We were up a little earlier than planned in the old Matsumoto home, because ... chickens! Up at dawn and making quite a racket right outside our bedroom. The day started on their schedule. Our hosts fed us very well one last time, and then we were off with our things to visit the main attraction in town, the black castle.
After some lunch, we are off on a journey into the Japanese Alps. Final destination: Takayama! We started on a regional train, but this trip would be mostly on the bus, winding through beautiful mountain roads.
We touched down in Takayama at dusk. Our Airbnb was a wonderful traditional home, updated with modern amenities. We would be there for three days and it was our favorite home that we stayed at it in Japan.
Takayama was wonderful from the start. It is a very affluent, small city, with gorgeous temples and a core urban area that is vibrant and walkable. For small city nestled in a mountain valley, it had more depth and was more vibrant than I had expected. You clearly see many centuries of built up architecture and artistic history, as well as a pretty hopping night time scene. The people were very welcoming, and it had a pace several notches more relaxed than Tokyo, or even Kyoto and Osaka. I also noticed that the humidity was much less intense. We had been lucky so far on our trip, with the June heat seldom getting into the mid 80's, but even the high 70's could feel a bit intense with the glaring sun and constant humidity. In Takayama, five degrees of heat disappeared and the humidity calmed down quite a bit. Super comfortable ...
Once we settled our things into the Airbnb, it was off to dinner. We were in luck - we scored counter seating at Sakurajaya, an amazing local spot with a high profile chef who makes everything himself.
