Wandering Around: Takayama, Japan
A Photo Essay
Text and Photos by John Penisten
Takayama, a small rural town nestled amidst the Japan Alps mountains of west central Honshu Island in Gifu Prefecture, has a history dating back hundreds of years. The town was a supplier of timber and wood crafts to the feudal shogunate from the late 17th century to the late 19th century. It’s remote location allowed the town to survive with a traditional look and feel that earned it the nickname “Little Kyoto,” after Japan’s old imperial capital.
The old town areas of Sannomachi and Ninomachi just east of the train station have narrow streets and lanes lined with antiquated but well-preserved small shops, eateries, museums, inns, tea and sake brewing houses, as well as merchants homes.
Visitors are delighted to find so much to see and experience in Takayama. It is easy to wander around the town on foot as the central old town area is mostly flat and easy to negotiate.
The old town area boasts attractions like the dual morning markets on the east bank of the Miyagawa River and Jinya-mae Market at Takeyama Jinya old government offices. Vendors and local artisans sell local produce, flowers, specialty foods, and handcrafts. There are several sake breweries in the old town area that produce the highly valued local liquor.
Takayama is also noted for its spring and autumn festival celebrations. The spring Sanno Matsuri and autumn Yahata Matsuri feature elaborate and colorful floats (yatai), parades and related cultural events. The Takayama Yatai Kaikan museum displays four floats from the early 19th century and information and displays on the history of the dual annual festival.
Just outside of town is the Hida Minzoku Mura Folklore Village, an open-air museum of old thatched-roof farmhouses and numerous other traditional styled buildings that have been relocated to the museum grounds. The museum gives a realistic glimpse of rural life in early Japan.
Takayama is among the best places in Japan to discover traditional arts and crafts, history and culture, architecture, local cuisine from ramen noodles to succulent Hida beef, and so much more. Takayama is perfect for a leisurely discovery of a town still clinging to its traditional roots.
For more information on travel to Japan and Takayama see:
https://www.japan.travel/en/us
Other Japan stories:
Finding Winter Fun in Japan’s Far North | by John Penisten | BATW Travel Stories|Feb, 2024| Medium
Kyoto, Japan: On the Trail of Temples | by John Penisten | Hawai’i TraveLog | June, 2023| Medium
Sumo : Japan’s Revered Ancient Sport | by John Penisten | BATW Travel Stories | Jan, 2023|Medium
About the Writer
John Penisten is a photojournalist and longtime resident of Hilo on the Big Island of Hawai’i. He has authored the guidebooks Hawai’i the Big Island, Kaua’i the Garden Island, Adventure Guide to Hawai’i, and Experience the Big Island: The Road to Adventure. His personal adventure book Green Hills and Blue Lagoons: A Peace Corps Memoir covers his travels and experiences as a U.S. Peace Corps Volunteer in the Fiji Islands, South Pacific. His travel stories and photos have appeared in a variety of print and online publications.
