Welcome to Takayama, Rosies home for the last month and it sure has felt like home during my time here. I have loved every minute of it.
Rosie originally chose Takayama because it has a big tourist center which means there is plenty to see and do. It is a small city of 74,000 people so the town is quite a big area, yet not too spread out. This means Rosie can easily navigate around on foot, everything is within easy walking distance. Lastly, it is a beautiful town with a large ancient heritage area. Right up Rosie’s alley for her photography fetish.
In a nutshell, Takayama was founded over 400 years ago by a feudal Lord who recognized what a great hub it would be for uniting the remote villages in this mountainous area of Hida in the Gifu Prefecture. Despite its remoteness the town grew and prospered attracting skilled builders, woodworkers and artisans who capitalized on the mature forests and high quality timber of the region. A rich sake brewing tradition also emanated from here due to the crisp, clean alpine water. Merchants moved in and settled here and the town prospered.
But wait….all of this prosperity drew the attention of the Shogun at the end of the 17th Century. Who consequently, like any good dictator would, put the town directly under his own control. This made it prosper and grow even further and, at the same time putting a lot of the riches into his own coffers.
Temples were built and samurai built homes alongside the rich merchants, homes and warehouses that still exist today from the original town plan. The feudal town flourished and roads and access to other towns and cities were developed further by the Shogun putting Takayama in a great trading position, thus further increasing its wealth. From the past to the present and the abandonment of the feudal system in 1869 Takayama is still going from strength to strength and is still a very well off city today.
Takayama as a town, caters the best for tourists out of all of the places we have visited in Japan. It has the most English signs, English interpretive boards at spots of historic interest and generally the most Western tourists of all the spots outside of Tokyo and Kyoto.
This town seems to be progressive and willing to move with the times and prosper from it. For example most shops in Japan don’t open till 10.00 or 11.00 oclock. Takayama is predominately open at 0900ish to cater for the tourists who are already starting to walk the streets. Instead of being stuck in the past and ignoring the tourist boom and the revenue it brings the town like other places in Japan who have their heads stuck in the sand, Takayama has evolved with it. Don’t get me wrong, this town still has an authentic feel to it and everyday life in a Japanese town still goes on around you without being compromised by tourists. Let me show you around this great little town.
Welcome to the Main Street, tourist souvenir shops are intermingled with family owned and operated bushiness, from electronics to chemists to clothing retailers and garden supplies. Plus, don’t forget the restaurants, cafes and home cooked fast food outlets in little ‘hole in the wall’ shops. Everything is represented here and when I say family run, they mainly are.
One of my favorite coffee shops has been open since 1951, Dad opened it back in the day and now the son (in his sixties) and his wife run it with his two adult daughters who work there as well.
I bought a traditional dressing gown from a clothing store, three generations of the same family work there…grand dad who was a small, bent withered man that looked like he was aged 110 quickly called for his grandson to serve the westerner as the grandson could speak five words of English.
The stationery shop I regularly frequent for its supply’s and beautiful washi paper was run by Mum and Dad who sold the basics and the sister and brother ran the upstairs area of the shop which sold boutique pens, paper and all round awesomeness. These family run business are the norm, not the exception.
Just off the main street is the Heritage part of town, these are the buildings and houses of the original ancient merchants which still house nine of Takayamas original sake breweries.
The rest of the homes have been turned into shops and restaurants. This part of town is tourist central, it is always swarming with people soaking up the old town vibe.
The Miyagawa River runs through the middle of town.
In May lines of fish banners span the river at different points. Carp Banners and flags are flown for Boys Day.
It is said that these fish are wild and strong and can swim up waterfalls. Sooo, the banners are flown in public and smaller versions are hung off door frames of homes in the hopes that all boys within will grow up courageous and strong. Rosie particularly loved these banners from every position of the bridge and riverbank. Lol.
The Miyagawa Morning Market occupies a site on the River bank and operates everyday from 0700 – Midday. It is a local market selling produce, flowers, pickles, souvenirs and snacks.
It is not a huge market but definitely worth a look especially on a beautiful day, where you couldn’t get a better location for a wander with the morning sun on your back. Look down into the river and you will see a multitude of carp lazily swimming in the crystal clear water hoping to be fed.
Bridges crisscross the main river and there are alot of cherry tree lined canal offshoots that run through the inner town, giving Takayama its moniker of ‘Little Kyoto’.
I walk alongside these canals to get to my small house, it is so uplifting and beautiful, I see something different every day, even though I am walking the same streets. I will introduce you proper to my ‘hood’ in a later post.
Directly behind where I live is a beautiful park like area backing onto forest. This is where the original temples and shrines were built during the days of the Shogun.
There is a walk called the Hiragashiyama Walking Course which is a walking path leading you to all of the religious monuments and points of interest.
There are some beautiful spots looking down onto the town from the temple grounds and through the temple gates.
Walking trough the temple grounds there are beautiful small garden vignettes, giant bell towers and old mossy cemeteries…the oldest gravestone I could find from its famous inhabitants was from the mid 1700s.
In the cemetery I also encountered this sign….serious! I am only ever ten meters from back yards at any one time….yet, at times it seems like I am miles away in the middle of nowhere.
It was a hot bright day and the dappled light shining through the towering trees coupled with the silence….was amazing and so tranquil.
Here is a view over the city of Takayama from Shiroyama Park – Castle Mountain where the first fuedal Lord built his castle when he founded Takayama.
Theoretically his castle should be looking down on where I live, if it was still there. Rosie decided to go for a mountain trek to see the ruins of Takayama Castle. The entrance to the park is right behind my house, it wont take long…surely.
It was going to be a roasting day today, forcast for 26c, so Rosie set of at 0800. It seemed to be a popular trek, alot of old men tend to walk this route for their constitutionals in the morning, all nodded at me as I said hello in passing. Once again Rosie had to ‘beware of the bears’, this time it might have been true as I was off the tar sealed path and venturing into the paths of the forest.
These giant gates are some of the only structures giving any definition to the forest…and they too are slowly being reclaimed.
Rosie was climbing higher and higher, no bears were going to attack Rosie as she sounded like a puffing bear herself lumbering along the track.
Then all of a sudden she reached the top of the mountain! Yay! OK where are the ruins of this castle, cant wait to take pics. What the hell, is that it?!
Just a smidge of big bouldered retaining left….serious! Rosie walked around the site, surely there must be a good view of the city from this lofty vantage point?
Potentially there could have been, but it was too overgrown. Rosie was pissy, she cant believe she trekked all this way, and she hates trekking…for nothing. Calmness Rosie, breath in the fresh air and feel the sunshine, touch the ancient boulders and revel in the age of them and the sights they have seen….then bloody well walk home. At least it is downhill!
Rosie passed a man walking up the hill to the (non existent) ruins carrying a huge bag of camera gear and a huge tripod….good luck with that, you too are in for a disappointing time. Time for my first coffee of the day me thinks.
These locations are pretty much the orbit of my world…over the next couple of days I will show you what this stellar town has to offer in the way of tourist sites. I will also show you around my neighborhood and give you a peek of how and where I have been living.
