We chose this hotel simply because its location, within walking distance to the station and Familymart. It's an old hotel with basic amenities, spacious room and clean, but i did not like their minim lighting in our room, service was good, the front desk showed and explained us the main attraction in Takayama eventhough with limited english.
Pros : Inexpensive, Very close to Central.
Cons : Old furniture, need to be renovated, no breakfast included.
Price : 10500 Yen/Night, easily booked via anykind travel website platform.
https://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g298113-d1111691-Reviews-Ayun_Takayama_Central_Hotel-Takayama_Gifu_Prefecture_Chubu.html
Transportation 🚌 :
There are 2 options :
- Morning Half Day Tour:
Depart at 8:10 from Takayama Station
- Afternoon Half Day Tour:
Depart at 13:20 from Takayama Station
We took the Morning Half Day Tour, it took around 45-60 minutes to get to Shirakawa-go from Takayama station, and the tour will give you 2 hours free time to see around Shirakawa-go.
Fees : 4.450 Yen/ person, but if you're staying at J-Hoppers Hida Takayama, you'll get extra discount 500 Yen/person.
Attractions
Ajikura Tengoku
If you visit Takayama, you definitely shoud try their signature Hida Beef. Ajikura Tengoku is one of many Hida Beef Restaurants in Takayama, we chose this one because the front desk at the hotel recommended this. The restaurant opens at 5pm, to avoid a long wait, be there at least 30 mins early. We came 30 minutes before the restaurant open and there were already 3 groups of people waiting. All i can say is they have INCREDIBLE Hida Beef! we ordered fillet steak which we then cooked on our table, it is so tender and soft that it literally melts in your mouth. Ridiculously good.
You haven't had Hida Beef until you've had Hida Beef at Ajikura Tengoku. Excellent. For our research, their price is cheaper than the other Hida Beef resto.
How to get here : 1-2 minutes walking from Takayama Station.
Shirakawa-go
This is our main reason to visit Takayama. To visit Shirakawa-go was my husband's idea, he really wanted to see this village which is declared a Unesco World Herritage. This village is known for their traditional house called Gassho, if i'm not mistaken the Gassho houses are made without nails, and allow it to held and shred dozen of snow during winter.
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| Sarubobo (faceless doll as mascot of Takayama City) |
Our first stop was at Shiroyama Tenshukaku Tenbodai (Viewpoint). The view from that spot was perfect. It showed a bird’s eye view of the historical village of Shirakawa-go. From there, I realized that the houses in the village had thatched roofs that look like praying hands.
We were given time about 2 hours to see around the village, and if you want to see the interior and design inside the Gassho House, there is one famous house which open for public named Kanda House, unfortunately we got separated from the group as we were exploring the other side of the village, so we did not get to see the inside of the house.
We wandered around a bit before heading back to the rendezvous point with the group. Walked along the narrow garden roads, rice fields, and Gassho-Zukuri houses. We said goodbye to the historic villages of Shirakawa-go, and readied ourselves for our next trip. I enjoyed my late winter trip to this village, but I’m definitely going back here on winter to see the village covered in snow next time that remind me of those cutie Christmas cookies. hihi
How to get here :
Accessible by Nohi Bus and Hokuriku Railway Bus either from JR Takayama Station on the Takayama Line (about 60 minutes away) or if you are to lazy like me, just booked half day tour from J-Hopper Hotel.
Old Town Takayama (Sanmachi Dori Street)
Walk.Look.Taste.Photograph
Those 4 words represent this street. There a lot of Japanese stalls, traditional buildings, souvenir shops. etc. A lot to see, to taste, to buy and also a lot of spot to photographed. Just keep walking and blend yourself in the crowd. This is a nice place for a stroll and enjoy the old charm of ancient japan.
How to get here:
10 minutes walk from Takayama Station, it's located in central of the city.
We had a good time exporing Takayama and Shirakawa-go before continuing our trip to our last city, Tokyo.
Normally, tourist will take a Shinkansen from Takayama to Tokyo, but we took Nohi Bus because we heard that the view along the road is beautiful and also the ticket fare is much cheaper, you just need to spend 6,690 Yen per person which takes 5,5 hours when the Shinkansen ticket fare is around 15,000 Yen per person which takes 4,5 hours. By taking the bus, we were saving significant amount per person plus you'll get the best view of Japan 😍
Bye bye Shirakawa-go. :)
