Tuesday saw us heading to Takayama by several trains but most importantly by Bullet train HIKARI #507. we travelled via Odewara and Nagoya and here we transferred to Express train Wide view Hida #9. For the uninitiated, Japanese trains are amazing, they run on time, a station person will make sure everyone stays away from the edge of the platform, they are clean with spotless toilets and separate ones for women and babies, a vending machine for drinks and snacks, recycling bins and on some trains mobile vendors. Many of the lines are privately run, but even so the standard is the same.

On arrival at Takayama, we piled into taxis for the short ride to the Green Hotel. One thing I have forgotten to mention the Japanese baggage service. When touring around with one nighters here and there, it is possible for a nominal sum to send the bulky suitcases on ahead and travel with a small one. And it works like clockwork!

The Green Hotel  was a bit like an institution, in fact we believe it to have been a Sanatorium in a former life as everything was kitted out for invalids and the beds were very much former hospital beds, on wheels . We only ate breakfast here, and it was served in a cafeteria like dining room with plenty of options to suit all tastes, but overall it was  not very clean. However it was close to town which suited us fine.

Takayama, often called Hida Takayama, to  differentiate it from other towns of the  same name. Takayama actually means tall mountain and is situated in the heart of the Japanese mountains. There is a dormant volcano nearby, as is  the Hida Minzoku Mura Folk village.

It holds twice yearly Shinto Festivals ( one of the three largest in the country) and the floats used can be found in the Exhibition Hall. The old town has buildings ( the Sanmachi area) that are over a thousand years old some of which are restaurants, souvenir shops and establishments, making and selling Sake. Takayama is ideally placed to make some of the best Sake, it is in the mountains, therefore cold in winter and has mountain streams to grow the best rice. One of the best Sake breweries in town is the Harada Sake shop and restaurant. You can find it on  Sanmachi Street and is easily recognisable by the large Cedar ball (sugidama) hanging outside the shop. The area is also noted for its World class Hida beef,  carpentry,  ( and fine examples of this can be found in the old Manor house, Takayama Jinya) local fish and vegetables and lacquerware.

The Manor house served as the local government offices from 1692 until 1969, it is now a Museum and has fine examples of the craftsmanship of the area.

There is a market along side the river, selling fresh produce and traditional street foods, one of which was Takoyaki, This is a batter cooked in a special pan and filled with minced octopus, onions and ginger and often served with a sauce and mayonnaise.

We ate dinner that night at the Harada Sake shop/restaurant had the choice of  either Teppanyaki ( using a grill to cook our meat ) or Sukiyaki, which is along the lines of Shabu-Shabu, but with an added raw egg.

Hida Takayama is a must see destination in Japan and is part of the Golden Route, with Shirakawa-go and Kanazawa. ( where we go to next) If you want to see part of Old Traditional Japan, then this is the place.

Monday morning saw us heading out of Tokyo by train to Odawara and Hakone.  Our stay would be in a traditional Japanese hotel called a Ryokan. Our hotel was the Hatsuhana a short bus ride from the station. Ryokans were developed in the 17th and 18th Centuries as travellers inns ( similar to English coaching inns) when journeys took a considerable amount of time.

In good Ryokan, the rooms are very simple but lovely, the floors are covered with tatamis, ( woven mats)  and there is usually a table for tea, ( but no chairs). In the closet the traveller will find Yukatas, these are sort of  pyjamas /kimono. Usually made out of cotton, with a top, trousers and then a kimono type  jacket. Tradition says that the left hand side is wrapped over the right hand side, except for the deceased when it is reversed. It is tied with a sash and the bow should be at the back ( as if at the front it could be misconstrued  as  a prostitute) The Yukata is usually worn with traditional wooden sandals. These outfits are worn whilst staying in the Ryokan, before and after bathing, and for meals. Most modern Ryokans have public baths, with water often coming from a hot spring.

After checking in we made our way back to the station for the short ride to the Hakone open air museum. This was Japans first open air museum, and was opened in 1969. There you will find over a thousand sculptures, and works of art, including some by Picasso and  Henry Moore.

Upon returning to our Ryokan, we took in the Hot Springs bath, where certain rituals have to be observed.  One has to wash thoroughly before entering the bath  ( nude) as the bath is for relaxing and not for washing ( I am not sure , on the  hygienic factor here, there was no smell of Chlorine, although Wikepedia says that chlorine is used. However there have been outbreaks of Legionella. ) Customers with tattoos are usually banned because of the association of tattoos with organised crime.

