Oh my goodness . I had a feeling that I would love Takayama from pictures that I saw but I loooooooooooooved Takayama.
I always get a little bit emotional (good and bad) pulling up into Japanese quaint country towns.
It’s because I went to high school in a sleepy little town. This town was not near Takayama but was called Kurashiki in Okayama Prefecture (if you look for it on a map the prefecture neighbours Hiroshima.) That year as an exchange is the reason I speak Japanese but it was also one of the hardest years of my entire life. I was so overcome with homesickness and culture shock.
This is the main reason that I would never ever downplay the height of someone’s else’s culture shock. It’s a murky, ugly feeling. But … anyway… that’s more chat for another day. If you would like to read about my thoughts on culture shock, see my personal post here.
But all my emotional thoughts were easily put to rest the moment we arrived into Takayama.
It. is. STUNNING.
It’s quaint in a way that you want to snap pictures down every single alleyway. And its soooo flat and small that I found it to be INCREDIBLY stroller friendly. DEFINITELY bring that stroller ( especially if it will fold up nicely so it doesn’t limit your restaurant choices at all. ) For more stroller tips for travel in Japan, please see my blog post here.
If you have come to this blog post because you saw my instagram highlights including the accommodation in Takayama, feel free to go straight to my recommended Takayama accommodation article here.
To get there, we took the Shinkansen (bullet train) to Nagoya and then changed for an express train to Takayama.
(If you end up getting off and exploring Nagoya, my Nagoya with kids tips are here.)
While packing and prepping for my trip to Takayama with the kids a few weeks ago, a girlfriend of mine reminded me that a highlight to the trip will actually be the train ride into the area.
Oh. My. Goodness. She was sooooo right.
A very superficial “sign” of the magic we saw from the carriage window? My husband and I keep old iPhones that we no longer use and hand them to our kids on train trips for kids ( so these phones are now chockablock full of “up-the-nose” selfies and free apps/games that don’t require internet) and even my 6 year old handed the phone back to me at a certain point of our train travel. ” Mummy… this is like a magical story …. Look !!”
For the train from Nagoya, I recommend buying lots of snacks on the platform shop as there is no snack trolley like you have on the bullet train.
Our house for our time in Takayama played a huge role in helping us fall in love with this magical town.
Yes. A whole house. A whole Japanese house – just for us!!!!
The house is called Manabi Stay and the website is here.
This house was so close to the station, the shops, the restaurants, the morning markets. It was perfect but we also weren’t on the “main drag” so it was so quiet and quaint too.
It was just the three of us staying but this house can accommodate as many as 7 adults ( and even more than 7 if your group is made up of a mixture of adults and children.)
Can you tell that my kids adore the entrance?
They called it our house… “There’s our house, Mum! Here it is!”
Oh .. and incase you were wondering… the streets surrounding the house look like this.
Of course, just like in all Japanese homes, it is important to remember to remove shoes before stepping up into the main house. I was delighted that our stroller also fit nicely into the lower level of the entrance hall.
Whereas, for me ( although I could still appreciate the beauty of that gorgeous wooden entrance) I was all about the bath and the tatami floor on the second storey.
The bath is actually outdoors ( don’t worry there is also a standard shower indoors so if a bath isn’t you’re thing, you’re still covered.) So you can sit in the bath while looking out into that gorgeous Japanese front garden. The bath is deep and, when I bathed alone, I let warm water trickle into the bath while I was in it. The sound and the view … better than any hotel spa I’ve ever been to.
This is the entrance to the bathroom ( just off the living and dining/kitchen area.
And then there is the second floor…
It is tatami and it is absolutely stunning.
Tatami makes me feel relaxed just looking at it. I want to lie on the floor in a spot of sunlight like a cat when I see tatami.
The tatami area is where futon’s can be laid out if there are most than 4 staying guests but there are beds for up to 4 people ( we smooshed them together in each room to make two doubles, though.)
Please excuse the unmade beds in the pictures below but I actually really love this picture. It shows how crisp and clean and light the second floor bedrooms really are.
