Senin, 22 Oktober 2018

JAPAN AUTUMN TRIP 2017: November Snow at Shirakawa-Go


It was one fine Sunday morning when I went to Shirakawa-Go from Takayama. I booked a half-day tour from  J-Hoppers guesthouse, the hostel where I stayed in Takayama. You can book this tour also even if you don't stay at the place, but it's cheaper if you stay there. Actually, I didn't expect to witness any snow in Shirakawa-Go since it was still November, but it did snow!

Apparently, my friend went to Shirakawa-Go just the day before I went there. He told me it was snowing hard that day. He told me that it was quite hard to reach the observation deck since to road was slippery because of the snow.

The snow did not fall the day after - the day I went to Shirakawa-Go, but the snow leftover was still there. Thank God! I could finally experienced snow all around me. And the plus point of taking this tour was, it stopped right at the observation deck so I didn't have to walk there. 


The view from the observation deck was magnificent. I marvelled upon the view of the village, surrounded by mountains, and snow. It was so beautiful.




From the observation deck, the bus headed to the village. It stopped on the parking lot and I had to walk to the village by crossing the bridge.


Even the view from the bridge awed me, thought it was just river with rocks and snow covering it. So yeah, snow is something huge for someone who lives in a tropical country like me. I consider myself blessed to experience this, since my friend came here the next month, somewhere in mid December, but there was no snow track at all at this place. So, check the weather forecast before you come here on November or December and manage your expectation.



The main attraction of this village are the gassho-zukuri farmhouses. Gassho means 'hands in prayer' which the steep tatched roof resembles. Some of these houses are more than 250 years old.





A few of these houses are open for public, with admission fee of course. I visited the Kanda's house and paid JPY 300 for the entrance fee.


Take a look on the interior of this house. Upon entering the house, you could spot traditional heater in the center.


First floor is for daily activities, this floor is where the living room and other rooms are.



Meanwhile the second floor is where they placed the farming tools.



More storage space in the attic.


This was the view from the attic. Beautiful wasn't it?


After visiting Kanda's house, I strolled around the village. Apparently not all of the houses in the village use gassho roof. Some are more modern, but still having that country-side feel. The village wasn't all white, but it was still charming.









You could spot few souvenir shops in this village since tourism has been one of the main income of this village.



Bought myself no souvenir here, but decided to try eating ice cream on a 0ºC day. It was good! No need to worry that my ice cream would melt fast.


Overall I think this village worth a visit, and I understand why some people put this place on their bucket list.

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JAPAN TRIP SERIES 2019
Furano-Biei Day Trip: Farm Tomita, Shikisai No Oka, Blue Pond
Sapporo: The Food Journal
Sapporo: The Vibrant City of Hokkaido (And Where to Stay)
Falling in Love with Yokohama's Charm
Starbucks Reserve® Roastery Tokyo
Reasons to Stay Around Asakusa (or not)
My Third Japan Trip - The Intro

JAPAN TRIP SERIES 2017
Konnichiwa! I'm back!
JAPAN AUTUMN TRIP 2017: Preparation and Cost
JAPAN AUTUMN TRIP 2017: Back to Dotonbori
JAPAN AUTUMN TRIP 2017: Fall Foliage at Minoo Park and Quick Visit to Kuromon Market
JAPAN AUTUMN TRIP 2017: Autumn in Kyoto
JAPAN AUTUMN TRIP 2017: A Day In Takayama
JAPAN AUTUMN TRIP 2017: November Snow at Shirakawa-Go

JAPAN TRIP SERIES 2015
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Senin, 15 Oktober 2018

JAPAN AUTUMN TRIP 2017: A Day In Takayama


Shirakawa-go was on my last year trip itinerary, and after some researches, I decided to visit the place from the city Takayama. Actually Takayama is closer from Kyoto, but because of one thing and another, I decided to visit Takayama from Tokyo, which is quite far. So this post will be about my one night stay in Takayama.

You could actually visit Shirakawa-Go from another city, like Kanagawa. But since I found a tour package from a hostel in Takayama, I decided to stay there. It was a total of 5 hours something trip from Tokyo to Takayama. I used my JR Pass and rode Hikari train to Nagoya, then I got transferred to the JR Hida limited express train to Takayama. The view from Nagoya to Takayama was absolutely stunning. Let me share some of the pictures I took from my seat. I was all alone on this trip, but I was not bored at all because of the view.







