Solo Trip Nagoya (August 2023) - Takayama

Continuing on from previous post, we drove on and finally arrived at the famous town on Takayama. It was an old town with picturesque streets and wooden houses. Above, a trishaw and a bonsai looking tree in front of the fame wooden houses, somewhere at the end of the town across the red bridge....

So how the tour works is, we were all given a map of the place, and the map was marked with where we were recommended to go. Can you imagine, that even with a map ppl got lost? I took a photo of the map so that I can refer to it on my phone instead of opening up the map on the streets. 

The tour bus parked behind a temple at one end of the street, and we were left to wonder the town of Takayama on our own and told to be back at a set timing. I think we were only given 2 hours! I guess that was the thing about joining a tour, you can't really explore a place as much as you want. Everything is just a touch and go experience. I can say I've been to Takayama. But I can't say I know much about it, unlike the other places I've been on my own where I can be lost in a town exploring all it's hidden alleys.

While walking out of the carpark towards the town, I saw these writings on the wall and though they were pretty with encouraging wordings. So I took a souvenir shot of it. At this stage, I can more or less read most of the characters and can guess what they say. Reading books I can read do actually help me improve my Japanese, and especially slangs and vocabulary!

Above a scene of a typical Takayama street. Actually it was only one street that looked like that.... It was a small town, with many shops. 2 hours couldn't do it any justice at all. It was more like a preview for you to decide whether you wanted to come back and get to know the town better. At least, that was what I thought.  I mean, how many shops can you visit and really enjoy yourself in 2 hours??? Sure you can shop and buy all the items, but to sit down for a cup of sake? A cup of tea? Or some traditional desserts? 

I did manage to find these adorable dolls all over Takayama. Above is the Hello Kitty version with explanation. 

A long time ago, my very first manager in my first workplace actually went to Takayama for a holiday and gave me a small red doll like the one above. I call it 小鬼 or "little ghost" cause the doll has no face. I hang it on my bag and it went everywhere with me. I often touch it whenever I am bored or anxious. It was kind of a coping thing for me. But one day, 小鬼 decided to run away. I miss it, and have never forgot it. So I was very much looking to get a replacement here when I saw it. But try as I might, I could find the same material as the original one I had.  I did get myself a replacement in the next town though. And the new 小鬼 now sits next to my bed every night. I don't bring it out anymore cause I don't want to lose it again, cause Takayama is very far and expensive to get to again! Lol.

After finishing exploring the famous streets (I will show more of it in the next post), I wondered to the edge of town and found a local market. But it was quite late by then, so most of the shops were closing up :(  But the view of the river nearby was beautiful! Below is a shot of it.