Takayama festival and dinner with hosts
Outbound to Gufu + Tokyo Japan, Day 7 of 19, October 10, 2017
By: George Myer
Takayama sits at the base of the Western side of the Japan alps at about 1600 feet above sea level. A road connects it with Matsumoto on the Eastern side of the mountains. No train connects the two towns so a bus is the only public transportation between them. The bus passes the road to Kamikochi , the town in the high mountains renowned for summer holidays, especially for hikers.
The area in the western side of the mountains near Takayama is the Hida area and is well known for its many onsens or hot springs. One famous tourist destination near Takayama is the Hida Folk Village, a collection of old Japanese houses put together in one location just outside of town. Normally ambassadors visit the Hida Folk Village but we did not because the day of our visit was one of the days that Takayama celebrates its biannual festival.
The Japanese categorize their tourist attractions as the three best ... (gardens, the three best sightseeing locations, etc). The Takayama festival is considered one of the three most beautiful festivals in Japan.
The Autumn Festival is the annual festival of the Sakurayama Hachimangu shrine. The festival dates back to the 1690's but floats were not introduced until the 18th century. The festival features 11 floats which, in good weather, parade through the streets of Takayama.
We got a 20 minute late start, as we had left my backpack in the outdoor parking area at our apartment. Fortunately we were in Japan so the backpack was exactly where we left it. The trip took about 2 hours with a 15 minute toilet break at a rest stop. We were given a sandwich, potato chips and a drink as an early lunch.
The weather was perfect: partly cloudy and temperature in the low 80degrees. We got off the bus a bit out of the center of town as the center was closed to traffic due to the festival. We went as a group to the site of a 1200 year old ginkgo tree Hida Kokubunji temple where a group photo was taken.
We then walked to the riverside Farmer's market where we sampled many of the various foods famous in the Hida area as well as observing the locals sell their vegetables and other wares . The market shuts down at noon.
We then worked our way over to the Sakurayama Hachimangu shrine, home of the gods twice a year.
On the way we saw many of the 11 floats that make up the bulk of the festival.
At the shrine we waited for about 30 minutes to see a 20 minute show with marionettes. The stage was a good 20 feet above where the crowd was standing. The marionettes were handled by 9 persons below the stage.
After the marionette show each of the 5 smaller groups made their ways through the old town, some of us catching parts of a parade without the floats. There were some wonderful old houses pictures of which , with luck, may be attached to this blog. Everyone made their way back to the bus via a shuttle and we departed for Gifu around3:45.
We finished the wonderful day with a home hosted dinner with a superb dinner and waddled home to fall to sleep happily.
Takayama Fall Festival
By: Roz Worrall
This morning we awoke at 5:30 and left our hosts’ home after just a quick cup of coffee at 6:20. We caught the 6:44 train to Gifu, and boarded a charter bus at 8:00 pm with all of the Sacramento Ambassadors, their hosts and many day hosts. Our homestay hosts provided breakfast in a bag with egg, juice, dumpling, breakfast bar, and a banana to eat on the bus which we did around 8:30.
We also received bottle water and a bag full of snacks for our bus ride. One hour later and about 20 miles from Takayama, the bus stopped in a commercial rest area where we could use the toilets and by a snack if we wished. But lunch was also passed out to us at 9:45 and we were encouraged to eat it before we reach Takayama. It was two meals and snacks within 2 hours! No one can ever say we didn't get enough food on this journey.
The women’s restroom was a modern, clean, and a busy place, but traffic in and out moved efficiently, perhaps because each of the numerous stalls were mapped on an electronic board that showed whether the stall was busy or free and visitors did not have to walk around looking for a free toilet. Great concept.
Our hosts, Friendship Force of Gifu indicated that there would be crowds of people at the festival. We are 35 Friends traveling together were divided into smaller groups to more adeptly move through crowded streets. Our homestay hostess, Kiyoko W was our leader and Toshiko and Fumio, the round up leaders. Each leader had a flag and a route to follow. The roundup volunteers tried to keep us from straggling to far from the group. I wore a bright pink shirt, so that I stand out in a crowd, and if I got lost, at least I could be found. I think it worked because nobody lost me.
After having a group photograph taken,
our group's first stop for the day was a post box along the route we were taking. We knew there was a geocache placed nearby. Russ quickly found the geocache along our walking route under the post box. We shared and explained the experience to our Japanese leaders and our Sacramento Ambassadors in our small group.
After that we, leisurely walked around, visiting the morning market, looking in shops, stopping for coffee or tea.
The day was warm and sunny and the streets were alive with activity, markets, and open shops.
One of the main attractions of the harvest festival is displaying the beautifully decorated yatai, portable Shinto shrines from regional areas. The main procession was yesterday when the yatai paraded through town. Today the yatai were stationery by the Sakurayam Kikkokan Temple.
We also enjoyed shopping and people or dog watching.
A unique and intricate marionette show was the final event of the festival. The puppeteers are hidden inside the yatai pulling strings and poles.
The day progressed far too quickly, and before we knew it, it was time to leave. At 3:30 we boarded our bus for the trip home. The driver and our hosts passed out coffee and tea and even more snacks before we got under way.
As we rolled down the mountain road video screens dropped down from the ceiling
and bingo cards were passed out and all enjoyed several bingo games with prizes to help pass the time in the bus.
Everyone had an enjoyable day! Thank you Gifu Club for such a great day to visit Takayama.
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