Skip to main content

Back on the Tak


B wanted a Japanese haircut. So last night Machiko and Mayumi found a hair salon in Tennoji with a discount voucher and arranged the whole thing for this morning. We packed our bags and checked out of our room, then headed off for Mio Plaza for the haircut.

While B was busy having her hair done Alex and I crossed over to the Abeno Harukas tower. The tower is the tallest building in Japan at 300 metres, though it is still dwarfed by the Tokyo Skytree at 634 metres and Tokyo Tower at 333 metres.

After buying the somewhat expensive (for Japan) tickets we ascended to the 16th floor in a glass elevator, then whisked up to the 60th floor with an elevator light show that delighted Alex. The views from the top were spectacular, making the old Tsutenkaku tower look like a mere blip on the landscape and the many trains weaving their way through the suburbs less than Z scale.









B was long finished by the time we returned. We did a bit of shopping, including some t-shirts to wear while I find somewhere to wash my clothes, at Ito-Yokado and Uniqlo at Q's Mall, then hurried back to the JR station to reserve seat to Takayama.

Takayama is a well preserved city in the Central Alps of Japan famous for its Hida beef, wood crafts, historic streets and festival. We been here a few times, starting back in 2006 when we attended the famous Takayama matsuri, but this is Alex's first time out of the womb.

From Tennoji we had to catch the Haruka express to Shin-Osaka, a Shinkansen to Nagoya and finally the Wide View Hida to Takayama.

Haruka

Shinkansen
Wide View Hida
The scenery of the Takayama Line in stunning as the train weaves its way up the Hida River valley, past rice paddies and tea plantations, blue river water flowing past craggy grey rocks. I highly recommend this ride in Japan, though we could have done without the diesel fumes in our cabin at the rear of the Green car (like first class).








I took a video, which needs a bit of editing before I upload it.

It was raining outside, possibly spoiling the festival parade tomorrow. Our spirits were high with the anticipation of eating a meal of Hida beef. We had to wait at the restaurant, but the grilled beef and hoba miso was worth it.



Hoba Miso
Back at the hotel, the Best Western lived up to the Western in its name. The "spa" was not a true Japanese bath.  Shower to wash yourself, no stools and low sinks, and a jacuzzi that than a simple bath. At least the beds are big - no more attempting to squash three into a semi-double. And with that it's time to take advantage of that bed!

Comments

Cecilia said…
Beautiful train line! I'll have to start working out how to see other parts of Japan aside from Tohoku...

Popular posts from this blog

Asagaya and heading home

How can I be happy? I am about to return to a country where the toilets have at most two buttons and no seat warmers. But the tickets are booked and there are no cyclones, typhoons or other disasters standing in our way. It's almost time to go back to my first home. First B wants to do some "local shopping". So we catch the Chuo Line up a few stations to Asagaya, a residential area with a number of Shotengai, covered and uncovered arcades leading away from the station and narrow alleys lined with bars. It is an interesting area for a wander around. We are mainly looking, do some shopping for toothbrushes and sweets from Seiyu, a Wal-Mart owned supermarket/minor department store. We skipped breakfast and lunch is ramen and gyoza at a small restaurant near the entrance to the Pearl Centre shotengai. With the help of a staff member, I manage to purchase tickets at a branch of Lawson to the Ghibli Museum for a friend travelling to Japan in May. There are some...

IKEA Museum

We have a packed itinerary today. Flat packed and assembled with an Allen key. There are patches of snow on the ground that weren't there the previous evening. We are a bit sad to leave the Duxiana after the comfy beds and the breakfast of cold cuts, fruits and hot waffles. I tried the Swedish caviar on my boiled egg. It was... Interesting. I was very disappointed to realise that, after talking it up for months, I had forgotten the Disgusting Foods Museum in Malmö yesterday. Too late now. We catch another Oresundstag train, for a bit over an hour. Past yesterday's Lund, past increasingly white fields and towns to Älmhult, home of IKEA. The conductor warns us that the train will split in two so we have to move carriages forward. Unfortunately, there we no spare sets of chairs for all of us. The IKEA Museum showcases the history of the furniture company, along with temporary exhibitions. One of these was "Hacking IKEA," about using IKEA ob...

To Melbourne on the XPT sleeper

Excited by the prospect of reliving the experience of seeing my very first movie and hearing the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra perform it I bought tickets to The Empire Strikes Back in Concert in Melbourne back in February. Then I did nothing about actually getting there. Much as I love Melbourne, due to family commitments I didn't want to spend more than the Sunday away. Flights there and back made sense, but  my flight down to Melbourne in late October reiterated the fact that I usually don't enjoy descending into the city. And the concert was in December, a season of summer storms. I really didn't feel like driving the whole route alone and in a hurry, so that left one choice. The train. My very first trip up to Sydney from Melbourne was aboard the luxury Southern Aurora. Or it was supposed to be luxury. I wouldn't know because I spent the whole ride up very sick with the flu lying in the top bunk, unable to stay awake for my whole of night vigil. Now only...