Takayama

Chubu, Japan · Town / small city, Mountain

Whole streets of Edo-period wooden houses with century-old sake breweries open for tasting, and a morning market along the Miyagawa where the growers set up their own stalls. Hida's carpenters were already working for the imperial court in the eighth century, and the town is still the centre of Japanese furniture-making. The float festival happens twice a year, spring and autumn; in winter hoba miso is grilled on a dried magnolia leaf.

The essentials

Getting there

Train — JR from Nagoya or Toyama, no car needed

Frequently asked questions about Takayama

What to do in Takayama: 33 activities

• Miyagawa Morning Market 1.5 h must-see

  Stalls run by local producers along the river, a great stop for breakfast and craft shopping.

• Sanmachi Suji Historic District 2 h must-see

  Streets of Edo-period wooden houses, local sake, and craft shops.

• Hida beef 1.5 h

  Gifu wagyu that has won the national quality competitions; it comes in three different formats: grilled on a skewer in the street, as nigiri served on a rice cracker, or griddled in a restaurant.

• Kusakabe and Yoshijima houses 1.5 h

  Two adjoining merchant houses that are opposites: one is a forest of cedar beams showing off structural force; the other is sober and full of light, and appears in the textbooks of Japanese architecture.

• Shin-Hotaka Ropeway 3 h

  Japan's only double-decker ropeway climbs to 2,156 metres, directly facing the Northern Alps, with a free foot bath at the base.

• Takayama Matsuri 4 h only 14-15 April and 9-10 October

  One of Japan's most beautiful float festivals, held in spring and autumn, with ornate yatai floats parading through the historic old town.

• The five hot-spring villages of Okuhida 5 h

  An hour away by bus, five hot-spring villages in a row that together make up the highest concentration of open-air baths in Japan, many beside the river and facing the high mountains.

• Furukawa carp canal 1.5 h

  A thousand carp swim in the canal running along the town's whitewashed storehouses; in winter they are moved to the river so they do not freeze.

• Guided cycling tour through the Hida countryside 3 h booking

  Easy pedalling among rice paddies, farms and hamlets no tour bus reaches, with a guide explaining the farming life of the area along the way.

• Hida craft workshops 1.5 h booking

  Short sessions to sew your own sarubobo doll, decorate a lacquer piece or carve wood, at the hands-on centre in the old town.

• Hida Folk Village 2 h

  An open-air museum with traditional houses relocated from the region.

• Hida-Furukawa, setting of 'Your Name' 3 h

  Fifteen minutes away by train: the library, the station and the shrine stairway appear line for line in Makoto Shinkai's film, and the town has filled with anime pilgrims.

• Higashiyama Walking Course 2 h

  A peaceful walk linking a dozen temples and shrines along cobbled streets and through Shiroyama Park.

• Hoba miso 1 h

  Miso with mushrooms and spring onion grilled on a dried magnolia leaf over an individual brazier, the oldest winter dish in the Hida region.

• Karakuri automata 1 h

  18th-century mechanical puppets that dance on the festival floats driven only by strings and wooden gears; there are daily demonstrations outside the festival dates.

• Okoshi-daiko of Furukawa 3 h only 19-20 Apr

  On 19 and 20 April, men in loincloths fight to get small drums close to a giant drum carried through the town at night; UNESCO Intangible Heritage.

• Sakurayama Hachimangu shrine 1 h

  The shrine that runs the autumn festival, with its own float hall, at the end of the Higashiyama walk.

• Takayama Jinya (former local government office) 1 h

  The only surviving Edo-era feudal government office in Japan.

• Takayama onsen 1.5 h

  Thermal water was found under the city itself in the 1980s: there are rooftop baths with the Alps behind them without leaving the historic centre.

• Takayama ramen and grilled mochi skewers 1 h

  Local ramen in a light soy broth with thin curly noodles, and the grilled rice skewers (mitarashi dango, salted; gohei mochi, with walnut and miso sauce) eaten walking through the market.

• Takayama, furniture capital 2 h

  Hida carpenters were already working for the imperial court in the 8th century and today the city is the centre of Japanese furniture making, with factories and showrooms open to visitors.

• Traditional Sake Tasting 1.5 h booking

  Century-old breweries open for tastings in the heart of the historic centre.

• Yatai Kaikan Festival Floats Museum 1 h

  Ornate festival floats from Takayama's famous festival, displayed on a rotating basis throughout the year.

• Hida Ichinomiya Minashi shrine 1 h

  The head shrine of the old province of Hida, among thousand-year-old cedars, on the outskirts of the city.

• Hida Kokubun-ji Temple 1 h

  The oldest temple in the Hida region, founded in the 8th century, with a three-story pagoda and a huge, centuries-old ginkgo (icho) tree.

• Hida shunkei lacquer 1 h

  A transparent lacquer developed around 1600 which, instead of covering the wood, lets it show: the grain is part of the finish.

• Hida Takayama Museum of Art 1.5 h

  Art nouveau and art deco glass (Lalique, Gallé, Tiffany) and reconstructed Mackintosh interiors, in a museum reopened after a 2024 refurbishment.

• Ichii ittobori carving 1 h

  Figures carved from yew with 'a single knife' and left unpainted: the colour comes from the ageing of the wood itself.

• Matsuri no Mori 1.5 h

  An underground museum with full-size floats and some of the largest drums in the world, which can also be played.

• Shiroyama Park 1.5 h

  A wooded hill where Takayama Castle once stood, with walking trails and panoramic views over the city and the Hida Alps.

• Skiing at the Hida resorts 5 h

  Small resorts half an hour from the city, with very dry snow and practically no queues.

• Takayama Showa-kan 1 h

  A whole 1960s street reconstructed with toys, posters and even a cinema of the period.

• Zazen Meditation at Zenno-ji Temple 1.5 h booking

  A Zen temple 10 minutes from Takayama's historic old town, offering zazen sessions led by the head monk with guidance on posture and breathing; book at least 3 days in advance.

What only happens on specific dates

• Takayama Matsuri 14-15 April and 9-10 October
• Okoshi-daiko of Furukawa 19-20 Apr

Chains well with

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