We went to the Miyagawa Morning Market right across the bridge from the ryokan. Love that sarubobo (that cute red figure! ) The market was quite quiet, probably because most people were soaking in hot baths and or eating breakfast.
There are all sorts of things at this market, but the star was an award winning pudding that RJ bought. It was really good according to RJ the pudding connoisseur.
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| Would you have guessed it's a WC? |
We walked so slowly that we were 20min late for breakfast. Haha, when we reached, the futons were cleared and breakfast was waiting for us.
I was busy eating so not many pictures but again a healthy hearty meal with local specialities. The hoba miso.. Was so gooooodddd. I could just eat it with rice and rice only.
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| You Rice Best Friend |
There were buses going to several places, Nagoya, Shin Hotaka, Tokyo, Osaka etc. This is a map from thr very useful Nohi Bus website.
I thought it would be good to explore bus options when we travel lighter in the future. So anyway on the bus we went towards Shirakawago! Shirakawago was declared a UNESCO world heritage site in 1995 and is famous for its traditional gassho-zukuri farmhouses, some of which are more than 250 years old. The steep thatched roofs of the farmhouses are designed to withstand heavy snowfall, and the whole place so pretty in winter time!!
I came across a picture of Shirakawago in winter time while researching and had to visit. Snow was almost non existent in March but landscapes along the way were beautiful. The bus will bring us to Ogimachi, the largest village in Shirakawago.
When we reached and got off the bus, we were stunned by the wind. It was super cold omg. But it got much warmer pretty soon, with the sun shining brightly.
You know, I really love ice cream in cold weather, but i decided on something hot to warm hands. So I got the beef bun, very beefy.
There was a couple who seemed quite into photography in front of us and they were taking multiple shots just ahead. So i followed suit and the pic turned out well! They were also nice to help us take a picture together hehe.
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| Snow capped!! |
We didn't have much time in Ogimachi, which is one of my biggest regret for this trip. But we went up Shiroyama viewpoint
We returned to Takayama at about 1.15pm and with some time to spare, decided to visit the rice cracker facility - Yume Kojo Hida to grill our own rice cracker. (the white signboard with red words) on the left)
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| Row of grill stoves/ovens |
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| Demonstration by staff |
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| My finished products! |
Grilling our own rice crackers was a fun experience and I was glad we did it. Haha, RJ and I kept joking about how we could settle down as rice cracker grillers or farmers in the area.
We then rushed back to the ryokan which was across the bridge to collect our bags before we set off for the train station.
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| Bye bye Takayama |
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| Cutest window display of festivities |
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| Mr & Mrs Ryokan who made our stay lovely |
I had bought a sampler pack of the goodies from the area earlier and really liked one of them, an apple flavoured crisp. So decided to purchase it from the souvenir shops before boarding the train. The dark one with the red sarubobo was yummy too, almond caramel crisp. Sampler packs are great!
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| Meal on the train |
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| Setting sun |
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| Tokyo station at 8.15pm |
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| Amazed by the giant vending machines |
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| Was amused by the apt description of Takayama on the paper bag |
Japan Day 10 - Tokyo Ikekuburo Sunshine City Tokyu Hands Ringo Apple Pies
