The Japanese Alps

From town to mountain was a three and a half hour journey on two trains. With only 15 minutes inbetween the two at Nagoya we loaded up with snacks at Shin-Osaka before leaving. No melon bread this time – it’s got a great light and fluffy texture, but doesn’t taste of melon and is sickly sweet. Something we had to try, but just the once. Walnut bread was selected and that made the cut for the next journey, assuming we can find it again!

The journey from Nagoya to Takayama was so scenic and whilst the water level was quite low in many places the water was crystal clear as it flowed over rocks glistening in the sunshine, yes sunshine. Whilst many of the trees are still dark green there were increasing patchwork areas of leaves undergoing their colour changes to red and yellow. The numerous communities following the river were fascinating and so different to ours. The buildings were predominantly two storey but the upper storey was invariably smaller than the lower so there was invariably an overhanging roof for the lower storey giving the impression of a more “pagoda” style house. Whilst there were some beautifully manicured gardens there were many vegetable plots/allotments and the expected rice fields, and some unexpected fields of solar panels. On the Takayama line you get announcements for noteworthy sights along the way which, as the train was full of international travellers, was most helpful and interesting. So now you know that all the rivers that we saw before we entered the Hida tunnel drain into the Pacific Ocean, and all those we pass after the Hida tunnel drain into the Sea of Japan.

Takayama nestles in a valley at the base of the Japanese Alps ~600m above sea level and you can see the view from our hotel window here. It is the complete antithesis of Osaka – they barely have street lights so neon is completely out of the question. And as for capsule shops, thankfully that’s a no too. Like Kyoto there are traditional wooden buildings dating back to the Edo period but here the streets are wide, with little traffic be that motorised or human. Whilst some of these remain residential many have been converted to restaurants and shops. The streets are immaculate not just with the signpost tiles in the pavement but there are hedged borders even in front of petrol stations. These are Enkianthus perulatus (or dodan-tsutsuji) which are native to Japan and they undergo the normal leaf colour changes that you see in the trees so look stunning at the moment. Be grateful I’ve only subjected you to one arty photo.

Other than just roaming the streets we had three “must sees” on our list and we caught the bus to Hida No Sato, the Hida Folk village and spent a fascinating couple of hours here. It’s effectively an open air museum having moved traditional houses from around the Hida area to this village displaying the tools and articles of their daily life. They made the silk for the kimanos and developed the white stitching on more ordinary garments. They used every part of local plants making the glue for the Japanese parasols. The round or wheel shaped rice field, Kurumada, is only one of two that remain in Japan. Its planting i.e the number of radial lines, seeds planted in each line etc is based on odd numbers which are lucky

The houses are all triangular shaped like praying hands 🙏🏻. Interestingly they still burn the fires in the sunken fireplaces in the houses every morning as the smoke preserves the chestnut timber of the building. Not sure about the seating plan around the fire as to who gets the smokeless side! They also have traditional thatch which looks incredibly beautiful and thicker than its British counterpart to cope with the weight of the heavy snow that this region gets. The work in all the roofing and building was incredible and it was easy to see the class distinction between the wealthy and the not so wealthy.

No respectable village is complete without traditional crafts and the skill of the wood carver was incredible as he uses the tools of old, a single blade, and utilises the different natural colours of the yew to create his masterpieces. There are also traditional games to play and you can see me playing with a water cannon here and Steven showing me how it’s done properly here. Just to prove I’m good for something I manage to succeed with this toy here. Sadly we didn’t have time to go to the Teddy bear forest . . .

In the afternoon we went to the Takayama Matsuri Yatai Kaikan or Festival Float Exhibition hall. This festival is held in April and October when the floats are pulled through the streets. It began 350 years ago as a simple village festival but is now recognised by UNESCO Cultural Heritage. These floats date back to the Edo period and are huge and require up to 40 people to move each one. All are on wheels, bar one which is carried. Unsurprisingly they change carriers every 20 minutes. Each one signifies a different story and my favourite was the Sennin Tai which has a puppet that represents a mountain hermit that fell off his cloud when he saw a beautiful woman washing clothes. The Sakurayama shrine close by was serene and stunning.

As we had a lunchtime bus to Matsumoto we had time to walk around the Miyagawa morning market which is set along the river and bridges. You can see the koi carp swimming wild here too large to be the cranes’s breakfast! However as a human be warned – don’t have breakfast if you visit this market – sweet potatoes, chestnut biscuits and Midarashi dango, grilled rice balls in soya. Plenty to sample.

Takayama was a wonderful place to visit. It allowed us to sample authentic Japan and interact with people who live here. The lady I bought my first Midarashi dango from was making and selling them from her own home.

As Takayama is at a higher altitude and cooler the trees have started to undergo their autumn changes – yes they call it autumn here, hooray! So as the bus to Matusmoto weaved its way up/over and through the mountains the scenery was stunning and we saw the winter ski slopes all marked up and passed the Kurobe Dam. You can see some of it here. Apologies for the window reflections but this was taken on a moving bus with my phone. Ubiquitous to this region are persimmon and we saw numerous large trees laden with them and Hoshigaki, persimmon on strings, hanging outside to dry in the sun and preserve them for the winter. Even though they are orange and look like miniature pumpkins they are nothing to do with Halloween. They are eaten and used for New Year celebrations. This journey allowed me to find a new favourite orinigiri, sweet potato.

Our hotel in Matsumoto was less than 10 minute walk from the Castle, which dominates the landscape and you can see, along with the surrounding mountains, from the top of our hotel here. This is an impressive castle, set in impressive grounds and inside there are 141 steps over six flights to climb to the top. Just a slight snag with that plan though – you have to take your shoes off, not a problem per se even though I had just put on my new socks from Uniqlo (proud of me Benita?). The problem are the stairs – they are highly polished wood so extremely slippy, with a very steep incline and a massive rise of over 30cm each. It is not surprising therefore that most people never made it past the first opportunity to go down at level 2, although Steven made it to level 3. It’s no surprise that there is a sign outside the castle commenting on the castle keep fit! As I mentioned in my first post Chrysanthemums are sign of royalty and we have seen exhibitions of these at various Castles and significant shrines. Whilst they were all closed when we visited the Meiji Jingũ Shinto shrine at the beginning of our trip, nearly three weeks later they are all open and in bloom and far more impressive.

Matusmoto old town is a smaller version of Takayama with the picturesque old wooden houses/shops/coffee bars on Nawate-dori street around the river with views of the surrounding mountains. The Japanese like to keep their traditions alive and this one should appeal to Jonathan. There are numerous frog references here as a reference to the time when the area was teaming with frogs before the river became “dirty”. Even though it’s crystal clear now, the frogs have not returned so manmade ones will have to suffice. Not far from this old town is a thriving modern town complete with colourful manhole covers that rival Osaka’s. One bears the emblem of their local football team and whilst I was taking its photo a resident proudly told me that was her team! Not sure I want an LUFC manhole cover near my home though. One night was enough in Matsumoto and we spent a lovely evening in a very good pizzeria with a young couple from Haifa who were at the end of their three month honeymoon. They nearly convinced us on the merits of considering Haifa . . .

Our time in the countryside has been wonderful and is a must for anyone planning to come or Japan, but is now over. We are heading back to Tokyo and having seen the cultural side of the city at the beginning of our trip intend to spend our final days exploring the culture of neon, anime and everything 21st century