Instead of Tokyo: Takayama, the Wooden City in the Japanese Alps

Takayama is hidden in the Japanese Alps, in Gifu prefecture, and you need only arrive to understand why it has stayed authentic: it takes three hours by train from Nagoya through the mountains, and the journey itself — through gorges, cedar forests and isolated villages — is already an experience.

The historic centre — Sanmachi Suji — is a succession of dark timber merchant houses from the Edo period, with latticed façades and the signs of the old shops still in their places. Here you find the sakagura — the sake breweries — that produce some of Japan's finest sake thanks to the pure mountain water and local rice. You can visit and taste, and the experience is informal and genuine.

The morning markets — asa-ichi — are held every day along the Miyagawa river and in front of the Takayama Jinya: stalls selling mountain vegetables, home-made miso, pickles and wooden crafts. They open at six in the morning, and arriving early means experiencing everyday Japan without filters.

The Takayama Jinya is the only government building from the Edo period still standing in Japan: a complex of wooden structures where the province was administered, with audience halls, rice-tax storehouses and tended gardens. The visit tells you how feudal Japan worked better than any museum.

The food of Takayama is unique: Hida beef — the mountain cattle — is considered the equal of Kobe wagyu, and here it is eaten grilled or as raw sushi at the market stalls. Takayama ramen has a light, clear broth quite different from those of Tokyo, and mitarashi dango — grilled rice balls with soy sauce — are the perfect snack.

From Takayama you can reach the village of Shirakawa-go — a UNESCO World Heritage Site, with its thatched farmhouses shaped like hands in prayer — in one hour by bus. The excursion is unmissable, especially in winter when the roofs are blanketed in snow and the houses are lit up at night.

Takayama is reached from Nagoya in two hours and forty minutes by JR Hida train (covered by the Japan Rail Pass), from Tokyo via Nagoya in about four hours. Accommodation includes ryokan with onsen, minshuku (family guesthouses) and hostels. Prices are significantly lower than in Tokyo.