Takayama, Gifu, Japan (February 2025)

After visiting Shirakawa-go, we checked in at a hotel in Takayama, a small city in Gifu Prefecture, with a population of approximately 80,000 inhabitants. This area is famous for Hida Beef so we went to a Hida Beef BBQ place for dinner.

The following day began with a visit to Takayama's Morning Market. The scale is small but it was fun to walk around watching people eat snacks for their breakfast. 

The Morning Market is stretched along the Miyagawa River. 

We visited Sakurayama Hachimangu Shrine which is an important place for many Shintoism believers.

Takayama is famed for its biannual Takayama Festival, going back to at least the mid-1600s, celebrating spring and fall with parades featuring ornate, gilded floats and puppet shows. In this festival, a total of 11 floats are showcased and four of them were on display at the Exhibit Hall. They were quite tall and well-decorated.

We also visited a museum where Takayama's famed wooden carving skills are exhibited. 

We were given some free time to stroll around the town. We took photos at the Nakabashi Bridge well known for its vivid red color. 

As we walked along, we found many antiques at the stores. One of the famous foods in Takayama is Hida Beef Sushi. Many people were eating on the street, but I did not have the guts to try it. 

Odynovo Travel Agency, which organized our private group tour, treated us with an Izakaya Dinner for several mistakes that they made. 

As we were checking out of the hotel, I saw a decoration in the hotel lobby, which represented wooden products.

In Takayama, we could easily feel that time stopped. It is a cute and nostalgic city. - Jeffrey