BUS FROM TAKAYAMA TO SHIRAKAWAGO

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Day 10: OSAKA - TAKAYAMA - SHIRAKAWAGO - TAKAYAMA

Sunday, December 29, 2013

Ringgggggggg this is the alarm clock at 5 in the morning ???? Yes, today it's time to get up early and leave our room at the New Osaka Hotel Shinsaibashi soon. Today begins another stage of the Trip to Japan, today we enter the Japanese Alps and we will have the opportunity to take the famous bus from Takayama to Shirakawago apart from knowing one of the cities they say is, most beautiful in Japan: Takayama.
A good part of today will be spent on the train Osaka to Takayama, which we booked the other day in Kyoto, with the 14-day JRP.
The first one leaves from Shin Osaka station and will take us to Nagoya at 7.30 a.m., so first we decided to take the same subway yesterday, line 1 that will take us directly to Shin Osaka for 230 yen each and pass from the Loop Line that we still don't know where to locate it 😉
In our short 3 minutes from the hotel in Osaka until the Shinsaibashi station we see the chinks of a night in the form of girls with heels knocking down the subway stairs ... And now we remember that yesterday was Saturday! That's why the center was full!

This is one of the things that happen to us on our trips and that we love… not knowing what day we live in, something that happens to us often whenever we leave home with a suitcase in our hands.
We arrive at Shin Osaka Station 13 minutes later after taking the subway and the first thing we do is look for the platform from where we will take the Hikari shinkansen that will take us to Nagoya and leaves by platform number 25 at 7.30 in the morning.

Hikari from Osak to Nagoya

Osaka Station

We see that we still have a little while and knowing about Japanese punctuality, we take the opportunity to have breakfast at the Starbucks for a couple of cinnamon rolls, a coffee and a cappuccino for 1240 yen.
At this point in the trip we still do not meet western tourists and we are quite upset with this.

Having our usual Cinnamon Rolls breakfast !!

Our shinkansen leaves as it always leaves in an hour and 15 minutes away, after passing through our beloved Kyoto we see that everything starts to be snowy.

Train from Osaka to Nagoya

What a thrill we feel when we see the snowflakes. This is one of the things that we had very clear when we started organizing the trip to Japan, we wanted to reach the area of the Japanese Alps, but we also wanted to see it snowy. And we cannot deny that it would have been a great disappointment not to be able to see this area of Japan with snow.

Snow on the train ride from Osaka to Nagoya

The landscapes are still impressive ...
In just over an hour our shinkansen should leave us in Nagoya at 8.33 in the morning, at platform 15 and we have to leave at 8.43 by number 11 with the express Hide View that will take us directly to Takayama.
This is a panoramic train and we have not been able to reserve a seat because it was complete, so let's see how we organize it 😉

More practical information to prepare your trip to Tokyo
- 10 essential places to visit in Tokyo
- 50 things to see and do in Tokyo
- The 5 best tours and excursions in Tokyo
- 10 essential places to see in Japan
- The best tips for traveling to Japan
- The best travel insurance for Japan
- Where to eat in Tokyo: Recommended restaurants
- Book here your JRP of 7.14 or 21 days with shipping included

But a few minutes before the time indicated as arrival, we see that it is 8.43 and the train Osaka to Takayama He hasn't reached the station yet, so the nerves begin.
In the end we arrive 5 minutes late and we have to run to reach platform 11 that will take us from Osaka to Takayama... And we got it even though we had a good race.
If we get to delay a few more minutes and lose it, we would have had to wait about 3 hours until the next train leaves Osaka to Takayama.
We have to say that although the combination seems difficult, going from Osaka to Takayama, like the rest of train journeys, it is very easy. Not only on the Hyperdia website, as we commented several times, but because everything is very well indicated.
Now we have 132 minutes left in one of the most beautiful train journeys in the world, which they say is that of Osaka to Takayama.

Train from Nagoya to Takayama

This punctualization reminds us of the train journey we made in Sri Lanka, from Ella to Nuwara Eliya and that we enjoyed so much.
For this train journey we don't have a seat because all the reserved places were already there, so even though we should have entered the car without a reservation, we got in and entered another reserved seat.
After several laps around different wagons, in the end we end up in a first class car, in handicapped seats.
At the beginning we look at each moment, waiting for someone to get our attention, but at the moment the reviewer passes by and doesn't say anything to us, we stay calmer and enjoy the hours ahead of us!
The beginning of the path of Osaka to Takayama It is a journey between forests without any snow, something that makes us look at ourselves with a little skepticism, thinking that it is not possible that it has stopped snowing! But just an hour before reaching Takayama, the landscape begins to take white tones, among pine forests, dotted with bamboos and streams ...

