The sixth day of our Adventures by Disney trip to Japan started with a delicious breakfast buffet at Hotel Associa Takayama Resort. While breakfast is included in the trip, Adventurers are given vouchers to use when dining on their own instead of having group meals early in the morning. We got a great start to our day before boarding the bus for our first stop.
The day is called “Go Shirakawa-Go!” and our first destination was the historic village of Shirakawa-Go, a UNESCO World Heritage site and one of Japan’s national treasures. On the drive there, which included a 6-mile long tunnel through the mountains, Tomomi and James gave us a lot of background information about the location. We had a short group tour at the start of our visit, but we were allowed to explore the area on our own for most of the time. There were lots of shops, restaurants, and historic exhibits, in addition to walking trails in the picturesque mountains.
Many of the shops had Sarubobo dolls, a Hida tradition that started in Shirakawa-Go. The faceless doll is a monkey and was originally red, given to newborn babies as a wish for them to remain pure and good natured all their lives. It was believed that if you drew a face on the doll and did it wrong, the child might grow to have a weird face. They now come in many colors for different reasons and many of the shops sold the dolls. I found a charm of the Little Green Men from “Toy Story” catching a sarubobo doll with the claw and added it to my lanyard.
Lunch was in the attic of an old building at a restaurant called Irori. When we got up there, the tables were already set with food, including rice, pickled vegetables, steamed chicken, and tofu for me because I don’t eat fish. Those who do enjoyed a whole sweet fish found only in Japan. More adventurous Adventurers ate the whole fish, including the head, while most enjoyed the midsection. Speaking of my dislike of seafood, Adventures by Disney has been so accommodating. Our group also includes a vegetarian and they bend over backwards to modify menu items for us.
A sweet 80-year-old woman from the restaurant gave us our pin for the day with the theme on it. It features Daisy Duck exploring Shirakawa-Go.
After lunch, we went to a lookout point and were given the option of walking up an inclined path or bussing back. We chose the walk as the area was so beautiful and we wanted to see more of it. After taking individual and group photos on the lookout, we were treated to soft serve ice cream by our Adventure Guides. I chose vanilla/matcha swirl and it was so yummy!
Heading back into Takayama, we next split into two groups. Half the group went off on a bike ride while the rest of us went to do a calligraphy class followed by a tasting tour. I did the calligraphy hiragana symbol for “Star” because I felt it was the most Disney of the options.
Our walking tour allowed us to see the quaint shopping area full of mom & pop shops and eateries. We got to sample some fried and grilled tofu, rice odongos, miso soup and crackers, sake, and candy. Along the way, our local expert team explained the traditions and process to make the items. It was particularly fascinating to learn about how sake is made. We even got to keep our sake glasses as a souvenir.
We returned to the hotel for a two hour break before venturing out for dinner. Hida is famous for its beef, which only comes from this region and doesn’t get exported the way Kobe does. There are five quality grades of Hida beef and we went to a restaurant called Suzuya which has grade 5 Hida beef. A clay burner was brought to each seat and Adventurers could cook it themselves, but they cautioned not to overcook it. Accompanying the main course was chicken katsu, tempura sweet potato, Japanese meatballs, pickled ginger, and rice. It was hands-down the best meal of the trip so far. The restaurant’s owner is a sweet older lady and the staff was so friendly. Her hilarious son explained the cooking process in the universal language of gestures and sounds. Everyone had a great time!
Tomorrow we will spend the morning in Takayama before making our way towards Tokyo. We’re excited to get closer to the capital of Japan, but also sad as it means the trip is half over now. Until tomorrow, sayonara!
