu and a young German man soon after who had also opted for the same. The experience was just incredible, we ate and drank and chatted with guests and the chef alike. We spent more than we planned to, but as we bought another round of drinks, Hiroshi would offer us the opportunity to try some of the other food. Also, considering the amount we ate, drank, the quality and experience, the total was around £67 for both us. We tried fried tofu, hida beef and some of his famous pancakes! I also tried a rum flavoured plum wine which was delicious. We ended up staying until around 10.30 and then making our way home, with a slightly sore head in the morning! It was an absolute highlight of our trip and something we will always remember.

Steps: 17,500