JAPAN WINTER 2017: NAGOYA, TAKAYAMA, KANAZAWA
First part of my
Japan winter trip -> HERE
Continuing my Japan
winter travel series and this time I am taking you to tour more of what Nagoya,
Takayama and Kanazawa have in store and the flow of the blog post will follow
the itinerary set for us, but one thing for sure, Japan is still my favorite
country on earth because there are so many places, regions, districts even
neighborhood to explore and the cities & regions that I went (Nagoya,
Takayama and Kanazawa) were probably the most perfect to go during Winter, when
I close my eyes and think about the trip I still vividly remember how cold the
days were, which one was the coldest, each places that I went to, the friends
and everything!
If
I previously blogged about Gifu and Shirakawa-go, since we didn't
stay overnight in Shirakawa-go we then continued our trip to Best Western Hotel
in Takayama and stayed overnight there, a comfortable hotel that I'd love to
recommend staying at while you're in Takayama, the plus point of staying here is
the fact that it's located close to Takayama Old Town where I went to the next
morning. Anyway took this picture of snowy bike on our way to the nearest 711 to
shop for Japanese snacks, probably the first (and only) time where I struggled
taking a picture of a bike because I forgot my gloves and it was NO JOKE
freezing! My fingers were literally hurting and almost numb!
Morning routine: started my days in Japan with soy-latte
just because, well good coffee! It was freezing most of the times but because I
am a cold-coffee person, ICE ICE BABY!
I
remember that morning Takayama was showered and packed with thick snow and it
was such a beautiful moment as it was the first time that I woke up in a
surrounding that white and to be completely frank, Takayama was my favorite
destination among the main three that we visited and you guys definitely have to
pay a visit here next time you have a chance to go here (amen!)
Takayama Old Town
was literally a 5-minute bus ride from the Best Western Hotel and it's a
beautiful preserved little town which is now occupied more as a tourist
destination, during the 17th-19th century, it was the residence of the shoguns
and samurais during the Edo period. The town itself now consists of houses
(where locals live in), shops, restaurants and preserved houses! We were here
for around 2 hours and that morning the snow was falling pretty hard so we
(especially me and Anaz) didn't took this chance for granted
so we did major browsing and picture taking. I have a lot of decent pictures to
show you guys I hope you like them!
TAKAYAMA
JINYA
You
know those moments when you're abroad and suddenly you're more keen on learning
other country's historical background and that's exactly what I felt when I am
travelling. I know it sounds very sad but I can't lie that I did feel that way a
little, but I surely know a lot about the history of my own country (well at
least the main highlights) try me.
The
first stop that morning in Takayama Old Town was the Takayama Jinya which
previously was functioned as governmental office during the Edo's period, during
the 17th-19th century, Takayama was highly controlled and dictated by Shogun or
back then, pretty much align with president/prime minister on recent's modern
era government. The tour guide explained to us that back then the governmental
procedure was nothing like the current, Shogun had such big power in leadership
and at times the punishment for mistakes could be pretty cruel, especially
during winter times. Won't exactly give you details of that because I demand
positivity on my blog (and you can always google further if you want).
TIPS: because
visitors are not allowed to enter with their own shoes and needed to use these
slippers they provided, during the peak winter days I suggest wearing thick
socks and I mean it. I kept on forgetting little details (and ones that I didn't
know first hand) and that day I was wearing thin socks and my feet were FREEZING
even being inside Takayama Jinya was technically indoor. Please
also BRING YOUR GLOVES AND SCARFS WITH
YOU! Each of us might deal with cold differently but to prepare
won't ever hurt.
From
Takayama Jinya the tour guide then gave us 45 minutes of free time to browse
Takayama Old Town, and free time means picture hunting time for me and Anaz!
Pictures of me here were shot by Anaz and pictures of her and Sierin were taken
by me.
Anytime calls for
ice cream time! Even at freezing days like that! Found this random ice cream
shop in Takayama Old Town before making our way back to the bus, and as
expected: GOOD.
ENROUTE
KANAZAWA
The
ice cream was seriously GOOD, you know that I might not be the biggest fan of
milk ice creams but theirs was absolutely thick, creamy, yes milky but in the
most delicious way and didn't overpower my palate! I got tons of questions
regarding the taste of the gold, well honey the gold was tasteless, it was there
as an eye-candy and that extra spark but didn't do much on the flavor.
