While Kyoto was incredibly nice and the Gion Matsuri an eye-opener to Japanese festivals, Takayama offered a slice of Japanese culture, tradition and architecture in a setting that felt a lot more authentic. One major highlight of the region is their Hida beef which is a specially-raised cattle that requires certification from the authorities. It’s a highly-marbled beef that literally melts in your mouth. Takayama is also a place where they brew sake and boy was it fun to go for those sake tastings! There were virtually no westerners when we visited and everybody we encountered were Japanese.
TO DO
Eat Hida Beef
When people think of Japanese prime beef, Kobe and Matsusaka are generally the two that come to mind. However, other regions in Japan have great quality beef to offer, Hida beef from the Gifu prefecture being one of them. I was overwhelmed by the high-marbling on the steaks and grilled Hida beef I tried in Takayama. Definitely one of the best beef I’ve ever tried.
Go on a Sake tour
Sake is a Takayama specialty and walking around Old Town will give you the chance to visit local breweries. On top of understanding a little more of the sake brewing process, you get to taste all the wonderful flavours of Takayama sake! I ended up a nice brewery where you purchase a small shot glass for USD1.50. You are given a selection of 13 types of sake and are allowed to try each once. No one monitors you really and i repeatedly tried those I really enjoyed while passing on those that didn’t suit my palate. Regardless, I walked out of there with a good buzz…as did all the other people who enjoyed the tasting.
Explore Old Town
I would divide Takayama along Yasugawa Street into East and West. On the Eastern side are the ‘nostalgic street’, which also doubles up as a shopping street and where you can find the sake breweries, the Nakabishi red bridge, the Jinya-mae morning market, the ruins of Takayama Castle and the Shiroyama Park. I didn’t go further than Nakabishi bridge and the Jinya-mae market. The nostalgic street was crowded with tourists but there was so much to see, feel, smell, eat and drink. Totally worth it. Try the local fruits and vegetables. We dropped by a supermarket and stocked up on these, which were as fresh as it gets.
The Western side is a lot quieter. There is no shopping in that area other than the the Miyagawa morning market and other attractions include the Kusakabe Folk Museum, the Floats Museum and the Hachiman Shrine. We didn’t visit the museums. The morning market is the bigger of the major two but they sell mostly souvenirs which I’m never keen on. The walk on this side of town is very pleasant with quaint building and canals. The Hachiman Shrine was nothing impressive after the massive temples in Kyoto but it was relaxing nonetheless.
Hachiman Shrine
Rivers and canals
STAY
Oyado Yoshinoya homestay
Takayama is a small town which closes relatively early. At Oyado Yoshinoya, doors close at 11:00pm. When we first arrived at 11:30pm, it was lights off. It took us a good 15 minutes to get the owner manager couple of the place to open their doors for us. We felt bad waking them up but it was either that or sleeping on the pavement. Yes, everywhere else around was closed. So they took us to our room on the second floor which was of a very decent size and faced the main street. There are no en-suite bathrooms, nor can you smoke in the rooms. Instead, they have a shared toilet on the second floor, a public bath on the first floor and a smoking room on the second floor. When we booked the place, we thought it was a ryokan but Oyado Yoshinoya is more of a homestay. They have only about 5 rooms and when you wake up in the morning you mingle with the other guests and have your breakfast served on the first floor. I had an interesting chat with the manager owner about where I come from and what I could expect to see in Takayama. I really wish I could spend one more night there.
EAT
Maruaki
While strolling the streets of Takayama, we ended up at this restaurant Maruaki. It was all random but we learned afterwards that it is a place famous for its Hida beef. We ordered an A5 Hida beef sirloin cut and an A3 Hida beef rib-eye. The latter was grilled to medium rare goodness. It was meaty but very tender. The former however was out of this world. It didn’t look as inviting as the rib-eye, but one bite takes you to another dimension. I believe people who are used to prime USDA cuts or the likes may not appreciate this because of its extensive marbling but if you enjoy fatty goodness, then you’re in for a real treat!
Wagyu Dokoro Sukeharu
We stumbled upon this place while walking around old town. There was a long queue outside and in true Asia style, we decided to join it to see what the fuss was about. The place sells croquettes filled with delicious beef and it was a good decision to join that queue. They have a few tables on the side where you can wait on your food while having a cold one.
Random Izakaya
Truth be told, when we arrived at Takayama train station, we were already exhausted. It was about 10:00pm and everything seemed to be closed. I had the directions to Oyado Yoshinoya and we started walking. Along the way though, we walked past the only place which seemed to be open, an izakaya. We were craving hida beef, one of the main reasons why we were in Takayama in the first place, and went in. As expected, language was a barrier but we were nonetheless very warmly welcomed. As with most izakayas we’d been to, two guys managed the place. One took orders and poured drinks while the other cooked. They kindly recommended the dishes. We had a grilled hida beef with miso paste and another with only pepper. At that time of the night, hungry as hell, that was probably the most delicious meal we could ask for. I still don’t know the name of that place, but if I were to go to Takayama again, I’d spend a whole night if I had to, but I’d be back there.
Takayama offered more than we expected. Our goal originally was to eat as much hida beef as possible, without thinking much about anything else. Instead, on top of fantastic meals, we had a sake brewing tour, walked along the quaintest streets on our trip, ate some of the freshest fruits and stayed in one of the warmest homes. It could do with a day or two more for sure.
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