This was our second visit to Takayama since 2010 and over the years, little old town has become more touristy. My purpose of this visit is to savor the delicious Hida beef again.
Takayama is a city in the mountainous Hida region of Gifu Prefrecture. From Kyoto Station, it took about 2.5 hrs to reach Takayama. The city retains a traditional touch like few other Japanese cities, especially in its beautiful preserved old town. Anyway, the old town of Takayama is like another mini version of Kyoto.
 |
| Ready for the ride to Takayama from Kyoto |
So, what to do at Takayama?
1. Venture into the old town for Food
I've always love the old town of Takayama that has been beautifully preserved with many buildings and whole streets of houses dating from the Edo Period when the city thrived as a wealthy town of merchants.
Today, the southern half of the old town, especially Sannomachi Street, survives in a particularly pretty state with many old homes, shops, coffee houses and sake breweries. The shops in the area typically open daily from 9am to 3pm. Other than walking through the old town, another pleasant alternative would be to explore the area via a rickshaw. I remembered that I literally gasped when I first saw the old town and still does. It's tough to describe these gorgeous dark wood buildings without resorting to cliches, because walking through the narrow streets really make me feel like I'm stepping into an older place and time.
A must-eat in Takayama is the Hida-beef, a specific type of black-haired Japanese cattle that has been raised in Gifu Prefecture for at least 14 months. Hida-beef is so popular in Takayama that you will find countless of stores selling either Hida-beef steak or various kind of Hida-beef cuisines.
When we were there, we manage to try a few variations of the Hida-beef, be it in the form of a burger, bun, ramen, sushi and lastly, Hida-beef BBQ.
Hida-Beef Burger
The Hida-Beef Burger has been chosen as #2 in Japan's food ranking in TripAdvisor and hence we've got to give it a try. While the patty is made of Hida-beef, it tasted quite ordinary. Hence, I don't quite understand why people have been raving about the burger. In any case, a mini burger that cost 800 yen is considered quite pricey.
Hida-Beef Bun (Hida Gyuuman)
The Hida-Beef Buns are made with fluffy, soft dough and plenty of juicy sweet beef. It appears to be like our meat bun in Singapore except that the texture is softer and fluffy and the meat is more juicy. I would rank it as so-so but nonetheless, perfect to eat as you walk around the old town.
Mitarashi Dango
Mitarashi Dango is a traditional Japanese snack in which the mochi (gelatinous rice) is formed into little round dumplings, then it's covered in a sauce. Usually, they are made using a sweet soy sauce but in Takayama, they use the soy sauce and grill it to release the fragrance of the sauce. This is quite popular to tourists, however, personally, I don't quite fancy it.
Hida-Beef Nigiri
I bought the Hida-Beef Nigiri from Sakaguchiya, a small shop that is the creator of this sushi made with Hida-beef that is covered with a special broiled sauce. It's so voluminous that it seems like the rice is hiding beneath the beef and placed on top of a round rice cracker ("senbei"). You can't miss this store because there will always be a queue. The sushi is definitely delicious - tender hida beef that melts in your mouth, best I've tasted in Takayama. Nevertheless, the sushi is quite pricey at 700 yen for 2 pieces but it's really worth for the taste and quality.
Grilled Hida-Beef
The main highlight that we've been longing for this trip is none other than the large chunks of Hida-beef grilled to perfection! Prior to our trip at Takayama, we've ordered the premium Kobe Beef which cost 10x higher than what we are paying for the Hida-Beef. Honestly, I feel that the Hida-beef does not pale in comparison with the Kobe beef and hence felt that it is more reasonably priced than Kobe beef.
We tried the grilled Hida-beef again for the 2nd time at Maruaki restaurant. The taste of the beef did not fail us and we still find the taste as delicious as ever. Look at the marbling of the meat. Every bite of it literally melts in our mouth!
Takayama Ramen
The texture and the soup of Takayama Ramen taste different from the other types that I've had in Toyko and Hokkaido. The soup is literally soya sauce base and the noodle texture is a little like that of maggie mee. The fact that I ordered hida beef ramen doesn't help to impress me further. I would say, so-so for the ramen.
Miyagawa Morning Market
Takayama morning market is one of the biggest daily morning markets in Japan and takes place at 2 locations - One in front of Takyama Jinya and the other at Miyagawa River. We visited the one at Miyagawa market but as it was raining, the number of stalls that opened are no more than 10. We were told that on sunny days, there would be lots of stalls selling vegetables, fruits, pickles, spices and local handicrafts. Nevertheless, we enjoyed our walks at the morning market despite amidst the wetness.
Where to Stay
At Takayama, a stay at the traditional minshuku or ryokan is mandatory. We stayed 2 nights at Hodakaso Yamanoiori, located approximately 10 mins walk from Takayama JR station. This is a nicely decorated minshuku with a nice Japanese garden that greeted us at the doorstep. We booked a room with private hot bath over-looking a garden and a pond. The room is in traditional Japanese tatatmi style and comes with very comfortable futons. I especially like the hot bath experience and the yummy breakfast!
Day trip from Takayama - Shiragawago
I absolutely fall in love with Shiragawago the moment I saw its poster. To see this beautiful place twice in 2 different seasons is really fantastic. The village does look somewhat different in Summer than Winter. Shiragawago and its neighboring Gokayama line the Shogawa River Valley in the remote mountains that span from Gifu to Toyama Prefectures. Declared a UNESCO world heritage site, they are famous for their traditional gassho-zukuri farmhouses, some of which are more than 250 years old.
Gassho-zukuri means "constructed like hands in prayer", as the farmhouses' steep thatched roofs resemble the hands of Buddhist monks pressed together in prayer. The roofs, made without nails provided a large attic space used for cultivating silkworms.
You can buy a round trip ticket that cover both Shiragawago and Gokayama from the Nohi bus Station next to Takayama JR Station. As we have insufficient time, we decided to re-visit Shiragawago.
Tips: Better to visit the village early to avoid the crowd.
Things to do at Shiragawago....
1. Viewpoint
We missed walking up to get a bird's eye view of the entire village last winter and hence we are not going to miss it now. The short hike to the Ogimachi Joseki Observatory is manageable and it took us as little as 30 mins to reach the viewpoint. The scenery was spectacular!
2. Walking around Shiragawago
There are plenty of Gassho-zukuri style thatched houses open to visitors which offer a peek at the local life at a small fee. Some of these Gassho-zukuri houses have been converted to restaurants and souvenir shops which I find interesting to spent some time at.
Personally, I am charmed by these houses and hence find it enjoyable to stroll around the village, looking at the wooden houses, padi fields and crops, canals and fishing ponds.
3. Relax at one of the wooden houses for coffee and grabbed a bowl of hida-beef curry rice for lunch
We found a nice and pretty wooden house over-looking the padi field where the owner only served coffee at a steep price of 500 yen. The coffee taste good though but the view from the wooden house was way better.
We also ate the hida-beef curry rice at one of the restaurants but sadly this was not the restaurant that served the tasty curry rice we've had years ago :( Still, I'm a fan of hida-beef curry rice.
Comments
Post a Comment