Two hours up the road from Inuyama is Gujo Hachiman. The roads are getting narrower as we are spit off the motorway. They are more winding and the hills are becoming more mountainous although still thickly forested. All of the rivers we pass over have the pure blue glacial colouring which is a direct result of the spring snow melt.
Every rural house we pass seems to have a rice paddy as a front yard, all have been harvested and they are a brown muddy mess some holding water, some not and are in the processes of being readied for re planting.
Gujo Hachiman is built in a river valley and surrounded by mountains. This is a small ‘off the beaten track’ town that is totally amazing. We are practically the only westerners in town and I can honestly say not a word of English was spoken to us all day. Rosie was getting a good Japanese language work out that’s for sure.
Gujo-Hachiman has abit of everything, an ancient feudal castle, heaps of temples, old town streets and its claim to fame…..the factory that makes all the plastic food models you see around Japan…they are all made here! Lets go and have a look around.
We started with the castle, our navigation drove us straight up the winding road to the top carpark. Rosie was surprised the road wardens let our car through. Then felt abit guilty slowly driving past those laboring up the steep hill but what a good start to the day, glad that wasn’t me walking. Good work Operator!
Gujo Hachiman Castle was built in 1559 by a feudal samarai lord. The town prospered because it was under the lords protection.
The rivers also offered protection from invaders as they were rivers that a boat could not sale down and invade from. The rivers also actually surround the town and act as a natural moat making it real easy to defend from the land. A lot of people passed through this town back in the day as it was a stop on the pilgrim trail because of the amount of temples and shrines, this also added to its wealth.
Lastly, being slightly off the beaten track the town resisted modern change which kept it looking as charming as it does today. Plus, I am going to say the people are a little eccentric here…yes, that is a cat.
Historically fire was a big problem in Gujo Hachiman as this town is made solely of wood. The whole town burnt to the ground in the 1600s so water is the key here. Burbling water channels run down every street to combat any future fire. The sound of running water is everywhere. Look down the drains set in the footpaths and some homes have water storage tanks in front of them, you can see trout and giant carp swimming under the grating.
The Yoshida River roars through the middle of town making it very atmospheric. Houses cling to the banks on either side and the towns central zone spans both banks.
A walkway lines the riverbank and families picnic on it and men fish for trout in the swift flowing water.
The famous spring Sogi-sui is in the middle of town and is something of a pilgrimage site still today as it was back in the day. People claim that this spring rates top of them all for clarity…Rosie would beg to differ…this seemed a little moldy.
The spring that best reflects the crystal clear water that the town is so proud of would be this one down a side alley, everyone was filling their drink bottles from it and it also gives a good example of the fire fighting channels of which this is quite an elaborate one.
The streets themselves are a mix of ancient dark cedar and teak traditional buildings with matchstick shutters and a blend of 60s retro…all shop fronts are right on the roadside and the volumes of people walking around are forever dodging cars. We found a wee coffee shop, established since 1926 and walked through the dimly lit room to the back bar.
What a fabulous brew we had, brewed fresh for us while we watched in some kind of test tube infuser straight from the high school science lab….they are a very delicate volume though, served in delicate tea cups, but it sure hit the spot!
The busiest place in town, and it was crazy busy, was the Shokuhin Sample Kobo store and workshop. As I mentioned, throughout the whole of Japan, every grocery store selling meals, cheaper style restaurants and fast food outlets have plastic models of the finished dishes you can buy inside displayed in their windows. Handy if you cant speak Japanese, just point to what you want. These models are so realistic and they are made right here, in this small town.
The shop is out the front and you can buy souveners of foodstuffs. Out the back you can buy a ticket and have a go at making a model yourself, it looked like so much fun, the kids were loving it!
Further out the back was the workshop where you can handle some of the bigger models as The Operator did and watch then creating. Rosies dream job alright.
The unfortunate thing, there were no explanations in English how the food was made or the process you went through from start to finish…Rosie thought that was fair enough…from the hundreds of people we saw through here today we appeared to be the only Westerners.
Still! From what The Operator could gather and watching how the ‘lettuce’ tutorial was going with a young boy it appeared the food was made out of wax. Hot wax was poured in warm water, moulded and then dunked in cold….some of the wax reacted and changed differently in differing liquids, Rosie would have loved to have found out more….
Off for a late lunch we went. Due to the pure water quality this town is gastronomically renowned for its freshwater eels. We had to wait in a que for 45 mins to get in and could look straight into the kitchen while we waited and watch the cooks basting the eels and cooking them over charcoal. Rosie has never tasted better! It was so worth the wait. So clean, fresh and wonderfully oily, they went so well with soy soaked rice.
Tonight we are staying in a traditional Japanese house. Fully kitted with tatami rush mats (no shoes please) sliding tissue wall screens and our first night on a futon.
This house had a view to die for looking into the heart of the town and on of the bridges, the roar of the river reminded Rosie of home and distracted her a little from the futon experience to come. This is our place, the low brown place on the left of the picture below.
So, we had to make our own beds from the pile left for us, the house can sleep four people so The Operator advised to pull out the other two futon mattresses and stack them up to make them more comfy, we did.
It was like a glamping….but Rosie has never been friends with the ground and spends as little time as possible anywhere near it….Rosie could still feel her hip mashing into the ground and feel the shame of taking five minutes to get up off the ground to go to the toilet.
It wasnt too bad…next time will be better….Yes there are plenty more next times….Rosie is living the futon dream for a month, coming to you soon.
Tomorrow we are heading right up into the mountains, the temperature is looking to be about 17c and blue skies. We are heading to see the traditional gassho (thatched roofed) houses of Shirakawago, then we travel further up the mountain and get a few hotpools in.