I found this home to be particularly family-friendly – although I would like to remind you to close the bedroom and / or tatami room doors at bedtime if you have a baby who crawls or a toddler as the staircase is steep and you wouldn’t want very small kids to attempt it on their own. My 4 and 6 year old had no problem at all.
And then on to the purely practical ( and mighty convenient ) parts of the house…
The washing machine was right next to the shower and was a lifesaver after humid end of summer travel.
And this is the vanity area of the main bathroom (there is a toilet room upstairs too.)
This is the downstairs living area – where my son liked spending most of his time – sprawled along the sofa.
For a house with so much character it just felt so new and modern and clean.
The gorgeous garden that can be seen from the living room and from the bathtub ( lush!!) is mostly designed to be looked at. I let my kids have a teeny look around but it is REALLY important that the space is not disturbed and certainly not used for things like barbequeing etc.
There are lots of convenience stores located near by (7-Eleven – 5 mins walk, Family Mart – 7 mins walk, Daily Yamazaki – 11 mins walk, Lawson – 15 mins walk) but we filled the home’s fridge and freezer mostly with options from our local supermarket “Super Yamada” ( it is on google maps) and local produce from the daily Miyagawa morning markets.
This is what the outside of the supermarket looks like. It is 7 minutes walk from Manabi-Stay and 12 minutes walk from Takayama Station.
And one of my favourite of elements of Japanese supermarkets is the fresh deli section. It makes for a really easy throw together dinner. A salad plus a bento style menu option like a croquette or a piece of meat or fried fish or vegetable tempura.
I know my readers love knowing what grocery ingredients I buy so here is some of my shopping basket contents on the first day.
I wish I had taken some better photographs to show more of the gorgeous, high-ceilings in the kitchen and dining area. But my kids loved sitting ( and spinning) at the bench top and I couldn’t believe how well equipped the kitchen is. There was salt and pepper, cling wrap ( aka Saran Wrap), two full sets of crockery, cutlery, chopsticks, a rice cooker, kettle, pots and pans and all the standard cooking utensils.
The house is called Manabi Stay and the website is here.
If you love gorgeous, quaint Japanese country/suburban streets ( and/or photography) you will be in dreamland.
We also fell so hard for the Miyagawa Morning Markets.
To be honest, when I was drawing up a rough itinerary for Takayama I thought the markets were something that I would breeze through before going to the next spot. I also thought that it was somewhere that I would kind of be asking the kids to “endure” … but I was so wrong.
We fell so hard for this little strip of market – the vibe and the people behind the stalls.
It also made for this beautiful, interactive “playground” for children too. My kids wanted to order the food themselves and count out their own Japanese coins and collect the change etc.
I, personally, recommend trying the corn ( soooooo sweet!) and tomatoes but also trying out Japanese “street food” like takoyaki which is usually found in Osaka. The vendors are soooo friendly and are happy to talk you through their cooking process – while cooking it in front of you.
And another unusual recommendation for Japan BUT there is a croissant shop at the market and those croissants were soooooooooo amazing. They only display 5 at a time as they bake them fresh and it is worth waiting outside the stall for the fresh, hot batch. So good.
Also, I don’t eat meat but the market is a really affordable and easy way to sample Hida Beef, served on skewers. Hida Beef is one of the delicacies of this region.
In case you would like to try and order in Japanese, here is a little “cheat sheet.”
In Japanese, the item you would like goes at the beginning of the sentence. Also, remember that Japanese is phonetic. So all syllables have the same ” weight” so tomato in Japanese is To + Ma + To.
These are my kiddies having a turn at paying with Japanese yen all by themselves.
And then the river right next to the markets was so relaxing and fun for all of us that the kids begged for us to return again the next morning too!
We abandoned the stroller under a tree near the markets ( gosh, I love that Japan is safe enough to do this) bought some fish food ( ps: the duckies also are open to fish food), took down our market treats and some Japanese bubbles ( you can buy these at the convenience stores for 200-300 yen.)
On the second visit, my little girl really wanted to paint so we went to the little local stationery store and bought the cutest little paint set and notebook. The stationery store is called Pen Shop Imai (unfortunately they just changed their store rules and only children 8 and over are allowed to enter – this is so sad and makes me wonder what happened in the past here that caused them to need to make this rule…..)