KENROKU-EN
GARDEN
It
was around 4 PM when we're done from Hakuichi and the guide actually gave us a
free time to explore the neighborhood but all of us were too excited for
Kenroku-en Garden (and it's just a few more hours from the dawn) so we skipped
and proceed to Kenroku-en which was located just 10 minutes away from where
Hakuichi is.
Somewhere in
Kenroku-en which offers terrific view of Kanazawa, the snow finally stopped to
fall during our visit here and it was just the moment before golden-hour where
the sun shined bright giving a little warmth to the surrounding.
21ST CENTURY
MUSEUM OF COMTEMPORARY ART
Our
final stop before checking in to our hotel in Kanazawa was the 21st Century
Museum of Comtemporary Art which was gorgeously designed by Japanese architects
Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishiwara from SANAA back in 2004! Ok I gotta be
completely frank here I may not know much about museums nor it's something that
I usually go on my trips, but this one was a fine exception! The museum was
seriously nicely built and the arrangement was so convenient that exploring the
whole museum and rooms inside were like bliss.
Ended the night having Japanese set dinner, went back to
the hotel and sleep! Oh, even though the hotel rooms are equipped with AC but
never I once turn on the AC because it was super cold already, all that I did
was just open the window!
The next morning we visited the Omicho traditional fish
market to check out the fresh seafood there and unexpectedly had sushi &
sashimi breakfast at this little stall that looked legit to us! Craving for cray
good uni and otoro and we successfully fulfilled the craving without having to
spend much, the price range for the uni and otoro ranges between 500-3000 yen
depending on the size and quality, get the 1000 yen one it's pretty good
already!
The bus ride from Kanazawa to Nagoya took approximately three hours, I took a short power nap on the road and the road back was slightly different, it was the warmest, the sun is finally out!
As we reached the city of Nagoya that day the less I saw
snow covering the mountains
TOYOTA
COMMEMORATIVE MUSEUM OF INDUSTRY AND TECHNOLOGY
The
trip to Toyota Commemorative Museum was like a trip back to witness Toyota's
success from the beginning of their career to a giant that they are now, and I
really thought I was going to see mainly vintage cars and spareparts, yes but
that's not the initial idea! Now trivia for those who are not aware: Toyota is a
company owned by Sakichi Toyoda and his son, Kiichiro Toyoda and actually
started as a textile company and slowly evolved and expanded their business as
one of the most successful automobile producers that they are now. The museum
showcased the company's journey in such impressive details and arrangement, I
really think when it comes to museum, arrangement is everything, not everyone is
a museum person like me, but my visits to these Japanese museums were wicked
simply because their thoughtful arrangement and well-preserved content. I just
can't deny that Japanese people are seriously NEAT!
When
in Nagoya, don't miss its local
delicacy: HITSUMABUSHI aka grilled eel on rice!
SUPER DUPER LOVING THIS ONE!!! Probably my favorite meal among this trip! The
way to enjoy hitsumabushi is to 'cut' the portion into four parts, carefully
have it part by part and when you start getting into the third slice, pair it
with the clear soup prepared for you in the serving and I suggest adding a
little wasabi for that extra kick! The Kabayaki-ed grilled eel was certainly the
highlight of this dish, such interesting flavor play of mainly sweet and savory!
Forgot the name of the restaurant but there are a lot of Hitsumabushi
specialists here in Nagoya.
Nagoya Castle was our last 'touristy' destination in this trip before saying goodbye to Japan and head back to Jakarta the next day! I don't know why some people sort of 'correcting' me and insist on telling me that this was Osaka Castle, major lol I was the one who went and this is ABSOLUTELY Nagoya Castle! I didn't even go to Osaka so why the force? The castle was once the home to Tokugawa-Owari family for 17 generations, unfortunately it was burned down decades ago and this was actually the replica of the castle.
Accidentally met a
real Japanese samurai!
If
you notice in this entry I refer to 'the guide' and special shout out to the
funniest, friendliest, most helpful guide who hang with us and took good care of
us throughout the trip: AKIKO-san!!! She is seriously THE BEST!!! If you need a
guide please-please give her a call I'll look for her contact and put it
here!
My
goodness that's a lot of pictures to edit and so much to write, but writing this
entry brings back the good memories back in Japan. I still remember exactly how
cold it was, we were freezing the whole time, especially during the night where
the wind could needle-stung us, but above it all, there was TONS OF FUN!
Special thanks to
JNTO and Cathay Pacific for one of the best trips ever!!!
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