Takayama--Denver's sister city in Japan

9700 foot mountain near Takayama

Takayama is the largest city in Japan by area, 850 square miles, but has a population of only 98,000.  Over the years, smaller towns joined Takayama, seeking better city services, thereby extending the city's boundaries enormously.

The city lies in a pretty valley in the Japanese Alps.  Its old downtown area runs along a canal which, right now, is lined with beautifully blooming cherry trees. 

cherry trees by river

Takayama has several blocks of its original houses still standing, now home to an array of tourist shops, inns and restaurants.  One old pagoda stands near the center of town next to a hundreds-year-old ginka tree.



Takayama pagoda

But, Takayama's main attraction, in addition to nearby ski areas and sake breweries, is the Hida Village, a park-like setting where the original houses of the region's farming families have been moved.  The houses were taken apart piece by piece and reconstructed at the Hida Village so that the stories of these families' lives could be told to visitors as they tour the buildings.  More than 30 houses were moved to Hida Village.

Hida house

The families and their animals lived on the first floor of the homes that included stables for horses and cows.  Second floors were for sleeping or storage, sometimes for making paper or other crafts.  These homes must have been incredibly cold in the winter.  Most have doors opening off the second floor, often 12 or 15 feet high, that could be used in winter when the snow was too high to use the ground floor doors. 

Hida house with snow door on second floor

A fire urn in a pit in the main living room was the source of heat for the entire house.  Sometimes as many as 50 family members lived in the house and would gather around the fire pit to try to keep warm.  I imagine the ones towards the back of the crowd shivered.  They all wore many layers of quilted jackets.  I can only guess how often they bathed, so the long winters must have resulted in a pretty smelly crowd of people and animals.

Besides farming, the families made and sold horseshoes of rice stalks, steel tools and farming implements and wooden utensils, tools and sculptures. 

Hida horseshoe

Each house had both a Buddhist and a Shinto shrine as most people then and now practice both religions.  Shintoism is an animist religion that Japanese feel is very compatible with their devout Buddhism.  People still take care of their ancestors graves and souls and visit Shinto shrines to pray to the animist gods that inhabit them.  Shrines, we are told, are for gods while temples (Buddhist) are places where monks live.  Buddhism is their way of life and Buddhist temples are very important parts of their lives.  The Hida Village has a number of shrines.  Certainly, the villages where these houses used to reside also had Buddhist temples.

Around Takayama (and other parts of Japan), you find 6 jizus lined up, wearing red bibs. 

6 jizus at Hida Village

Jizus are the Buddhas who take care of the souls of young children who have died young and therefore given their parents only misery.  Because of that, their souls are not eligible to go to heaven--but the jizus take care of their souls and guide them to heaven.  It is a lovely concept to have a special Buddha just to take care of children who have died and a great source of peace for their parents.

Jizu in ginko tree by pagoda

Hida beef is a prized food of the region.  It is very rich, as it is perfectly marbled, so delicious and melt-in-your-mouth tender.  You can't eat very much because it is so fat, but it certainly does have a lot of flavor.

Japan Alps viewed from Takayama Castle