This was the BEAUTIFUL stationery shop next to the river.
The market and that point of the river is actually a really lovely spot to begin the day because then you’re right in the middle of town when you’re done too. It was a great base for us to start.
The Miyagawa markets are on everyday of the year from 7am – midday ( starting at 8am Dec-March).
It’s random but there is this beautiful store with giant chairs out the front ( if you know why.. please message me on insta but, regardless, the kids thought it was fun) and they have a little kids play area and, parent hack alert but, there are toilets on the second floor and there is a change table and wheelchair accessible toilet on the ground floor – so if kids need to go while you’re at the market? Go here!
Within the same building, is a small play space on the ground level in one corner ( in the shop section, not the cafe section.)
Just as an FYI, the building itself is called Takumi-kan.
I randomly found the Showakan Museum online and I’m SOOOO glad I did because this place was a lifesaver.
I had to drag the kids out of there. I took sooooo many pictures that I had to write a whole post JUST on this museum.
Here is my write up on the Takayama Showa Museum.
Even if you don’t have time to visit the museum, I recommend just visiting the gift shop at the front. They sell old school Japanese toys and sweets. It is really cute and makes for fantastic presents.
Pizzeria Hirano Grano
I know, it sounds crazy to recommend a pizza place in a city that is so quintessentially small town Japan. But this restaurant is nestled in the most gorgeous side streets, it feels ” a little bit secret” and whooooa its SO kid-friendly! They have all of the kid-friendly plates and spoons but also a beautiful little playspace just for kids. We never wanted to leave.
The food is sensational. I mean, sensational.
Oh… and FYI they also have pasta and meat/fish dishes. Not just pizza.
I wish I could take credit for finding this gem – but I really can’t. It’s all down to a recommendation from Elana ( her instagram account is here.)
We visited around 5:30pm as I always worry about my kids ruining someone else’s lovely date night.. but the manager informed me that kids are welcome anytime.
Just make sure you follow lovely family patron etiquette and make your kids tidy the playroom before they leave ( the playspace is a shoes off space so take that into account when choosing kiddie footwear for your visit)
Hanamizuki Cafe
This is a burger and pancake restaurant right next to the river. If you love people watching, they also have seats on the outdoor terrace.
They also actually REALLY understand what it is to be vegan and vegetarian ( sadly, not that common in Japan. )
Breakfast sets ( all sets come with a drink) are served until 11am so go early if you want pancakes. Also, the Miyagawa morning market is literally just outside the cafe door from 8am – midday so you could also feed those who want a western breakfast here and then the adventurous eaters can wander through the market afterwards for their own, more local, options.
They also have a juicer and make fresh juice and smoothies using the local produce.
高山市本町2-48
2-48 HONMACHI, TAKAYAMA
OPEN 9AM-6PM
CLOSED WEDNESDAYS
HANAMIZUKI CAFE ENGLISH WEBSITE
We loved this little park called Showa Jidou Park ( also known as Poppo Park). It is 7 minutes walk from the station and only 12 minutes from our accommodation.
And we also found this place on the way to eat at Matsuki-Sushi.
There is a public restroom. No grass.
SHIMIN HIROBA
高山市朝日町41番地1
41-1 ASANICHI, TAKAYAMA
Foot Bath
Close to Takayama Station ( 10 mins walk) is Sakura Foot Bath. If you don’t have a towel for afterwards, you can purchase one for 200 yen.
Water feature outside of Takayama Station
I’m pretty sure you’re not meant to play in here but we did have a tiny walk across here after a long train trip. We didn’t get arrested… just saying….
Fruit Specialty Store Gin Cup (pronounced with a soft “g like the “gi” sound in “giggle.”)
Gin Cup translates to ” the silver cup.”
This shop is full of beautiful local produce. They welcome tourists and many of the labels are in English. The fresh juice was so yummy.
