Our final major stop on our honeymoon in Japan was the city of Takayama. We really enjoyed our two nights here, with the pretty mountain backdrop and the city’s charming old town.
Getting to Takayama from Kanazawa was easy: we were able to book a bus from Kanazawa that included a stop at Shirakawa-go.
Since this was our last stop on our trip, we decided to splurge again and stay at a fancy ryokan. We picked the Takayama Kanko, located on a hill above town. Our traditional room came with a nice balcony overlooking the city below.
As part of renting the room, we got to reserve a session in a private onsen once per night. The first night we chose one of the indoor onsen, and the second night we got an outdoor onsen located on the roof of the hotel. Both were quite pleasant and romantic.
Our room also included a traditional breakfast each morning. We went to the dining room (in our yukata) and were treated to a multiple course meal plus access to a buffet. The first day the main dish was meat in a miso sauce cooked on a large leaf on our table.
As we walked into town the first night, we discovered that our visit coincided with the Tanabata Festival. This festival, also known as the Star Festival, celebrates the alignment of two stars that only meet once a year (symbolizing the meeting of two deities). All along the streets of old town were bamboo trees and branches on which strips of paper with wishes written on them were hung.
As part of the festival, one of the main street was filled with food stalls and entertainment for the local families. The first night we both got stir fried noodles and a Sapporo beer. The second night Eric stood in a long line to get takoyaki, deep fried balls of dough with octopus. It was fascinating to watch the owners of the stall quickly make the balls the satisfy the high demand.
We only had one day to spend in Takayama, so we focused our visit on the old town.
Our favorite attraction was the Takayama Jinya, an old government building dating from the 17th century that has been turned into a museum. We ended up going by twice. When we first went by in the morning, we found out there was no English tour until the afternoon. However, the very pleasant worker informed us that there was a concert of koto, the Japanese harp. We sat in one of the tatami mat rooms and listened to women both young and old play a recital.
When we returned later for our tour, we were happy to see that the friendly woman was the guide. She did a great job of showing us the different rooms in the complex and explaining how they were used when the building served as government offices.
We took a break from sightseeing in the middle of the afternoon to sample a local specialty: sake! There are a good number of sake breweries in town, all identifiable by sugidama (balls made of cedar branches) hanging over the entrance. Through some research, we decided to visit the Harada Sake Brewery (found on Sanmachi Street). Here we were able to pay 200 yen (about 2 dollars) each for the ability to sample one taste from each of the 14 bottles in a cooler. It was interesting to taste the different types, which were labeled dry, fruity or moderate. There was also one unfiltered variety. Best of all, we got to keep our sake cup as a souvenir!
We also took a lunch break at a small restaurant where we both were able to sample the local Hida beef (specialty beef similar to Kobe beef) – Eric over soba and Della over udon.
Our only other attraction we visited was the Takayama Museum of History and Art, a free museum about the city. The various exhibits were housed in old, renovated storehouses. There were not too many English signs but a provided guidebook told us the highlights of the rooms. The rooms covered some of the history of the city and its rulers, plus some of the customs and social groups.
Overall, we really enjoyed our time in Takayama. We would definitely recommend adding it to your Japan itinerary. It is a sister city to Denver, so hopefully we can take advantage of that connection and return again soon!
Globe Gazers 
I remember liking Takayama. Sounded like a great place to stay. You didn’t say enough about the sake and which you like dbest