So onto dinner, which was served to us in a private room. You can see from the photos, that a) we were all dressed accordingly and b) that we were served a veritable feast. Breakfast was also served in this room and again the amount of table ware used is actually mind boggling, especially given that the majority of it is NOT put in a dishwasher!

So dinner was very good and our room also, but I have to say that sleeping on the floor, is not the most comfortable of events, nor is kneeling or sitting cross legged. Apparently Japanese learn from an early age to do this and of course in a traditional home, it really is sleeping daily on the floor.

After our busy day trip to Nikko, we were all invited to dinner at the  International House of Japan. This is the former home of Koyata Iwasaki ( of Mitsubishi )  and is situated in beautiful grounds not far from the Tokyo tower, it was established in 1952 by Nelson D Rockerfeller and Shigeharu Matsumoto. There were 18 ( I think) of us , of which we were 8. All of the rest were Japanese but they all had lived and worked for many years overseas, including the USA and the UK, so language was not a problem. Our host,  a member of this club had kindly arranged a special menu for us, and had arranged the seating so as to ensure we all had ample time to chat with everyone. Interestingly, he is studying wine and hope to take his exam in the not too distant future, and consequently some of the wine he had chosen for the evening was in fact Japanese, which is a growing industry.

Our menu, consisted of the following:-

1. Carrot Ice
2. Smoked chicken cake with mango
3. Pan fried rockfish with vegetables and curry cream sauce
4. Pan fried lamb with parsley and mustard sauce
5. Cassis and kirsch mousse with a raspberry sorbet.

  We were very fortunate to be able to have this dinner in the International House of Japan, and to have Lamb on the menu is exceptional as , was explained to me, it is very expensive in Japan, however our hosts all had developed a taste for I whilst living in the UK!

  

  

  

 

This day saw us becoming real tourists and taking a tour bus to the town of Nikko. This is a small town  about 150 km north of Tokyo, in the Tochigi Prefecture area. 

We started our day at a rather chaotic bus station, where there were buses and tour guides departing, everywhich way ! We boarded our bus and set off for a rather long bus ride to Nikko. Nikko is famous for a Toshugo Shinto shrine built in 1617. It is also famous for a Botanical garden , which has according to Wikepedia over 2,000 species . There is also a 35 km avenue of 13,000 Cedar trees, ( listed in the Guinness book of records )which was established over 400 years ago when  200,000 trees were planted . The Cedar tree is the national tree of Japan.

  

  

  

  
  

  
 Apart from the impressive shrine, we had lunch at a road side café, which catered just for the bus loads of tourists, which were carefully stage managed by the various tour guides, so that not everyone descended at once. What was quiet amazing was that we 

  were given a choice on boarding the bus, meat or vegetarian and you will see from the lunch time photo, that it was impressive. We could have eaten the freshly grilled fish which looked and smelled just wonderful .
It is a long dive for Tokyo, but given our time restraints, this was the only way. 

So we are actually still on day two, getting a bit behind here, but the days are jammed packed and so little time to do anything else.

So after our Sushi lunch we headed towards the Imperial Palace, one of the best sites in Tokyo for Cherry Blossom viewing. As with any blossom, the season is hit and miss and one torrential down pour or gale force winds, and they are gone! But we were  in luck, they were in full bloom and so along with half of Tokyo we joined in the shuffle around the lake to enjoy this absolutely magnificent sight.

In Tokyo, the best viewing area is the Ueno Sakura Matsuri which is the park by the lake. During the Cherry Blssom festival the park is lit with over a 1,000 lanterns for nighttime viewing. The park expects several hundred thousand visitors daily, hence the shuffling . There are over 600 trees in this park alone.

Throughout Japan, there are cherry trees at this time of year and depending on your location the blooming time will vary. For example in the mountainous region it will be later than in Tokyo. There are over one hundred varieties of cherry trees, ranging from white to pale pink to dark pink and even to yellow and green. Most of them have five petals but some have 10 or even twenty. One of the most beautiful is the Shiarezakura, the weeping cherry. Also in bloom at this time, of course are plenty of other spring flowers , but as is usual , blossom time brings rain and wind! After all they are not just there for our enjoyment! 

