At the beginning of March, with spring just over the horizon, I was off to Takayama in Gifu prefecture. My itinerary was a 2-night, 3-day excursion, which included catching a bus to Oku-Hida hot spring town's Hirayu Onsen, taking in the dynamic scenery of the Northern Japanese Alps with the help of the Shinhotaka Ropeway, and then heading by bus to Matsumoto in Nagano prefecture before catching a Chuo line train back to Tokyo. Keep reading to find out how it all went down!
During my trip I stayed at two ryokan: Takayamaouan in Takayama and Miyamaouan in Hirayu Onsen. Read on below to find out more about them, and don't miss the special offer at the end of the article!
To visit Kira no Sato is not like traveling to big cities such as Tokyo, Osaka or even the historic old capitol of Kyoto. To visit Kira no Sato is experience rural Japan, to stay in a traditional Japanese resort ryokan, complete with the air of rest and relaxation that it embodies.
Soothing onsen, gourmet cuisine, stunning views, traditional design, heartfelt service... it is amazing how many unique characteristics can be conjured up by a single word: ryokan. This time around, I decided to stay at Komeya, the "gourmet ryokan" with an emphasis on cuisine, essentially the Japanese version of an auberge.
Check out three cool spots that we discovered on our last trip to Takayama, including a local sake brewery with a chic restaurant, a fantastic new history and art museum (which is also fantastically free!), and a recreation of a mid-20th century Japanese townscape.