.::* Living and Dreaming *::.

Takayama and Fukugawa

January 1, 2007:

Adatchan and I met up at Nagoya station to depart for Takayama but we missed our bus by a minute so we had to take the train instead. The express was booked out so we had to switch trains twice and after almost 4 hours, we made it Takayama. Shinpei met up with us and together we walked around the city. It's a small city but such a beautiful and quiet place. The air was crisp with coldness and there was snow on the ground. I hate the cold in Nagoya but in this place, even though it's even colder, I find it very inviting. Maybe it's the fresh mountain air, or maybe it just felt like home. This feeling is hard to discribe, the houses are traditional style and this place is a major destination for tourists, but I felt very comfortable walking around, like I belonged there and not just another tourist.

Anyways, after walking through the Old Private Houses where there are shops that sell Japanese snacks and souvenirs, we tried to go to the Goverment House but it was closed. We then went to city hall and got there just as it was closing but we were allowed to walk around inside still. I discovered, and with a little bit of explaining from the boys, that most tourist attractions in Japan have ink stamps for tourists to use for memorabilia. That, I think is really cool.

Takayama is in the Hida region of Gifu Prefecture and Hida is famous for it's sarubobo dolls. The first time I saw one, I thought the doll was strange. It has no face. But after going to Takayama and seeing stores full of them in lots of different sizes and colors, I started to get really fond of them. Each color represents something, like Love, Health, Study, etc. And sometimes you see characters like Hello Kitty dressed up like one. Very cute.

I also fell in love with a kind of sweet from Takayama. I don't know how to discribe it and I have absolutely no idea what it is. Probably lots of sugar and gluten. I like the one covered in wheat powder and the green one with red bean paste in the middle. Can you tell that Takayama is becoming my favorite place yet?

After freezing our little toes off, the three of us got picked up by Shinpei's dad and we got a ride back to Shinpei's house. For dinner we grilled the beef that Takayama is known for and had a whole table full of food. We also had sake, beer, and some plum wine for me. I do have to say though, Shinpei picked a bottle of sake that was dryer than the dessert but he enjoyed it so kudos to him. It's a good thing his parents had sake that was more appetizing for my tastes.

After dinner, we went to a hot spring, another thing that is popular in Takayama. Shinpei's mom showed me the in and outs of the public bath and contrary to my initial fears of walking around butt naked, it was pretty natural. You first rinse off your cleaning station, then rinse yourself off. Then get into the hot bath. We also went outside to soak in the natural hot spring which smelled like rotten eggs so you know it's got to be mineral water. Then, you go back to your station and wash up with soap, rinse, then get back into the bath to soak. I think you can also wash up at the very beginning too, that was what I had always thought. There was also a sauna but I felt just right so I skipped out on that. What a perfect way to end the day.

January 2, 2007:

Shinpei's mom took the three of us out to Fukugawa. This city is much smaller than Takayama but it has really great scenery. Fukugawa is knows for it's carpentry, sake, and I think the carp that swim through the canals of the city in the spring and summer. There were less people walking around so it was nice and peaceful. With the nice old style houses and mountains in the background, Takayama and Fukugawa make the Hida region my favorite so far in Japan. I also had my first rice balls on a stick here.

Finished with the sightseeing, we went back to Takayama to see the festival floats in the museum. I thought this place was really cool. There were big drums that you can bang on, some miniture sized floats and Japanese-laquered folding screens to see, and also the real floats which had marionettes that came alive at certain times. Each float took turns and there were also life sized marionettes. My favorite were the ones that played the big drums. I had always wanted to see a show with the big drums and who knew my first show would be performed by life sized dolls?

For lunch we went for kaiten sushi which was super yummy. You don't know sushi until you try it in Japan. The variety of fish is overwhelming and it's so much tastier. Maybe because the fish is fresher. However, I did learn that the price of tuna is rising because tuna is become scarce and there are protection laws on them. Good thing there are many substitutes! For desert, we went to a place near Takayama station. I think Shinpei's mom knows the way to my heart...my sweet tooth. Also, she treated all of us as if we were all her children but of course, she only had embarassing stories of Shinpei to tell.

After buying some souvenirs, Adatchan and I had to board the bus back to Nagoya. This was a great trip and I was disappointed to have to leave. I can't wait to go back in the spring though! I'd go back more often if I could but I guess I have to give other places in Japan a fair chance too.

posted by ~diana~ @ 1:20 AM