FRUIT SPECIALTY STORE GIN CUP
高山市花里町6-17
6-17 HANASATOMACHI, TAKAYAMA
OPEN 10AM-8PM
CLOSED WEDNESDAYS
Okay. I’m a nerd for being excited by this but I found the 7-eleven in the middle of town to be particularly good (!) Maybe it is because of the range of international visitors but its a really big and well stocked 7-Eleven. The store was also big enough to take the stroller inside ( or park it outside when your stroller has 1000 bags hanging off every single part of it, like mine always does.).
I do love how in countryside Japan you will also find many stores have to play down their signage so that it doesn’t take away from the feel. Even McDonalds red becomes brown ( not that I spotted a McDonalds right in the centre of town in Takayama – its about 10 minutes walk away.)
Anyway, if you share my love for Japanese convenience stores I think you’ll also love my article here and I also give tips like how to work out which milk is skim etc.
If you are after decent coffee, I would go to Traveller Coffee. They also rent out bikes ( not with a child-seat though.)
Another way to try the famous Hida Beef is in a beef steamed bun form.
There is a shop in town called Gyuman Kihachiro Yasugawa Honten. This company is so popular that they also ofter frozen packs of these buns designed for domestic tourists to be taken home and gift to friends and family. It’s open everyday of the year. There is an eat in section and the whole restaurant is non-smoking. They also have free wifi.
The city shouts down early
Most shops and restaurants in Japan don’t open before 10 or 11am and it can often be frustrating. BUT in Takayama I was pleasantly surprised to see many of the shops open from 8 – 9am ( probably to coincide with the market related pedestrian traffic. However, if you like to have dinner after 7pm you might need to do your research and/or make a reservation ahead of time. The town shuts down early.
Not the only tourists in the village
Just a heads up, Takayama is totally having a moment. You wont be the only foreigners in the village. But, this also means that it is so English friendly ( and vegan and vegetarian friendly!) because others before you have properly set expectations and “warmed up” the local restaurants and tourist sites in terms of the expectations of global guests.
The Takayama Station platform is bare
Don’t be too early for your train. There is no kiosk or waiting room on the platform. In fact, if you are early, like we were, you will need to wait in this little waiting room/holding pen with a little cafe until a few minutes before your train arrives. And with kids? That enclosed environment is trickier than the train….
NEXT TIME I WANT TO TRY….
-The Tex Mex burger place ( it is called “Evil Tex” ) near the Showakan Museum
-The Royal Nan House, Indian Restaurantt ( with Veg and Non-Veg options )
-Itamen Lotus Land, a ramen shop ( which is, apparently, a blend of pasta of Ramen and Pasta called ” Itamen” as in the blend of the words ” Italy ” + ” Ramen”)
– If I was visiting without children I would check out a Japanese Pub called “Japanese Pub YU.” We walked past and it looked really fun.
WHERE ELSE TO STAY IN TAKAYAMA
I recommend staying at at hotel called Fav Hotel Hida Takayama East.
This hotel has a sauna and cold plunge pool for guests to use (need to make a reservation for a set time.)
Fav Hotel is modern, beautiful and spacious. Rooms sleep up to 6 people (they are bunk beds but the bottom bunks are queen sized beds.
Each room has a kitchenette and a dining area.
They are happy to provide bed rails and toys for children to use during their stay.
This hotel is 5 minutes walk from Takayama Station.
Please note that this hotel does not have a manned reception desk so you will need to hail taxis yourself (which is not always easy if you’re not at a train station) and luggage forwarding to and from the hotel is not an option.
There is also Fav Hotel Hida Takayama West.
This hotel is 7 minutes walk from Takayama Station.
Please note that this hotel does not have a manned reception desk so you will need to hail taxis yourself (which is easy) and luggage forwarding to and from the hotel is not an option.
Rooms can sleep up to 6 people. The rooms are a modern sleek design. Sleeping arrangements are bunk beds but the bottom bunk is a queen sized bed.
Each room has a kitchenette, washer, dryer, kettle. The hotel is also happy to provide bed rails and toys for children to use during their stay.
When visiting Takayama, I recommend leaving some additional days to also visit Shirakawa-go, Kanazawa (see my Kanazawa with kids post here) and maybe even stop in Nagoya ( my Nagoya with kids post is here.)
