"Little Kyoto" TAKAYAMA or bust!

Picking up where I left off, we had just finished freezing our booties off in Magome, Kiso Valley and were on our way to Takayama. The trip was several hours long and involved taking a combination of buses and trains. We used our time on the train to research where we wanted to eat dinner. We didn't know it at the time, but Takayama, despite being awesome for a number of things, was the stop where we had the most memorable dining experiences (with the exception of the Irish/Italian restaurant we visited in Kanazawa, which was our next stop on our journey). We were craving something substantial after our couple days of hiking and several kaiseki style meals. We read about an American style burger joint called Center 4 Hamburgers (you can also like them on Facebook!). Center 4 Hamburgers is the only burger restaurant in the city and had a substantial number of excellent reviews. Takayama is a bit off the beaten path and there is probably a pretty slim chance that most people reading this will find their way there, but IF YOU DO...visit Center 4 Hamburgers for sure.

From our research, we knew the restaurant closed at 9:30 pm and our train was not scheduled to arrive in Takayama until 8:30 pm. We also still had to check into our hotel and make sure the bags we sent ahead from Tokyo had arrived. Luckily the hotel was right across the street from the station. We checked in, retrieved our bags (Yes! They made it!), and dropped them in our room; then, we took off running! Eric was great and had figured out the route ahead of time so we easily found it. When we arrived, we were the only two customers there. The place is run by a dude and some of his friends.  It had an American Eagle, ski-lodge, cabin-in-the-woods, rustic feel to it. We were starving so we went crazy. Eric ordered the double cheeseburger, fries, and a beer and I the cheeseburger, fries, and a strawberry milkshake. Honestly, I am drooling just thinking about it. The burgers were diner style and absolutely perfect. Perfectly cooked, perfect bread, perfect fresh and crisp veggies, and the perfect amount of sauce. It was so good and so perfect (have I gotten my point across yet?) that Eric and I spent the rest of the trip trying to come up with excuses to visit the place for a second time. Unfortunately (or fortunately) we spent the rest of our time in Takayama too full to squeeze in another burger. Hands down, though, best. burger. ever.

How bad do you want this right now?

Eric and I went on and on to the guy about how much we loved the food. He was not surprised to hear it. We waddled out of there completely satisfied, stuffed, and exhausted and stumbled our way to our beds to crash for the night. 

Breakfast the next morning was a nice treat because we could choose between Japanese or Western style breakfast. We both chose Western style as we were still (are still) not accustomed to eating Japanese style breakfasts. The Western breakfast came with eggs, sausage (kind of like Vienna sausages), salad, fruit, yogurt, potatoes, a chunk of bread, juice, and coffee. It wasn't half bad!

I assume they call Takayama "Little Kyoto" because old town Kyoto looks a lot like this.  

 After breakfast, we walked around town and checked out the morning markets and old village areas. There were many stores and vendors selling local crafts and crops. We sampled some food and purchased  some sarubobo "lucky monkey baby" souvenirs. The sarubobo is a faceless doll associated with Takayama and three wishes: protection from bad things, a happy home, and easy childbirth. They are a little creepy looking since they don't have faces. According to Wikipedia, the reason that the dolls have no faces is unclear, but two theories are that they were typically made from scrap fabric and were meant to be simple dolls and that they are faceless so that the owner can imagine a face...a face to match their own current emotional state. I don't know, but the wishes sounded good to us so we went for it! We got two little Christmas ornament dolls and a colorful set of dolls for the baby's room. 

Takayama is famous for sake, lacquerware, and wood carving. There are sake breweries all around. Eric bought a sampler pack so we could try some of it because we were overwhelmed by the selection and have no idea how to choose sake. We still have a lot to learn in this area, but there could be worse lessons to learn, right? 

When the morning markets closed up shop, we hiked up into the hills of Takayama to see Hida No Sato, which is kind of like a preserved town. It was opened in 1971 for the purpose of preserving the traditional housing and lifestyle of the Hida region between 1750 and 1850. More than 30 buildings were moved from different parts of the Hida region and assembled around a lake to make it look like a real, functioning village. Many of the houses are Gassho style thatched roof houses. There are also various tools and other items on display throughout the village. My favorite part about the place was that they provided biographical information about the folks who had occupied the houses and shops. 

Hida No Sato an interesting experience and beautiful to see. We were lucky to be there in the fall because the colors of the changing leaves were truly gorgeous. It was pretty touristy too...they had a place where you could dress up in the traditional clothing of the period and pose for professional pictures in front of the lake with the village as the back drop. We passed (we were too cool for that), but now I'm not sure why...it would have been fun! 

In one area of the village there are workshops where artisans who are experts of traditional arts and crafts can be observed while they work. You can also purchase their handicrafts. Eric bought a wood carved owl from a man who was truly a genius with a chisel. He was awesome, and the owl is pretty cute, too.

By the time we finished exploring Hida, it was about 2:00 pm and we were close to starving. We walked the long way back to our hotel and got ready for a very extravagant lunch. 

We ate at a place called Cafe Le Midi, which was an upscale steakhouse where Hida Beef is served. Hida Beef is comparable to Kobe Beef; very rich and very tasty. I am not kidding when I say that these steaks could be cut with the dull side of a butter knife and did not need to be chewed. We truly indulged...even got dessert! Along with the beef we had some vegetables and a really lovely soup that tasted a lot like potato leek, but a little more...Japanese. I loved the soup and was trying to be polite by not sopping up every last drop with the delicious crusty bread on the table. Well, the waitress came over and said, "excuse me miss, it is really good if you use the bread to get the soup." This was my kind of place! Eric and I took so much time to savor our meals (a first for us...we are professional scarfers) that we stayed through the end of the lunch hour and got to see the staff sit down for a family-style meal before gearing up for the dinner shift. They were all really cool and we seemed to mutually enjoy observing each other consume our meals.

After lunch we made an attempt to keep our food comas at bay by strolling around, but this was done in vain. Instead we strolled back to our hotel and crashed...until the sun went down. 

We were not particularly hungry when dinner time rolled around. Our Hida Beef felt like it was still sitting somewhere near the tops of our stomachs. We were pretty close to talking ourselves into staying in for the night, because in addition to not being very hungry it was cold and rainy outside. However, we had heard about a Mexican restaurant called Chapala's that was run by one man alone. He was owner, chef, waiter, busser, etc...he did it all! Plus...Mexican food in Takayama...we had to see this for ourselves! We decided to walk over for some late night munchies. We are so glad we did! 

We sat right at the bar where we could watch him cook and visit with him. Because, yes, in addition to running the entire operation, the owner also spoke excellent English! He was really funny and entertaining. The food was good- apparently he had spent a little time in Mexico before coming home and opening a restaurant of his own, but the true joy of the experience was meeting him. He was an absolutely charming, vibrant, and lovely person. Many patrons came in while we were there. In fact, he eventually had to turn people away after a large (and drunk) crowd of Japanese people came in to celebrate something. It was the kind of small restaurant where by the end your meal you have chatted with everyone else in the place. It was a really fun way to end our time in Takayama.

We got to bed late, slept well, and woke up the next morning ready to hop back on the train and continue on to Kanazawa. 

PS- Yes, I am writing a PS to my blog post...

You may be thinking it's crazy that we didn't eat much Japanese food. I should explain that we didn't feel pressured on this trip to eat exclusively Japanese food because we will be living in the country for another 2+ years. We did, however, make every attempt to try local favorites and delicacies whenever we heard about them/it was possible.

That is all.