in-all-places: Japan Alps: Takayama, on the way to Shirakawa-go

Hida-Takayama,
our stop-over between Yarimikan/ Shin-Hodaka and Shirakawa-go

Takayama is a beautiful Edo period town at the foothills of the stunning Northern Japan Alps in Gifu Prefecture; to differentiate it from all the other many places with the same name, the city is also commonly referred to as Hida-Takayama.
Takayama means “high mountains” and with Japan being utterly mountainous, you figured that there must be lots of places named Takayama.

Apparently the high altitude together with the long winters with one of the most consistent snowfall in the world kept this area fairly isolated in the past, allowing Takayama to develop and preserve well its own culture and traditional charm: old town, festivals, traditional ryokan inns, famous sake breweries and lots of craft shops. Appropriate for our Japan tour!

The city seems to be quite compact, an place easy to explore and enjoy. Most of the main tourist attractions can be found in the centre of town, within walking distance of the train station. We had a one night stay at this local charming ryokan called Hakuun where we soaked - late evening and again early next morning, in an lovely located onsen (hot spring) and enjoy local delicacies like Hida beef
(the expensive meat from black-haired Japanese cattle from this very Gifu prefecture).

Apart from that, there are many skiing resorts in the Takayama area, which are open during the winter months and the nearby mountains are also popular for sightseeing and trekking.
And the village of Shirakawa-go is just a 50 minute bus ride away, which brings up our next stop on this lovely Japan Alps tour - details here.

Takayama Nakabashi Red Bridge @ all-the-places

Miyagawa river and Nakabashi Red Bridge

The Old Town or Sanno macho is consisting of three rows of buildings and is also referred to as "small Kyoto in Hida" due to its quaint atmosphere. It is awarded three stars in the Michelin Travel Guide.

Old Town, Takayama

The Miya River, or Miyagawa: cutting the old Takayama, the river is spanned by several small bridges including Kajibashi, Yanagibashi, Ikadabashi and the famous red Nakabashi.

“Hida-gyu” (Hida Beef) is the specific name given to beef from a black-haired Japanese cattle breed, that has been raised in Gifu Prefecture for at least 14 months (quote)