[Japan Travel]: Takayama - Day 2 // Shirakawago
The weather's been crazy lately. Snowstorm and all. Today it's dark and rainy.
And that's pretty much how my second day in Takayama started as well.
Takayama - Day 2 + Shirakawago (January 3rd 2011):
I got up early again and this time I wanted to visit the morning markets which were recommended in several tourist information pamphlets/books.
I just passed by the bridge and the ugly statue(s) again.
Morning market #1 (Miyagawa Morning Market) was just a few people selling food and crafts. And if I say "few" I mean like 4 or 5 stands!!! Quite disappointing!
On my way to the second morning market. Enjoying the old houses and the snow on the streets. Almost no people yet!!
All these old houses just for me alone (*___*)b
Random shot on my way.
And I'm running into all sorts of snow"men" again ^-^
The other morning market was even smaller than the first one (only 2 people selling something!!) - I don't know why those markets were recommended :/ .... Maybe it was because of the weather or because it was so close to New Years that there was not much going on, who knows ...
I went back to the station. This photo was taken in front of the tourist information booth next to the station.
You could get tourist information on your cellphone for free!!! Awesome!! However, only if your provider is Docomo! -_____________- *sigh*
I rode a bus to "Hida no Sato" and on my way I saw this golden .... temple?! building!! I couldn't find any information about it at all, so I still don't know for sure what it is :(
"Hida no Sato" (Hida Folk Village) is a 9 min. bus ride away from Takayama Station. You probably could walk if it's not too cold and the weather is nice (and you have enough time) - but as this wasn't the case, I used the bus.
Entrance fee is 700yen. It's an open air museum and displayed are several gassho-zukuri houses which are famous for this area (more popular are the ones in Shirakawa-go).
It was extremely cold and the snow was quite high. You could change into rain boots for free which I did and I'm glad I did!!! Luckily they had shoes in my size there! XD
Although it was EXTREMELY cold it was really beautiful with all the snow. As it was still early in the morning, it was not wet or melting yet at all which looks great anyways :D
You really had to watch your steps and there was also snow falling from trees and the roofs, but luckily I wasn't hit (^-^')
You could also go inside most houses (no extra entrance fee). The houses were extremely cold and you had to take off your shoes in order to walk on the wooden floor. I wonder how people survived cold winters in those houses ;o; ....
Inside the houses were a lot of daily items that were used until recently.
Snow village ^-^;
At least they had warm clothes it seems!
Some areas were closed due to the snow! (o_o') ...
The houses really look cute - and the snow landscape has its own charm.
I don't think I have to explain why the houses (esp.) the roof have been built that way?!? I think it's obvious, but oh well: as the Chubu area is famous for getting a lot of snow in winter normal houses couldn't handle the weight of snow on the roof. That way the snow will easily fall down. I guess for people who live in Europe these kind of roofs are not THAT special!?! (^-^'') .... (at least not the shape! the material is another story ..)
Actually that whole village has an European flair if you ask me :D
House shrine.
On the top floor right below the roof.
Ohno's house!!!!! I didn't know that leader lives in the snow country (*___*)b ... [insert crazy laughter]
Another house srhine, close-up.
o___O' ...
Of course they had all sorts of "vehicles" in order to move in the snow.
Even skis!!!
And a snowboard?! :D
Miniature version of one of the houses.
And for people who don't know what to do they even had a short description in English in front of it!! I think that's the first time I actually saw an instruction for a bell XD
There were also quite a few small shrines in the village :)
You could also see part of the Japanese Alps.
Old-style toilet.
Eh? Walk all the way up there??!!! No thank you! XD
Really EVERYTHING was frozen!!!
Oh, hello sun! ^-^ Long time no see!
When it was finally time to leave Takayama the sun was out completely.
Took that photo on my way to the hotel to get my luggage.
In front of Takayama Station waiting for the bus to Shirakawago.
Photo taken out of the bus on the way to Shirakawago ^-^
The bus ride from Takayama to Shirakawago doesn't take very long (~1h) and you can go on from Shirakawago to Kanazawa by the same bus if you want to which also takes ~1h.
It's cheaper and better than going by train and I highly recommend to get out at Shirakawago to stay there for a few hours!! The trip works in both ways. Kanazawa - Shirakawago - Takayama (or the other way round).
Detailed schedule and price information can be found here.
I arrived in Shirakawago around 13:30/14:00 (can't exactly remember^^; ...). The weather finally got better, so I was really happy!
