Travel: When in Japan, slow down in Takayama

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.It was 2-3 hours into my bus journey from Tokyo to Takayama when I opened my eyes and looked out of the window. The landscape had changed. The tall buildings of the city were nowhere to be seen and instead the bus was slowly driving past hills packed with alpine cedar, the trees covered in fresh snow.

I could see snowflakes floating in the air before settling on the branches. For the next couple of hours, the bus drove past alpine lakes, thin streams, tunnels and snow-covered hills. In five and a half hours, we were away from the chaos of the city and in the lap of the Japanese Alps.Takayama is a quiet, preserved city in the Hida region of the Gifu Prefecture.

During the Edo period (1601-1868, the period under the rule of Tokugawa Shogunate), Takayama was a major trade centre and had a thriving merchant community because of its rich timber resources. Takayama translates to “tall mountain”, and at 3,190 metres, Mount Hotakadake is the highest point in the region. The Miyagawa river flows through the heart of Takayama, and the town is alive with bustling markets and shopping streets around it.

It is breathtaking throughout the year—covered in snow during winters, cherry blossoms in spring, and trees brushed with colour through summer and autumn.Takayama hosts two asaichis or traditional markets that operate daily from morning till noon: Miyagawa Market on the banks of the river, and the Jinya-mae market in front of Takayama Jinya, an old government office now converted into a museum. They are 100 years old and are one of the country’s three major morning markets. Every day, local producers, farmers and artisans set up shops selling fresh vegetables and fruits, sticky rice, traditional