Located in the northern part of the Gifu prefecture, we spent two days exploring Takayama and Shirakawago during our two-weeks in Japan. Takayama is known as the “little Kyoto” of the Hida region. This small, picturesque city nestled in the mountains is often overlooked by tourists and seen as a quick stopover point to visit Shirakawago. Our two day itinerary highlights what to see and do from Takayama to Shirakawago.
Sake Tasting at Local Breweries
Old town in Takayama has charming narrow streets lined with dark wooden townhouses and arched bridges. Takayama’s cold climate has made it famous for its pure sake, a highlight of the region. There are several local sake breweries in old town Takayama. To find them look for the large brown, leafy cedar balls hanging over the front door called sugidama.
We found two breweries located directly across from each other. The first brewery let us try three different sakes, our favorite one was a refreshing lemon-flavored sake. It reminded us of lemonade. We walked across the tiny street to the second brewery. This brewery had a refrigerator holding 12 bottles of sake to sample after purchasing a small sake glass for JPY 200. Tasting all 12 sake’s turned out to be quite the challenge and I only made to sake bottle 11. Sake is a rice based liquor which your body breaks it down easily and the alcohol will impact you faster than expected. I was certainly feeling the effects of the sake samples before walking out of the brewery.
Eat the Local Hida Beef
Possibly even more popular than the sake is the local hida beef. Hida beef comes from a breed of black cattle raised in the region for at least 14 months. Some say that the fresh air and clean water from the region results in an extremely tender meat. Hida beef can be fairly expensive, but it is worth the splurge when in Takayama.
Our first taste of the local hida beef was at a Kyoya restaurant. We enjoyed it with a local beer from Takayama Brewing Company.
Visit Sakurayama Hachimangu Shrine
The Sakurayama Shrine is the oldest shrine in Takayama. The shrine is easily reached while exploring Takayama on foot. It’s a quiet and modest shrine, but beautiful. The large trees surrounding the area conveyed a peaceful atmosphere. Takayama Matsuri is an annual festival for the shrine held in early October and is claimed to be one of the most beautiful festivals in Japan.
Hida Beef Plate Sakurayama Shrine
Miyagawa Morning Market
This morning market runs along the Miyagawa river and is a popular market visited by both tourists and locals. There are many vendors selling food, so be sure to visit the market while you are hungry. We didn’t eat breakfast and were full after taste testing many items, notably the vanilla chestnuts. Locals enjoy shopping for fresh produce at great prices and tourists can find unique souvenirs to bring home.
Visit Shirakawago from Takayama
Shirakawago is a scenic village, nestled in the mountains, made famous for its ancient gassho style houses. Most travelers get there taking a 1-hour bus ride from Takayama. The bus station is located next to the JR Takayama station, but your Japan Rail pass does not include the bus ticket fee. When purchasing your bus tickets to Shirakawago, plan to stay in the town at least 3-4 hours and for a deeper cultural experience opt for an overnight stay in the small village.
The design of the Gassho-zukuri houses allows them to withstand large amounts of snow, without using a single nail in the roof – impressive! Some of these houses are more than 250 years old. The homes are protected as the entire village is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, but this tiny village receives a large number of tourists each day. Please be a responsible traveler do your part to avoid the negative effects of over tourism.
During your visit be sure to walk to the Shiroyama Viewpoint. It is an easy uphill walk and a great place to photograph the village with the mountains in the background.
Shiroyama Viewpoint
If possible try to plan a visit here during the Shirakawago Doburoko Festival. We missed the festival by only a few days, but we did stop to visit the festival museum in Shirakawago. Before leaving the museum you get to taste the special sake that is dedicated to the god of the shrine. The sacred “cloudy” sake is unrefined sake that is thick and slightly sweet and sour.
Walking through the village you will see many shops selling food and souvenirs for tourists. We picked up hida beef buns before the bus ride back to Takayama. These steamy and flavorful buns were possibly one of the best meals we had in Asia.
Cloudy Sake Doburoko Shrine Hida Beef Bun
The two-days we spent in Takayama to Shirakawago were a highlight of our two-weeks in Japan. Our Japan Rail Pass allowed us to easily travel to some amazing places including Nara, Hakone, and Kanazawa.
