Takayama Arrival
April 7, 2008
Train ride to Takayama.
If you are planning to take a long train ride in Japan, make sure to grab a bento box or snack at the train station before your voyage. It's perfectly fine to eat on trains in Japan, and almost everyone brings some sort of food. In contrast to a lot of places, the food you can find at train stations in Japan is actually not too bad.
Train ride to Takayama.
We stayed at a traditional Japanese inn, or "Ryokan." These differ from western hotels in that the rooms have bamboo floors, and you sleep on padded matresses on the floor. They also usually include dinner, which is served to you in your room. Originally we booked a cheap room in the hotel, but thanks to Lisa's mom they gave us a free upgrade to nicer accommodations and a fancier dinner. Our room was very nice and comfortable, and dinner was fantastic. We were served 4-5 courses of delicious food, including lots of seasonal vegetables (fern, anyone?) and sashimi. I had my first taste of raw shrimp here, an experience which wasn't as dreadful as I had anticipated. In fact, raw shrimp tastes a lot like cooked shrimp, and the rubbery texture is still there.
The only thing that made me slightly uncomfortable about dinner was the fact that our hostess/waitress would always bend down to her knees before leaving or entering the room. Given that we had multiple courses and she was entering and leaving the room quite frequently, this seemed a bit unnecessary. I understand the traditional aspect of it, but it felt a bit odd to see someone strain themselves over something that really didn't make any difference at all to me!
|
|
|||
|
|
Create a free TravBuddy account or login to leave comments, meet travelers, and share experiences with the TravBuddy travel community.
Train ride to Takayama.
Train ride to Takayama.
Train ride to Takayama. Cherry b…
Train ride to Takayama. Lisa loo…
Cat statue in Takayama.
Interesting building in Takayama.
Takayama golden bridge.
Takayama golden bridge, view fro…
Me on the golden bridge.
Street with old style houses.
Street with old style houses.
Street with old style houses, wa…
Cool looking clock from one of t…
Making rice cakes.
Lisa likes rice cakes.
Our ryokan (traditional japanese…
The Ryokan, doors open.
Comfortable Ryokan, traditional luxury
This was my first experience staying in a "ryokan", or traditional Japanese inn. The first thing most westerners will notice upon entering the main room is that there is no bed. Instead, you will see a bamboo floor with a small table. Dinner is served in your room upon that table, and mattresses are brought out and laid upon the floor afterwards.
Dinner was quite an experience, and we had over four courses brought in to our table. Each course was very good, with fresh, seasonal vegetables and tasty sashimi. It was here that I had my first taste of raw shrimp, which, despite my facial reaction in the photos below, tasted remarkably similar to cooked shrimp. My only complaint here is that dinner took forever to serve. Not necessarily because of poor service, but just because there were so many courses. I think it took 2.5-3hrs to finish dinner. If you get tired easily, your patience may start wearing thin towards the end.
Sleeping on the bamboo floor was actually quite comfortable, as the mattresses are well-padded.
For breakfast you will have the option of a traditional Japanese breakfast vs. a western breakfast. I would recommend selecting the traditional Japanese breakfast, just for the experience. It might seem a bit unusual to eat fish, rice, and vegetables for breakfast, but it's actually quite tasty and healthy.
There are also a few hot springs here. I only frequented the hot spring next to the main hotel lobby, but it was comfortable, clean, and relatively deserted. I went to the hot springs maybe 3-4 times, and only one time did I see anyone else there. For those unfamiliar with hot springs, like I was, these tips may come in handy:
1) Go down to the hot springs in your robe/kimono
2) Put your clothes in a "locker" basket and exit the "locker" room
3) Shower and clean yourself at the showers located next to the hot springs before you go into the pool. For extra excitement, try the black shampoo and conditioner.
4) Enjoy the hotsprings while being careful not to pass out from the extreme heat.
Disclaimer: We initially reserved the cheapest option at this hotel, but they upgraded us to a nicer room for free. I'm not sure how much this room would have cost otherwise, but it was very nice! The room and dinner were almost certainly better than what we would have paid for otherwise, and it may be worth seeing if they are amenable to a free upgrade if it seems like the hotel isn't too busy.
Dinner was quite an experience, and we had over four courses brought in to our table. Each course was very good, with fresh, seasonal vegetables and tasty sashimi. It was here that I had my first taste of raw shrimp, which, despite my facial reaction in the photos below, tasted remarkably similar to cooked shrimp. My only complaint here is that dinner took forever to serve. Not necessarily because of poor service, but just because there were so many courses. I think it took 2.5-3hrs to finish dinner. If you get tired easily, your patience may start wearing thin towards the end.
Sleeping on the bamboo floor was actually quite comfortable, as the mattresses are well-padded.
For breakfast you will have the option of a traditional Japanese breakfast vs. a western breakfast. I would recommend selecting the traditional Japanese breakfast, just for the experience. It might seem a bit unusual to eat fish, rice, and vegetables for breakfast, but it's actually quite tasty and healthy.
There are also a few hot springs here. I only frequented the hot spring next to the main hotel lobby, but it was comfortable, clean, and relatively deserted. I went to the hot springs maybe 3-4 times, and only one time did I see anyone else there. For those unfamiliar with hot springs, like I was, these tips may come in handy:
1) Go down to the hot springs in your robe/kimono
2) Put your clothes in a "locker" basket and exit the "locker" room
3) Shower and clean yourself at the showers located next to the hot springs before you go into the pool. For extra excitement, try the black shampoo and conditioner.
4) Enjoy the hotsprings while being careful not to pass out from the extreme heat.
Disclaimer: We initially reserved the cheapest option at this hotel, but they upgraded us to a nicer room for free. I'm not sure how much this room would have cost otherwise, but it was very nice! The room and dinner were almost certainly better than what we would have paid for otherwise, and it may be worth seeing if they are amenable to a free upgrade if it seems like the hotel isn't too busy.
