Kanazawa - Takayama - Suwa - Hakone - Enoshima
We planned a road trip through the mountains to escape the busy city life and experience parts of the Japanese countryside. From Kyoto, we drove to Kanazawa, a not-so-small harbour city. However, after an hour on the road, we realized we had forgotten something and had to turn back, making our arrival in Kanazawa after dark. Nevertheless, Kanazawa was amazing. The city is modern with lots of art, and very peaceful. We were fortunate to catch a light show in the castle gardens. After that, we strolled through the old samurai district with typical samurai houses. The next morning, we went to see the Geisha district and a market with fresh fish and fruits. We loved Kanazawa’s peaceful evening and morning left a lasting impression, but soon it was time to head to our next destination-Takayama.
On the way to Takayama we visited an old inhabited mountain village in a small valley, called Shirakawa-go. The houses here are wooden, steep-roofed, and notably large compared to the houses we visited in the other cities. Impressive to see how the people built it all together, standing with more than 40 people on top to add the roof. We went inside one of the houses and were amazed to find that no nails were used, only wooden pegs and ropes holding everything together—remarkably sturdy and beautifully crafted.
Then came Takayama, a charming, traditional city surrounded by mountains. Known for its festival in autumn (Takayama Matsuri) which happened just a few days before we arrived. The exact origin of the festival is unknown but started in the 16th century. For this festival, they’ve built enormous decorated multi-level floats (yatai) that parade through the narrow streets. The first float of the parade contains large drums (o-daiko). To get a taste of it, we visited a museum dedicated to the event. The museum itself was located in huge a man-made cave to keep the floats at a constant temperature (according to us). It was really impressive to see the giant floats decorated with gold, wood carvings, and marionettes. You could somehow compare it to Aalst carnival but better. Even more impressed when we tried out the massive drum inside the cave! The diameter of the drum had a diameter of over 2 meters and some of these could produce 130 decibels. The sound of these drums goes through your whole body and fills the space of the cave. Amazing.
Wandering through Takayama’s streets, we admired the traditional houses which are nowadays transformed into small shops, restaurants, and tea houses. We’ve said it multiple times to ourselves throughout our trip, it feels a lot like walking in a theme park. As we left the old streets to grab a quick bite, we came across three old cars that were guided into the narrow street we came from. Weird, because no cars were allowed in there. Turns out we were lucky to see a part of the Nippon rally, riding with beautiful old cars from Karuizawa to Kyoto. As a car enthusiast, I had to get as many photos as possible.
Time to relax. At the shore of the lake Suwa we stayed in a modern Ryokan with an onsen. Even though Delphine was prepared for a ban because of her tattoos. Surprisingly, she was allowed into the onsen. Here, we experienced the Japanese values and norms at its finest. Everything was organized to make our stay perfect, always peaceful and friendly, they almost ran to make sure we wouldn’t have to wait, trying to speak perfect English… These values are something we see everywhere and they reflect their culture of perfectionism. On one side you want to learn from it but on the other hand, if you observe closely, you feel the stress they experience. Everything has to be perfect and go fast, no time or room for mistakes. That kind of pressure is something we wouldn’t want to feel every day.
As we mentioned a Japanese food experience in the previous post. This was the moment! A multi-course Japanese dinner and breakfast. This was something else. The amount of dishes and flavours they served to the table was immense. Not only were the dishes traditional to Japan but linked to the season as well. Only Delphine is not a fan of the Japanese breakfast. Anyone who knows her would understand—she’s more of a sweets-for-breakfast person!
(At breakfast we were looking forward to the delicious egg in one of the baskets, turns out it was raw)
After breakfast, we planned a hike in the mountains, but again it wasn’t meant to be. It was raining. Not the perfect weather to go for a walk and definitely no chance to see Mount Fuji. So we extended our relax modus and stayed inside for most of the day. The perfect time to write the blog and organise the days ahead.
The next morning, we woke to clear and sunny skies. Very excited to see Mount Fuji we devoured our breakfast, took all our stuff and jumped in the car. Totally ready for a small walk. Yet again at the viewpoint, everything was covered by big grey clouds. However, Arnaud was determined to see the famous volcano and started a quest to find the perfect spot. Good thing there are cameras online on all sides looking towards the volcano. We drove to the other side beneath the clouds, and there it was! We stopped at a small park/playground at de base of the volcano. Just breathtaking! No tourists, just local people who seem to forget the giant volcano next to them.
(Ah yes, we had fun on the playground as well)
Off to our last stop on the road trip, Enoshima. We took a long route next to the beaches and sea and could feel the summer vibes. Sun, palm trees, (wind)surfers it felt like we arrived at Miami beach. The temperature rises above 30 degrees in this region, a huge contrast to the weather we’ve experienced in the morning. After parking and stepping onto a Japanese beach for the first time, we reached Enoshima, a mountain island connected to Kamakura. When going to the top of the island we reached a beautiful shrine, a lighthouse with a garden and the Dragon Bell. To strengthen our relationship even more, we rang the bell which would give us very very happiness. Hilariously there’s even a viewing area called “Miami Square”, which confirmed our initial impression that we’d stumbled upon Japan’s very own beach paradise.
Manhole covers
