Travel Journal 2016

The group checked out Tōkyō today. We already knew the stops though, so we decided to bail early and explore the city ourselves for the rest of the day.

We did check out the Meiji Shrine and Roppongi Hills together, however. For an extra 500¥ we got access to the roof terrace of the Mori Tower this time, where you can take fantastic photos of Tōkyō.

At the Imperial Palace, we finally went our separate ways. We headed to Tōkyō Central Station first, where we bought tickets for our onward journey.

After that, we headed to Odaiba, where a life-size figure of the Gundam battle mech is currently on display. We also visited the Statue of Liberty again. The photo we took here back in 2010 isn’t possible anymore today, because new buildings block the clear view of the old landmark, the Tōkyō Tower.

While wandering around, we spotted a pet shop selling little dogs. The prices left us gobsmacked. One of these little four-legged friends costs up to 400,000¥. Maybe that’s not a bad thing, though, because anyone dropping that much cash on a dog will think really hard about buying it beforehand.

What we missed on our 2010 trip due to booking issues, we made up for this time around. We took the bus for two and a half hours to Nikkō, where we visited the Tōshōgū Shrine and the Taiyu-in Temple.

The buildings of the Tōshōgū Shrine are incredibly grand and colourfully designed. Countless and sometimes really elaborate carvings decorate them.

On a rather unassuming side building, for example, you can find the famous three wise monkeys. The carvings wrap around the whole building and depict the cycle of life. The three monkeys symbolise the mother’s wish that the monkey child will hear, see, and speak no evil in life.

Another carving shows an elephant, which actually looks really weird with its predator eyes and sharp claws. In ancient Japan, people only knew about elephants from the tales of travellers. The appearance was left up to the artist’s imagination.

After a long drive back, we’re now back at the hotel. We’ve just enjoyed a lovely view over Asakusa and the colourfully lit Tōkyō Sky Tree from the roof terrace.

After one last breakfast together, the group headed to the airport. Our own adventure is just beginning, ‘cause from now on we’re travelling solo. We took the Shinkansen down to Nagoya. There we hopped on a Limited Express to Takayama, a little town in the Japanese Alps.

The place has a gorgeous town centre with old wooden houses where you can buy food and all sorts of souvenirs. It’s famous for Hida beef, which foodies reckon tastes at least as good as the world-famous Kobe beef. We enjoyed this top-notch meat in a rather mundane way: as a Wagyū burger, with homemade wedges and iced tea. Delicious!

Our hotel is another traditional Japanese ryokan. The room is simple but comfortably furnished. And of course, we’ll be sleeping on a thin mattress on the tatami floor again this time. We still feel a bit clueless and unsure in ryokans, but here they’re well prepared for foreign visitors. Our hosts gave us a warm welcome, patiently explained everything to us, and politely ignored the odd faux pas we made.

After a comfy night’s sleep, the day kicked off with a Japanese breakfast. It was rainy today, making it the perfect chance to visit a museum.

A bit out of the way, but easy enough to walk to, is the Hida no Sato open-air museum. It features old houses from the Hida region that give you a glimpse into what life was like during the Edo period. A typical feature is the design with a fire pit in the middle of the room and an open ceiling. There’s no chimney. The smoke drifts up through the roof structure, keeping pests away as it goes. The loft spaces weren’t lived in; instead, they were used for breeding silkworms and producing silk. In some of the houses, museum staff sat around in period costumes showing off traditional crafts.

When a sudden downpour caught us off guard, we dashed into a little, secluded hut. A fire was glowing inside, and we sat on the warm tatami mat waiting for the rain to stop. It was so cosy!

To wrap up the trip, we treated ourselves to some Hida beef at a yakiniku restaurant. They serve up various little bits of meat and veg that you cook yourself on a tabletop grill. The wagyu beef is marbled with fine fat, super tender, and incredibly flavourful. Thanks to the high fat content, though, it fills you up pretty quick.

Life in the small town of Takayama is completely different from the hustle and bustle in the big cities we’ve seen so far. People are friendlier and more open, and there’s plenty of space to just chill out and enjoy the scenery. So we wandered around the town aimlessly for a bit before hopping on the reserved express train that took us to our final stop: Nagoya.

The contrast could hardly have been bigger. Nagoya is a typical big city. Loud, densely built-up, not much greenery, a motorway snakes its way right through the city on thick concrete pillars.

The hotel is a contrast too. After the homely ryokan in Takayama, we’re now staying in a comfy but anonymous room in a Western hotel. From there, we’ve got a lovely view of the station and the hotel’s own Wedding Chapel. This reinforced concrete church, a style mix of Gothic and Disneyland, is right in the hotel courtyard. Wedding couples walk down the long open staircase and get their photos taken. The wedding party then heads over to the neighbouring Baroque-style ballroom to celebrate, while the church is already being prepped for the next wedding. An interesting spectacle.

But we’re going to head out again now and hunt down our dinner.