First snowflakes on the train from Nagoya to Takayama

Snow on the train from Nagoya to Takayama

We cannot say anything other than the spectacular adjective.

Train from Nagoya to Takayama

Approaching Takayama

We arrived to Takayama At 11.05 in the morning and as soon as we get off we take a map in Spanish of the area in the office that is right in front.
We have pointed out that the bus from Takayama to Shirakawago It leaves at 10.50 in the morning and the next one at 11.52, so as the first one we have already lost it, we decided to book the second one at the station that is right next to it ... bus from Takayama to Shirakawago It hasn't come out yet! It is full of people and when asked the driver, he takes us running to the ticket vending machine and he himself takes us out the tickets for 8400 yen both! Yes, yes ... 8400 yen the round trip bus to Shirakawa-go.

Bus from Takayama to Shirakawa-go

But undoubtedly, this destination is essential in any Trip to Japan To take you through this area and more in winter.
We have a spectacular day and an incredible sun that illuminates, more if possible, the totally snowy landscape.
Come to this area of Japan At this time of the year, it has been a success.
At the beginning we doubt a lot about the many people who had told us that it would possibly not give us time and that we would be very fair, but seeing what we are seeing with the experience, we can say that early in the morning, the time we have managed to lengthen it a lot.
The journey in bus from Takayama to Shirakawago nothing heavy is done, the other way around ... it even becomes short because of the spectacular landscapes that we are going through.
We arrive at the station Shirakawago bus an hour later and the first thing we do is leave the backpacks at a box office, since in Takayama, we couldn't even get to the hotel with the haste to take the bus from Takayama to Shirakawago as soon as possible.

New arrivals after the bus ride from Takayama to Shirakawago

We pay 300 yen and after lightening the weight of the backpacks, we start to see and check that Shirakawa-go It is more than touristy.

Shirakawa-go

We believe that in everything we have been traveling, we have not met more tourists than here in Shirakawa-go.

Bridge to cross to the other area of Shirakawa-go

Shirakawa-go It is a mountainous and remote district between Takayama and Kanakawa, known for its peculiar farms with thatched roofs, called gassho-zukuri, which means hands in prayer, the shape of the roofs of the cases is the same as the hands in pray…

Peculiar forms of Shirakawa-go houses

We began to walk the streets full of snow, waiting for people to start clearing the locations that we have in mind and while we took the opportunity to make some souvenir purchases.

Shirakawa-go

In the 12th century it was said that the isolation of the region attracted members of the Taira clan, which in theory had been exterminated by the Minamoto clan in a bloody battle in 1185.
In the feudal era Shirakawa-goLike the rest of Hida, it was under the direct control of the Kanamori clan, connected with the Tokugawa sogunes, while Gokayama was an important center of gunpowder production for the Kaga region, commanded by the Maeda clan.

Shirakawa-go

The central settlement of the region is Ogimachi. 600 people live in it, in its 110 buildings gasho-zukuri.

Shirakawa-go

We also took the opportunity to eat a couple of skewers of Hida meat and two potatoes with meat plus juice and coke for 1500 yen.

Hida meat skewers stand in Shirakawa-go

Skewers of meat from Hida in Shirakawa-go

Today it's time to charge energy on the street, surrounded by snow on Shirakawa-go.
After this and just beginning to snow, we decided that the time has come to go to the famous Shirakawago viewpoint.

Shirakawa-go Lookout Road

Most points of interest of Shirakawa-go They are in the frequented community of Ogimachi.

Shirakawa-go Images

Shirakawa-go

In the case of Shirakawago, as happens in many places where we have been, the adjectives are plenty and for many words we would like to use to describe what we are seeing, we would never get to transmit it.
We will try to do it with images, but we can assure you that these do not approach the experience of enjoying Shirakawago snowy ...

Photographing Shirakawa-go

Shirakawa-go

And after all the stops we have made taking pictures and admiring everything we have around us, we finally reach the “entrance door” of the Shirakawago viewpoint.

We started climbing towards the Shirakawa-go Viewpoint

I have never done worse in my life! Not even in Pidurangala, in Sri Lanka.

