Day 9: Takayama

*back dated entry*

so today we depart from nagoya to takayama!!! really excited about visiting this place cause my lab mate said the place is really tranquil & full of snow... so for shuaku like us who have not experienced snow till we reached japan, we were really excited to visit somewhere covered in snow.... & early in the morning we waited for our train at nagoya...

nagoya platform

train to takayama

our train

bentou

breakfast on the train

 so limited express (wide view) to go to takayama, the final stop is at toyama but takayama is one of the major stations along the way.... we went on weekday so the train was pretty empty, there was only like a total of 6 passengers including ourselves in our cabin.... but we saw more people seated at the toyama cabins so probably people prefer to go toyama than takayama.... an important note is that the hida limited express is a relatively small train so it has separate different cabins for specific locations, meaning doors will only open at specific cabins... example, cabin 4 is to takayama but cabin 5 & 6 is to toyama, the doors for cabin 5 & 6 wont open when it reached takayama... so do pay attention to which cabin you are seated before you board the train.... always look at the platform floor for directions or ask the train conductors.... next, let me share some beautiful photos along the way to takayama....

beautiful river

amazing river

starting to get cold

reaching takayama

 the whole train ride was about 2hr+ & you can see the surrounding changed as you go high up in the mountain.... you could feel the surrounding started to get cold & once you came out from the tunnel.... SNOW everywhere!!!!

snow everywhere

snow covered path

we have seen quite a fair bit of snow in nagano region but nothing compared to takayama... seriously, everywhere is covered in SNOW!!! naturally we were excited since we never seen so much snow before!!!! & finally we reached takayama!!!

train station

nohi bus

so takayama is a pretty small station & the nohi bus center is just next to it... this is the place where you buy all sorts of bus tickets eg: to shirakawago or even bus back to kyoto if i didnt remember wrongly.... after we got off the train, we walked to our hostel & this time we tried k's house... it was about 5 min walk from station but it was really difficult to walk in the snow especially with our luggage so do travel light if possible....

do you want to build a snowman?

k's house

 you can see it's snowing!!!!! took quite afew photos before i could capture the falling snow picture...

bed

area to put luggage

toilet

we booked the en suite room = with private toilet... definitely more expensive than those rooms with shared bathroom but i think it's important to have our own toilet especially if you want to go shh shh in the middle of the night.... by the way, the k''s house staff were really friendly & they tend to have some mingling sessions at night with the guests.... we considered joining but due to our pack schedule we just camped inside our room at night.... so after depositing our luggage, we ventured around the area....

map of takayama, photo taken from here.....

 takayama isnt a very big place so most places could be access by foot & most of the attractions were located on the right side of the station..... my friend said the hida fold village is a must visit but sadly we didnt have the time to venture there....

train station area

hubby lunch

my lunch

gyoza

shopping area

miyagawa river

old town

direction towards higashiyama walk

apparently not many shops were opened during weekdays so there wasnt much things to see in the area..... one of the thing i wanted to try in takayama was higashiyama walk so we followed the map direction towards the start of the route which was at some shrine/temple.... we only managed to walk like 10 steps+ then had to turn back cause the road was too slippery!!! it was all covered in ice & the route was inclined so there was no way that we could make it up the walk... no wonder we didnt see anybody in the area..... so IF you REALLY want to go to the highashiyama walk, dont visit the place during winter..... BUT there is another route if you want to view takayama city from high land!!!

hachiman shrine

so the other route up the hill was somewhere near hachiman shrine.... not a very big road, leading up to all the residential area & some park which i couldnt remember the name....

on the way up the hill

view from top of the hill

nice view

really nice right!!!! i think pictures didnt do justice to the actual surrounding.... & you can see the amount of snow in the area!!! really thick snow & really cold... so do wear enough warm clothings.... another thing i would recommend in takayama is BOSS food market....

area behind train station

snow/ice covered path

BOSS foods market

the food market was located behind the train station, same direction towards hida folk village.... it would take about 15min walk from the station.... i guessed this is like the local supermarket for the residents & this place is amazing!!! you can get cheap snacks (crab croquette for 60yen) & cheap wine too!!! a bottle of choya only cost 1000yen!!! that's like 12+SGD!!! so much cheaper than DFS lo!!!! a bottle of vodka also cost like 1200+yen!!! comón man, so cheap!!! no only that, about half the supermarket racks were for alcohol!!! me god!!!! i m not a drinker but i enjoyed looking at the different type of alcohol.....

hida alcohol

 i bought this sake like thing from supermarket, some hida special cause the alcohol had this milky colour & texture.... the smell was really sweet but taste was too strong for me... so i had to mix it with coke before i could consume it....

by the way, the temperature for that day was -2degree.... wah!!! snowing somemore!!! we were pretty much frozen when walking on the street, but to see such nice scenery, it's all worth it.... & for dinner, we tried hida beef....

hida beef sushi

hida beef don

 hida beef is also famous in the area so naturally we had to try it.... although the meat was somewhat well-done, the beef wasnt tough!!! i always eat well done steak cause i dont like the bloody taste so the meat texture would be super hard... but this amazing hida beef tasted so soft!!! not exactly melt in your mouth but you wont have problem chewing off the meat!!! lovely!!!! since the day ends very early in winter especially when you are high up in the mountain, we retired early to prepare for our next awaited shirakawago trip =)