The Takayama Jin'ya is a surviving Edo period jin'ya which served as the government headquarters for Hida Province under the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan from 1692 to 1871.
An essential Takayama tradition is called Asa-ichi. Behind this name hides the small morning market where fresh produce and local crafts are found.
The Miyagawa Morning Market has existed in one form or another for more than two centuries, and it's still a hub for fresh produce. The market is located on either bank of the Miya River between two bridges—Kajibashi and Yayoibashi. Every morning, weather permitting, you can buy everything from local fruit and vegetables to dolls and stylish chopsticks. As with all markets, the earlier you get there, the better. The juiciest, freshest products will get picked off first, and the market is a perfect place for people-watching.
The heart of Takayama is Sanmachi, the old town of preserved and restored buildings. During the Edo period (1603-1867), Takayama was a lively hub town bustling with craftsmen, merchants, and farmers from the surrounding area. Today that legacy is preserved in the three main streets and encircling districts of Sanmachi.
OHNOYA, traditional Miso and Soy source brewery and shop was founded 250 years ago in the city of Takayama(HIDA).
Signature brand Sansha is a dry sake with muscular umami. You can buy a small tasting cup and savor more than ten types of sake. The steamed manju buns and cakes, both made with sake, will also leave you with nostalgic memories. **Tasting: Available for an additional charge
Kawashiri specializes in artisanal matured sake. For a small charge, you can taste a trio of fine brews, including Hidamasamune. **Tasting: Available for an additional charge
We had a wonderful triptrip with our guide Tatsuya Ito , jam packed with information about local history and culture- we even managed to take in a Sake tasting! Highly recommended 10/10
Micasa was an excellent tour guide. Very informative and showed us so much of the city. The tour was catered to what we wanted to see and do and was a really good pace.
An exceptional tour with our guide, Micasa, who enabled us to get a real connection with Japanese culture and history, and proudly showed us his local town. Highly recommended for a full experience of Takayama.
This was an outstanding tour and a great value. Our guide Yoko tailored everything to our interests and energy level, including reading when we were ready for a food break. We saw SO much of Takayama and had a great time tasting sake
Very good I learned a lot about Takayama and festivals, Buddhism Shintoism, and fire prevention. The meal was good. I enjoyed the sake tasting.
Annie was an exceptional tour guide. She was incredibly friending and knowledgeable about Takayama. It was interesting to learn about the areas rich history and to be taken to some of Annie’s favourite places. We particularly enjoyed lunch and visiting the Government building. Thank you for a lovely day.
Yuriko (Lily) was very knowledgeable and friendly tour guide. She was flexible and was able to push your tour back as we had travel delays. Tour hit interesting historical and culture sites and was less of a food tour compared to others we’ve done. Tasted one sample miso soup, Sake tasting and she ended the tour by leaving us at amazing steak restaurant.
We had a fantastic day with Yuriko who took us on a tour around Takayama. She has a lot of knowledge and made the tour fun. Definitely recommend.
My wife and I got to tour Takayama with Elvis. He was a great and knowledgeable guide and made sure we got to see everything we wanted to. Elvis was friendly made sure we were always comfortable without feeling rushed.
Thanks Tatsuya Ito your private tour was amazing. We got to see some amazing sites in Takayama with a great history lesson on the area. It was great to have a personal tour to stop where you wanted and take the time to see everything.
Mitsu was an amazing tour guide! My family and I throughly enjoyed her tour of her home town of Takayama. She shared so much knowledge of her history of Takayama. We really appreciated her and the friendly people of Takayama.
Mitsu was an amazing tour guide! She was very courteous, inviting and knowledgeable. My family and I felt very comfortable with her. It was especially great to learn about the town of Takayama from a local person. Mitsu is like a historian there and she is very passionate about her town! The tour was very well planned with our thoughts and wishes considered. Thank you Mitsu!
Mitsu made our visit very special with her preparation and presentation. She is a wonderful ambassador for Takayama and her country. She was extremely tolerant of our changes to the initial itinerary due to the heat. Her relationship with the local crafts people introduced us to a beautiful aspect of Takayama that we wouldn’t have been able to engage with by ourselves.
Mitsu is the best of the best. She is more than a tourist guide, the true embassador of Takayama. She knows every corner and hidden gems of the city, with all the gratitude and kindness she will explain to you every detail. 100% recommended if you want to visit the town with the eyes of a local
Mitsu guide was very patient, she loves her job. We had a great time with her. She got us to historical and local places. ♥️
Mitsu was an excellent and closely guide! Trying to provide tips and great places to walk around, fluent English; but the best handmade itinerary we received even before arrive at our hotel! Definitely recommended and 5 star service!
A fantastic host, really reacted to and adjusted to what we wanted and how that changed during the day. Thank you so much!
Awesome tour, thank you Mitsu. Some really thoughtful prep work and really good flexibility meant she was very responsive to what we were enjoying! Making rice cakes was a surprising highlight!
We had a good time with Yoko. She met us promptly at 9AM at our hotel and tailored an itinerary according to our interests which is in a mix of food, culture, and arts and crafts. As a native Japanese, her english was quite good and we were able to converse with her with no problem. She was knowledgable on Takayama and was able to answer any questions we had. We had such a pleasant day. Thank you Yoko!
Hideki “Elvis” was very knowledgeable about history and current culture. He answer all our questions and we had a very enjoyable day.
My partner and my brother and I visited Japan in May 2023. We were glad to have seen Takayama, and thrilled to have Yoko as a tour guide. She was responsible and diligent in her communications ahead of time so that we knew how to meet with her, and she was very gracious and generous in her elaborations about the local culture and the experience of living in the area. We especially enjoyed the sake tasting-- we would not have known about the brewery if Yoko had not been familiar with it. She also left us with small but memorable and touching gifts at the end. Would highly recommend this tour, particularly with Yoko.
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