    
    
    
 

So Day Two here in Tokyo saw us at the TSUKIJI  fish market, which is not far from the Ginza district.
Tsukiji Market (築地市場, Tsukiji Shijō) is one of ten wholesale markets that deal with the distribution of fruit, vegetables, meat and fish for Tokyo. The  Tsukiji Market is one of the world’s largest fish markets, handling over 2,000 tons of marine products per day. Rumour has it, that the market, will move out of the city to a new site, later on this year. The market has attached to it, a fruit and vegetable market as well. The tuna auction takes place here also and any visitor has to apply at the auction office, early in the morning, only 120 visitors are allowed each day and they are also divided into 2 groups, the first being admitted at 5.25 and the second at 5.50. It reminded me very much of Billingsgate in London ( smaller) , though without the banter ( watch yer back darlin!) The other difference being is, in London the porters skilfully manoeuvre large metal trolleys around, whilst in Tokyo it is motorised carts,the porters, constantly beefing at all who should dare to get in the way ! Of course there is lots of Tuna but besides that all sorts of fish, fresh, dried and frozen! Some recognisable and some not ( should have come with my worldwide fish guide). One interesting item was Octopus eggs. Apparently they are intelligent animals and are protected within the EU. The male dies soon after mating and the female guards her eggs for up to 53 months ( depending on species) and then she dies! No fun being an Octopus then! So was very interested to see the eggs on sale, but am really not sure what to do with them!

 

 

  

  

  

  

  

 

After a very interesting morning looking at Fish we stopped for lunch, also in the the TSUKIJI area, some of us had Sushi whilst others Tempura or baked fish, but no matter what, all were very good. I was tempted to try the Omelet on a stick from a street vendor, ( but had just had lunch). Interestingly they make it in a rectangular pan, quiet thick, and then cut it into lengths and put on a stick! Very innovative, I think I just need to  buy one of those pans!  

  

So now it is off to the Royal Palace to look at the Cherry Blossom!

  This trip sees us in Japan, at the moment in Tokyo. Last night at the request of himself ( he who had fond memories of his various visits here) saw us eating in a traditional restaurant ( named Karen) eating Shabu-Shabu. Roughly translated it means Swish-Swish! Which is the sound the beef makes as you swish it, just one time back and forth around in the hot pot.

Apparently, according to Wikipedia, Shabu-Shabu  was invented in the 20th. Century by the Suehiro restaurant in Osaka and they registered it as a trade mark in 1955.

So what beef do they use for Shabu-Shabu? Well again according o Wikipedia it is generally Rib Eye, although I have never seen in the UK or the USA beef that is as finely marbled as that which we ate last night. 

 On arriving at the Karen restaurant which is in the Ginza district of Tokyo, we were greeted with a ” oh my bad knees ” moment as it appeared that we would have to squat at worse or sit cross legged at best at the table, which was at floor level. However we were all pleased to find that although we needed to clamber down to the floor, the table was actually set over a pit, so we basically sat normally but at floor level! Very enterprising, I should say ! 

 We ate copiously and the star of the evening was the Kuroge Wagyu, Japanese Black beef, from and area called Kagoshima . We were fortunate enough to be in the company of a Japanese friend and her husband, who had connections with the Kagoshima meat industry. So feast your eyes on our wonderful  dinner, and this was just day one!

   
    
   

  I am currently on an Indian kick, so tonight it was a version of Kedgeree or it could be an Indian Risotto. The word kedgeree is an English variation on the Indian word Khichri, and it is supposed that the  colonial British brought the idea back from India, though there are records of it being in Britain, very much earlier than that. The traditional Britihs version usually contains smoked fish along with rice , hard boiled eggs, white fish and maybe shrimp or prawns. 

This version is made with lentils and rice with mushrooms.

For three people

1. 100 grams yello or red lentils ( pigeon leas , toor dal,)
2. 350 grams basmati rice
3. 2+2 tabsp ghee or olive oil 
4. 1 tsp cumin seeds toasted
5. 1 onion sliced
6. 3 cloves garlic, chopped
7. 1tsp turmeric
8. 750 mls  vegetable stock
9. Salt to taste.

For the mushrooms

1. 500 grams mushroom sliced not washed but cleaned with a mushroom brush.
2. 4 tbs olive oil 
3. 4 cloves garlic chopped 
4. 1 tsp chilli flakes

Melt 2 tabsp ghee, add the cumin and toast/fry until it pops, add the garlic and the onion , sauté until soft but not brown. Stir in the lentils and the rice. Add the stock, turmeric and salt. Bring to the boil, cover and simmer for about half an hour. Add more stock or water to keep it to a risotto consistency. When cooked switch off the heat and keep covered to keep hot.

Whilst the risotto is cooking heat the oil and add  the garlic, sauté until soft but not brown. Add the sliced mushrooms and the chilli flakes and stir until the all of the liquid generated by the mushrooms have been absorbed.. Add all to the rice/lentil mixture saving a few for garnish. Melt the remaining ghee. Plate the risotto and pour over some of the melted ghee and garnish with the remains mushrooms.