Since I love konbini food so much, I purchased from food 7 Eleven to accompany me along the way. Konbini food never fails! And yes I bought Evian for the sake of Mickey Mouse, anyway it didn't cost much with other mineral water brand there. They're all expensive.


Finally I arrived at Takayama. This city is much colder than Tokyo, even colder than Kyoto. The weather forecast told that it was going to snow that day. I was excited to experience my first snowing day, too bad it didn't snow after all.


It was Saturday, and the city was quiet. I think Takayama is a perfect city for an introvert who enjoys wandering around alone like me. But if you don't like quite place, you could head to Sanmachi Suji / Takayama Old Town where all the people are buzzing around.


This is the place where you can find the infamous Takayama's delicacies like Hida Beef Sushi, Hida Croquette, Mitarashi Dango and else.


My first joining the queue activity here was for the Hida beef sushi. Don't leave Takayama before you have this! Takayama is all about Hida beef.


Hida Beef Sushi - JPY 500

And yes, they were good! The beef was so tender and nice.


Above is a place that sells Hida Gyuuman, or may I call it beef bun, another well known Takayama's delicacy.

Next, I made a stop at this Mitarashi Dango stall.


Mitarashi Dango - JPY 80

Basically it was a skewered round mochi grilled and covered with soy sauce. Well, not my favourite but worth a try since it was cheap anyway.

My next stop was to purchase Hida beef croquettes. Since the order was made using a machine, I entered the wrong type of croquette and made another purchase for the one I was aiming for. So, two croquettes for me.

Croquettes (2) - JPY 450

They were still hot and good. This was quite a cure for a chilly day like that day.

I spotted a 'sarubobo' in front of a shop.


This red doll is a mascot of Hida region. I think they were on every packaging of the town's souvenir.

I was quite full from all the snacking, and decided to move the other part of the town.


This city was quite tranquilizing for me. It has a countryside charm, quiet yet relaxing and pleasing the eyes. I just walked here and there enjoying each corner I spotted.













It got colder in the afternoon, that I decided to enter a random coffee shop. The name 'Traveller' coffee house bought me.


Black Tea - JPY 400

I chose tea though, afraid that caffeine would affect my night. Nice place to relax my feet for a while.


It was not even 5 PM and the city started to get dark and chilly. The temperature dropped to 0°C and I headed back to my hostel, entered my room, and set the heater on. I was thinking to have dinner but the weather kept me away from leaving my room.

And I paid a visit to the place I planned to had dinner the day after. The place is called Mame Tengu, a restaurant that serves Takayama Ramen.




Hida Takayama Noodle - JPY 800

Takayama ramen is quite different from the other ramen I had before. It has clearer broth, quite unique one since the broth used dried bonito flakes, and vegetables as a base, and mixed with a secret sauce made with soy sauce and miso before boiling. The noodle itself was springy and curly.


It was overall delicious! Especially when the weather outside was freakin' cold.

I think Takayama is a wonderful city to spend a night or two.




-------
JAPAN TRIP SERIES 2019
Furano-Biei Day Trip: Farm Tomita, Shikisai No Oka, Blue Pond
Sapporo: The Food Journal
Sapporo: The Vibrant City of Hokkaido (And Where to Stay)
Falling in Love with Yokohama's Charm
Starbucks Reserve® Roastery Tokyo
Reasons to Stay Around Asakusa (or not)
My Third Japan Trip - The Intro

JAPAN TRIP SERIES 2017
Konnichiwa! I'm back!
JAPAN AUTUMN TRIP 2017: Preparation and Cost
JAPAN AUTUMN TRIP 2017: Back to Dotonbori
JAPAN AUTUMN TRIP 2017: Fall Foliage at Minoo Park and Quick Visit to Kuromon Market
JAPAN AUTUMN TRIP 2017: Autumn in Kyoto
JAPAN AUTUMN TRIP 2017: A Day In Takayama
JAPAN AUTUMN TRIP 2017: November Snow at Shirakawa-Go

JAPAN TRIP SERIES 2015
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