Before I took the bus I made sure that I could get rid of my luggage somehow. There's a small "tourist information centre" right next to the bus stop and for a small fee they will take care of your luggage!!! That was a lifesaver! ^-^
Most people who visit Shirakawago will visit Ogimachi Village. It's probably the most popular village there and it's also easy to access.
I didn't have that much time as I had to leave with the last bus at 16:50 (which is also around sunset time), so I had to hurry up.
I started with the Gassho-zukuri Minkaen, an open air museum right next to the bus stop!! Entrance fee is quite expensive with 500yen, but there are QUITE a lot of interesting houses in there, so I highly recommend you go there (if you have enough time ^^)
There was a lot of snow as well, but this time I didn't have any rain boots ;o; ... (although I saw later that they offered some for free as well!!!!)
Luckily my sneakers made it through the day without getting wet somehow (^-^)v
What looked cold and dark in "Hida no Sato" in Takayama suddenly looked absolutely awesome here in Shirakawago ... probably mostly thanks to the sunshine! ^-^;
There were so many awesome houses everywhere that I had a hard time to decide where to go first!!
Some roofs go down until the floor ... well almost! And with the snow it seems like the houses are sinking into the snow ^-^
And so much snow everywhere (O__O)b
Excuse me, but I'm COMPLETELY IN LOVE WITH THIS PHOTO!!! (*_*) ....
Whereas it was quiet in Takayama's "Hida no Sato" with not so many tourists, Shirakawago was FULL of tourists! :D
Winter is one of the best seasons to visit the village, though, I've seen photos of other seasons and trust me when I say that those houses look awesome in ANY season!!
It looks so cute and comfy .... if only it wouldn't be so fu***** cold inside!! ;o;
At least the water was not frozen and so the kois had lots of fun in the sun?! ^-^
That's how it's supposed to look at night in winter! This is one of the most famous and popular sightseeing events! At night the whole village is illuminated .... I was so worried that my bus would leave too early (aka not dark enough yet), but in the end I was told that they don't start the illumination before February anyways!!! ;_____________;
I left the open air museum and took this cute photo in front of the entrance/exit.
One of the most awesome things to do is to go to the observation platform, though!!! You'll see almost the whole village from there!! Absolutely stunning!!
Buses run from the same bus stop as the buses from and to Takayama/Kanazawa. You could also walk up there which might take long, but it was closed when I was there and might be genereally closed in winter as it's too dangerous to walk up!!
Absolutely beautiful!!! They also will take a photo of you with your own camera .... and their camera! If you like the photo they took of you, you can buy it. Usually I don't (that's quite common at many tourist spots), but I really liked the photo this time, so I bought it (1000yen or so
).
I feel sorry for that one house that stands far away from everything else!! XD
Yeah, there's just too much snow, huh? ^^;
I went back down to the bus stop by bus and then you walk across a loooooooooooong bridge to access the rest of the village (pretty much those houses that you can see in the previous photos from far away).
And it's really a small world of its own!! You'll feel like in a fairy tale or something :D Really awesome!
Oh, and of course people live in most of those houses!!! It's not just a tourist attraction!! People actually live in that village!
And just like in Takayama you'll run into "snowmen" every now and then ^-^
Look!! A Christmas tree with icicles as decoration!! JK! XD
So cute!
Uhm ... what's that? A unicorn?
Hey, why so sad?! ;P
Must be a foreigner because of the long nose! XDDD
Of course you can visit the inside of SOME of these houses as well! :)
I went to the Kanda, Wada and Nagase houses.
Third floor, not below the roof, though, there was one more flow. All sorts of tools there!
And the top floor, right under the roof!
Also, nice view from up there :)
Yummie tea that you could drink for free!!! Awesome to warm up again. And because it tasted quite good, I drank two cups ^-^
Interesting shoes, but I bet your feet will still get wet (o_O') ...
This was in the Kanda House. People could sit down and have taken their photo.
Back outside. It's gotten quite cloudy!
And it also was slowly getting dark. Especially because the sun disappeared quite quickly behind those high mountains!
However, it led to quite an interesting atmosphere!
More of those funny shoes! ^-^
Snow falling down from the roof.
And the few "modern" houses in the village need special care! A man removing the snow because it's gotten too heavy.
And then it was time to get my luggage back and take the bus to Kanazawa.
It was time to say goodbye to Shirakawago.
Camera(s) used:
Pentax K-x and Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ5
I arrived in Kanazawa around 6pm, had a nice dinner and went to bed early.
The next day was rainy yet again (I told you I didn't have much luck with the weather this time
) - nevertheless I hope you're looking forward to my next travel entry.
Thanks for reading.
