Japan (Lonely Planet, 11th Edition) - Chris Rowthorn [197]
Local pottery styles include the rustic Yamada-yaki and the decorative Shibukusa-yaki styles.
Takayama’s most ubiquitous souvenirs are saru-bobo (monkey babies), dolls of red cloth dressed in blue fabric, with pointy limbs and featureless faces, recalling the days when obāsan (grandmas) in this once-impoverished town fashioned dolls for kids out of readily available materials.
Getting There & Away
From Tokyo or Kansai, Takayama is most efficiently reached via Nagoya on the JR Takayama line (Hida tokkyū, ¥5670, 2¼ hours); the mountainous train ride along the Hida-gawa is gorge-ous. The same train continues to Toyama (¥3480, 90 minutes), with connections to Kanazawa (additional ¥2050, 40 minutes).
Highway buses (32-1688; www.nouhibus.co.jp/english) connect Takayama and Tokyo’s Shinjuku (¥6500, 5½ hours, several daily, reservations required). Takayama’s bus station is adjacent to the train station. Many roads in this region close during winter, so bus schedules vary seasonally and buses don’t run at all in winter on some routes. Check with tourist offices for details.
For trips to Shirakawa-gō and the Japan Alps National Park, Click here and Click here, respectively.
You’ll find Eki Rent-a-Car System (33-3522), Toyota Rent-a-Car (36-6110) and Mazda Rent-a-Car (36-1515) all near the station.
Getting Around
Most sights in Takayama except Hida-no-Sato can be covered easily on foot. You can amble from the train station across to Teramachi in about 20 minutes.
Takayama is bicycle-friendly. Some lodgings lend cycles, or you can hire one (per hour/same day about ¥300/1300) from Eki Rent-a-Car System (above); the convenience store Daily Yamazaki (34-1183), next to the train station; or Hara Cycle (32-1657; Kokubun-ji-dōri).
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HIDA-FURUKAWA
0577 / pop 16,000
Just 15 minutes by train from Takayama, Hida-Furukawa is a relaxing riverside town with photogenic streetscapes, peaceful temples and interesting museums, all framed against mountains. It’s also famous for Hadaka Matsuri (known as Naked Festival – woo hoo!), held each April.
Orientation & Information
Hida-Furukawa train and bus stations adjoin each other east of the town centre. Sights are within 10 minutes’ walk. There’s an information office (; 73-3180; 8.30am-5pm) at the bus station, dispensing the English Hida Furukawa Stroll Map, which is sufficient for most visitors. No English is spoken, though Takayama’s tourist information office Click here can help.
Sights
From the train station, walk right (north) two blocks and turn left towards the historic canal district Setokawa to Shirakabe-dōzō (, Seto River and White Wall Clay Storehouse Quarter), one of the region’s prettiest strolls. Its handsome streets boast white- and dark-wood-walled shops, storehouses and private homes. Carp-filled waterways course through the district. You can buy fish food for ¥50.
Along the way, Hida Furukawa Matsuri Kaikan (; Festival Exhibition Hall; 73-3511; adult/child/high-school student ¥800/400/700; 9am-5pm Mar-Nov, to 4.30pm Dec-Feb) shows Furukawa’s festival in all its glory. You can don 3-D glasses to watch a video of the festivities (with free English narration via iPod), see three of the yatai that are paraded through the streets, and watch a karakuri show. You can also try manipulating karakuri like those used on the yatai, and watch craftsmen demonstrating kirie (paper cut-outs) or ittobori. Drums used in the festival are on view in the barnlike structure diagonally to the left as you exit the exhibition hall.
Across the square, Takumi-Bunkakan (; Hida Craft Museum; 73-3321; adult/child ¥300/100; 9am-4.45pm Mar-Nov, to 4.30pm Tue-Sun Dec-Feb) is a must for woodworkers, craftspeople and design fans. In a hands-on room, you can try assembling blocks of wood cut into different joint patterns – not as easy as it sounds.
Follow the canal street westward for three blocks, then turn right to reach the riverside Honkō-ji (), an intricately carved temple that showcases Furukawa’s fine craftsmanship. It