First steps towards the Shirakawa-go Viewpoint

The road to him Shirakawago viewpoint It is on the slope and it is full of snow, so I have slipped 100 times and I have fallen many others.

And we have not yet reached halfway to the Shirakawa-go Lookout!

Pray has endured the promotion much better than me, but holding on to me and pulling so that I didn't fall more times.
But we are not the only ones, we are crossing many people, who like us do not stop falling and slipping.

We begin to have the first views of Shirakawa-go as we ascend to the Mirador

The truth is that we are unconscious. Access to Shirakawago viewpoint It is full of snow and everyone keeps going up and down ...
What makes you want to reach a site at all costs. in this case at Shirakawago viewpoint.

Shirakawa-go in the distance ...

In the end we have not reached the top of everything in the absence of 10 more minutes of ascent, but the thing was complicated because it has started to snow more intensely and we have seen that we had good views from where we were, so we have stopped going up and We have settled for what we have already achieved.

And finally ... Shirakawa-go

Next time we come to Shirakawa-go it will be in another era, then we will surely get to the top!

Enjoying the "almost" Shirakawa-go viewpoint despite the falls!

Shirakawa-go

)

And if climbing has been complicated, lowering has been worse. The way up and down is the same, so if you cross someone you have to move a little between the ice and snow, causing more slips.

And now it's time to go down again! This is the “little road” that we have to go back to Shirakawa-go

And so, between slip, fall and slip we get back to the part of Shirakawa-go flat, where we have gone straight to tour the town again under a good blanket of snow and some fall of Roger on the asphalt 😉

And finally on the asphalt! Shirakawa-go

After this ascent and descent loaded with adrenaline, we cannot do anything else to relax than get lost again for a while in the streets of Shirakawa-go, where it starts to snow more strongly as the minutes pass.

Shirakawa-go

And we saw some cute kittens !! Shirakawa-go

Curious sewers in Shirakawa-go

As the afternoon falls, the snow becomes more intense, so we begin to think that perhaps it is time to return to Takayama.

Start snowing more strongly in Shirakawa-go

Even now, which is beginning to snow much more strongly, we continue to see people who venture to climb the Shirakawa-go viewpoint. We now, knowing what we know, it is very clear that we would not rise again in these snow conditions.
It's a little after 3 in the afternoon, so we'll have to make a thought to catch the bus from Shirakawago to Takayama where we have our accommodation today: a Temple!
So we go back to the station, pick up our backpacks from the box office and take the bus from Shirakawago to Takayama of the 15 hours although we have to wait for the third bus of the people queuing to return to Takayama. And all this with an incredible snowfall!
It is clear that there is no better way to say goodbye to Shirakawa-go.

Shirakawa-go

In 50 minutes we reach Takayama and we go straight to our hotel in Takayama, our "temple" to rest for a while and especially warm up after the snowfall in Shirakawa-go.
We take a few turns before finding the temple where to sleep in Takayama, the Takayama Zenkoji Temple Inn, although after locating and entering we found a super special place, so any minute looking for it was worth it.
We had read that it was very touristy and it really is, we are not going to fool ourselves, it is a temple that, in an annex, works as accommodation, but we cannot that it is a new and highly recommended experience.
It is still a temple and today we will be able to stay here, enjoying all that this means.
They teach us the entire Temple enclosure and in the room they teach us what will be our futons that have electric blankets so as not to be cold.

Our room in a Temple in Takayama

After a while getting warm and resting in the temple in Takayama, we go to the most famous beef restaurant Hida de Takayama, but it is full of people, so we change and go to the best of tempura, the Ebihachi, where we order a full menu of tempura and another of sashimi plus a beer and water and two desserts of tempura ice cream for 4200 yen.

Restaurant in Takayama

All great. We had already said that we are delighted with Japanese cuisine?
Highly recommended this little tempura restaurant that has made this dinner a delight.

Our dinner at the Ebihachi Restaurant in Takayama

Ice Cream Tempura at Ebihachi Restaurant in Takayama

And being after 9.30 at night, we return to the streets of Takayama, walking with some difficulty, hoping not to slip once more, direction to our accommodation in Takayama.
Today, the second stage of the trip to Japan ends. Tomorrow we leave for Tokyo.
Now it's time to rest and sleep in our private room at the Takayama Zenkoji Temple Inn. And of course dream. Dream about Japanese Alps…