A MONTH IN JAPAN –TAKAYAMA AND SHIRAKAWA-GO, NOVEMBER 12, 2025

November 12, 2025 – Takayama and Shirakawa-go

In the morning, we bought reserved seats on the bus to our next destination, Shirakawa-go, at the Nohi Bus Company depot next to the Takayama train station.  Our scheduled departure was early afternoon, plenty of time to experience the morning market which sets up along the Miyagawa River and visit Takayama Jinya, a national historic site.

• Miyagawa Morning Market

The market sells handicrafts, fresh local produce, street food, and pickles—the Japanese condiment of choice.  We bought a few apples from this woman, who might have picked them herself that morning. 

• Takayama Jinya

As its tourist brochure states

Takayama Jinya was a branch office of the Edo Bakufu (government) from 1692 to 1868.  It is designated as a national historic site and is the only existing building of its kind in Japan. 

In its time, head officials were sent from Edo (Tokyo) to this prefectural building to perform administrative business for the shogunate (the military government), such as tax collection, arranging public finance, policing, as well as both civil and criminal adjudication.  This official site details the history of the building, how it was used under the Tokagawa shogunate, its construction and reconstruction methods, its museum, and its current status as a national historic site.  The images and video are wonderful.  

To call the Jinya a building is misleading.  It is an extensive complex of structures used for various purposes best shown on this site plan and the model inside the Jinya museum. 

Tip:  You need at least two hours to visit Takayama Jinya, and be prepared to remove your shoes here.  That goes for inside temples and shrines, too, and any building (including accommodations) with tatami mat floor coverings.   Slip-on shoes are a plus and socks are essential in cool weather.  Our feet were freezing by the time we finished the tour.

Here are a few images of the entrance to the Jinya, our first sand garden of the trip, a drainage system to keep snow and rain away from the foundations of the wooden structures, and a musical garden feature.  The video below gives you a good sense of the beauty of the interior garden.

Here are some images of the Jinya interior--administrative hearing room, messengers' waiting room, tea hibachi, ceiling structure, prisoners' room, kitchen, and the warehouse where taxes paid in the form of rice were stored.

These photos are from the on-site museum, which displays officials’ dress, samurai armor, and block prints that hung in administrative offices.

On our way back to the Nori Bus Company Depot, we hurried to buy egg salad sandwiches and drinks at the 7-11, only to find that the arrival time of our bus was delayed by about an hour and a half due to an accident.  This, as we found out, happened on the only road to Shirakawa-go.  We notified OnyadoYuinosho, our next hotel, of the delay.  Another hour or so went by before we were allowed to board the bus; finally, we set off. 

We weren’t on the road for 30 minutes before we came to a complete stop, along with other vehicles, at the turn-off to Shirakawa-go.  Our driver waited for the go-ahead to proceed, which never came; instead we were turned around by the police and headed back to Takayama. 

The Nori Bus Company had no information on when or if we would be permitted to travel to Shirakawa-go that day.  We called OnyadoYuinosho again, this time to say we might or might not show up.  We booked another hotel in Takayama just in case.  No sooner had we booked that than we were told our bus would in fact be cleared to travel within the hour.  My husband ran over to the new Takayama hotel to plead for free cancellation (to which they graciously agreed), while I called OnyadoYuinosho to say we would arrive after all.  Complete flying-by-the-seat-of-your-pants travel!

• Shirakawa-go Onyado Yuinosho

Our hotel, located in  the Hida Mountains of Gifu Province, came with a kaiseki dinner and breakfast, as well as an onsen.  It was a deluxe spa accommodation and one of only two splurges on our trip.  We really didn’t want to miss it, so it was with great relief that we arrived, late but not too late for dinner.

We checked into our 2-bedroom, plus living room with private bath suite 

and put on the pajamas and quilted jackets provided by the hotel.  

There wasn't enough time for a bath in the onsen before dinner, so we explored the hotel, had a drink in the self-service bar, and waited to be called for our first kaiseki of the trip.  The waiting alcove was decorated with beautiful prints and a soft sculpture.   

The soft sculpture (below) is a group of sarubobo dolls.  These are famous in Gifu Prefecture and the name translates as baby monkey.  They are collected for protection, good health, prosperity, and easy childbirth.  They have blank faces so you can project your own thoughts and emotions onto them.

This travelog describes the kind of meal that awaited us:

Kaiseki is a traditional multi-course Japanese dinner made up of dozens of small dishes with different tastes and textures. It is considered the most refined form of washoku (Japanese cuisine), which was designated as an Intangible Cultural Heritage by UNESCO.

With fresh seasonal ingredients and delicious flavor combinations that are carefully selected and beautifully presented to you, Kaiseki is definitely a must-try for anyone visiting Japan. In fact, Japanese cuisines including Kaiseki dishes are said to be a tourist attraction in itself- a destination attraction to Japan. 

This travel magazine adds:

Kaiseki in one of its most simple definitions is the serving of seasonal Japanese flavours, building from light to heavy tastes, presented on an array of beautiful traditional ceramics (often decorated with details of the current season’s flora). 

The range and [number] of dishes you will be served are up to the Chef’s discretion. Generally you will find most Kaiseki’s have anywhere between 8 - 18 little dishes, depending on the season, the amount of produce available and simply the [hotel’s] preference. 

The article goes on to describe the various dishes, with helpful photos, as follows:

•    Sakizuke, the starter appetizer
•    Hassun, the second course, which sets the seasonal theme
•    Mukozuke, sashimi
•    Suimono, a lidded dish, typically of soup
•    Agemono, a tempura of fish and seasonal vegetables
•    Yakimono, a flame-grilled fish or meat
•    Takiawase, separately simmered vegetables
•    Suzakana, a vinegared palate cleanser
•    Nabemono, hot pot of fish or meat
•    Wanmono, another lidded dish served between the mains
•    Shiizakana, another hot pot dish signaling the kaiseki is coming to a close
•    Naka Choko, another palate cleanser, typically a light, acidic soup
•    Mishimono, a steamed dish, often a custard filled with seasonal vegetables
•    Shokuji Gohan, a rice dish with pickled vegetables
•    Mizumono, a seasonal dessert specialty such as fruits, sweets, and/or ice cream

I’m really not sure how many courses we had--maybe only (only!) eight.  It’s hard to say, based on the kanji menu (below) and the way the food was served.  I do know we had the option of choosing our main courses-- I had soba noodles and my husband had raw whelk.  

Here are photos of what we ate that night.

Our  extremely enthusiastic and energetic waiter, who spoke excellent English, explained what he set before us, but it was such a whirlwind of a meal, that I honestly can't say what exactly we ate, nor can I identify the food with certainty even now.

One thing I do clearly recall, however, is our waiter's explanation that this shiny black stuff (below) was fermented squid guts.  Actually quite good, a little grainy, and not too chewy, sort of like salty licorice.

We were among the last guests to finish dinner and, although it was late, we were looking forward to using the onsen before going to bed.  However, capping off a day of minor setbacks and stressful turnarounds, I misread the sign announcing the onsen’s hours - I thought it said the onsen closed at 10 pm, but it actually said it opened at 10 am - and so we missed this lovely indoor/outdoor pool.

You can’t win ‘em all.  And tomorrow is always another day.

Keep it real!

Marilyn