Japan, Takayama - Train Rides

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When I travel, I have always enjoy staying in rural areas which are off the beaten track. During my trip to the mountains of Takayama in Okuhida in the autumn of 2014, I had to travel from Tokyo all the way to my destination. The travel alone took up an entire day of my itinerary. Of course, the travelling was a sight-seeing adventure all by itself as the scenery changed from the crowded cityscape of Tokyo to the rural and mountains terrain of Hida-Takayama.

Locally-grown crops, Okuhida, Takayama, Gifu Prefecture, Japan (2014)

Prior to my arrival in Japan, I worked out the travel itinerary from travel guides and tried it out  for the first time when I landed in Tokyo. Not all the information that I had gathered from the guides were accurate and I had to make minor adjustments along the way with some help in direction finding from the locals. That was the fun part of the trip and I must admit that I did get lost along the way before I eventually arrived at the family-run ryokan located in the highlands of Okuhida.

My train journey took me from Tokyo to Nagoya via Shinkansen (a.k.a. high speed rail). The journey was about 2 hours and at Nagoya, I had to switch to the local limited express train on the JR Hida line to Takayama. This took about another 1.5 hours. Arriving in the small town of Hida-Takayama, I disembarked, had lunch and took the local bus service that took me to the ryokan in the mountains. The bus ride took about an hour and it was during that part of the journey where I missed my stop and  had to backtracked to the ryokan, carrying my luggage in the cold mountain air as night fell. Eventually, I found my way to the ryokan and after a quick check-in and sumptuous dinner, soaked away my stress and tiredness in the private onsen in the ryokan with the full mountain view of Okuhida right in front of me. How was that as a reward for a full day of train and bus rides?

The video here showed the scenery along a small part of my train ride from Nagoya to Hida-Takayama. This video was shot using my Canon IXUS 100 IS digital camera.


Short video of rural landscape traveling on the JR Hida Line from Nagoya to Hida-Takayama, Gifu Prefecture, Japan (2014)

The mountainous view of the remote Okuhida Region, Takayama, Gifu Prefecture, Japan (2014)

Peaceful and serene, Okuhida, Takayama, Gifu Prefecture, Japan (2014)

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