Takayama is a city in Gifu Prefecture, which I think quite a lot of you are familiar with because is recently made known to the world by anime “Your Name”. There are a few other areas name Takayama in Japan, so this traditional city is usually referred to as Hida-Takayama (飛騨高山).

As the kanji of the name suggests, this city is made of lots of… high mountains.

Matsuri No Mori (Art & Festa Forest)

We stopped by Matsuri No Mori, a museum of different interests, workshop areas and a souvenir shop combined.

Senbei Making

If you are a fan of the traditional Japanese snack – senbei (rice crackers), you can experience  hand-baking your own senbei!

You will be given a thin metal tong and a mitten to “kiap” your senbei haha. And then you will bake it in the traditional kamado oven, flipping it over on every 3 counts until it expands into twice the size!

There’s a fee for the workshop: 300 yen for 5 pieces and 600 yen for 10 pieces. I think it is too cheap!! Haha.

Sounds easy but it’s actually extremely tough to make even, flat senbei that doesn’t bend all over the sides, or crack during the pressing.

Mine. See how different it is from those for sale?

Of course, freshly baked senbei is extra yummy!

Festa Forest

Have you heard of the Takayama Festival (高山祭, Takayama Matsuri)? It is ranked as one of Japan’s three most beautiful festivals alongside Kyoto’s Gion Matsuri and the Chichibu Yomatsuri in Saitama. The spring festival is happening soon, on 14 & 15th of April every year!

At this museum, you can see life-size floats that is being paraded during the festival, and watch the Kakakuri Doll performance.

Gorgeous, golden-lacquered folding screens crafted by traditional artisans, be blown away by how amazingly intricate the designs are!

A Kakakuri doll on display. They are sophisticated mechanical dolls that can move and dance, you can try manipulating it using the strings here!

Miniature floats on display. Omg and I thought the actual floats are amazing, I wonder how long it takes for one to be completed!

At the main hall, you can see timed performances of the Kakakuri dolls on the life-size floats. I posted a few videos on my IG story. One doll can even do face-changing!

Another beautifully designed float.

Super realistic dolls.

Take a photo with the floats holding a Sarubobo, a faceless doll that is deemed to be a lucky charm against evil exclusive to Hida-Takayama area. You will see lots and lots of it here in Takayama!

Drive Station Itakura(ドライブステーション板蔵)

Lunch was at Itakura Ramen with rather clear soup based, a Takayama-style ramen that was seen eaten by the main character in Your Name.

Quite a huge canteen-style ramen shop!

Our set comes with side dishes and… *gasp* a bowl of rice! Just like the Miso Nikomi Udon in Nagoya, the noodles are always served with rice (double carbo!) and I always feel so bad that I couldn’t finish it T_T (it was already served before I could tell them to do without rice).

^^

Shinhotaka Ropeway 新穂高ロープウェイ

If you come to Takayama, you can’t miss out Shinhotaka at Oku-Hida.

The scenery gradually turn monochrome as the entire mountainous town is covered in snow.

Shinhotaka Ropeway is also Japan’s only double-decker ropeway!

View on the way up! Slowly the monochrome scene reveals vivid colors in shades of blue and green. It was spectacular.

Still going up up up!

We arrived at the upper station, now 2156m above sea level. Present to you, Japan’s highest point post box haha. You are quite literally sending a your wishes from above if you post a letter here.

The weather was -3°C, which is cosidered pretty warm for this time of the year. It was apparently minus 15 or something the year before.

Observation deck overlooking powdery white mountains.

enjoy the Northen Alps in Japan.

This is a mini Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route haha. We didn’t get to visit Tateyama this trip but I guess I could imagine how it is like!

Somebody made these little snow buddies. ^^

Gold-leaf soft cream at the ropeway station cafe!!

And super yummy looking sweet treat. I don’t know why but the colder the weather/location, the more popular the ice cream shops are. Haha.

The station master gifted each of us a Sarubobo charm called the “Kizuna Sarubobo” – the bonding charm, as a tiny piece of wire which the ropeway is made of is attached to the charm!! It is to signify an unbreakable bond, also to testify how incredible strong and safe the ropeways are! ^^

We are back down the base and you can also get real onsen tamago here.

One last photo before we headed to our accommodation of the night.

Hida Hotel Plaza

This time around it’s tatami room!

Banquet dinner again.

Spot that Sarubobo!

Every night it was kaiseki-style, so we get to enjoy different local dishes in small portions.

Legit Hida beef! If you love beef, it would be a shame if you go home without savoring some.

Hie Shrine

The next day, we made a quick visit to Hie Shrine in Gifu, which was said to be used as the model for the Miyamizu Shrine in the anime Your Name in its fictional town called Itomori.

From the anime! Remember the scene where Mitsuha performs a Japanese traditional dance that was ever so mesmerizing?

This shrine is used for Takayama Festival, so I’m sure it’s a powerful spot for the locals. ^^

And look at that tree…I’m always so in awe so see the ancient trees in shrines… they are so… celestial. There’s something truly magical in them.

Perspective.

That’s all for today! Next up it is Gokayama at Toyama prefecture.

This is a short post on the ryokan I stayed in Gero Onsen (下呂温泉), Gifu Prefecture. Read my previous post on Seki City Swordsmith. ^^

I loooove Onsen and I was so excited to visit Gero Onsen as it is one of the top 3 famous springs in Japan (I think rated based on the quality of the hotspring), along with Kusatsu onsen (草津温泉) in Gunma Prefecture (which I visited when I was 8 months pregnant with Junya in 2014!) as well as Arima Onsen (有馬温泉) in Hyogo Prefecture.

Other famous onsen you should keep in your list include Beppu Onsen (Oita Prefecture), Yufuin Onsen (Oita Prefecture), Dogo Onsen (Ehime Prefecture), Kinugawa Onsen (Tochigi Prefecture), Hakone Onsen (Kanagawa Prefecture), etc. I think after my #47prefecturemission, I am going to have an Onsen-tour and also Jinja (shrine) tour. It’s very mentally refreshing and spiritually lifting.

Due to a tight schedule, we didn’t get to explore Gero city, but spent a relaxing night at the traditional ryokan located just 3 minutes away from JR Gero Station.

Suimeikan 水明館‎

Love this illustration in the ryokan! Feeling the spring beckoning. ^^

A spacious lobby looking out to a gorgeous Japanese-style garden.

Festive decorations to welcome Hinamatsuri (Girl’s Day).

Other than its 3 public onsen baths, there’s also a swimming pool!

A souvenir shop offering all the local specialties, and just in season – everything cherry blossom! I bought the preserved sakura petals. There are also sakura tea, sakura jam, sakura confectionery…

My room is western-style with bed. I actually prefer Washitsu but bed is good too!

If you have been to ryokan before, I’m sure you notice that there’s always a small sweet snack (usually a local delicacy) on the table to welcome its guests, and tea leaves you can make yourself a hot cuppa. At first I thought it was just the ryokan’s hospitality to share its local yummy treats, but it’s actually more than just that!

I learnt from Japanese TV (Japanese TV feeds my brain haha) that the small gesture is actually meant to make sure that the guests have the best time going to the onsen! How so? By consuming a little sweet treat, it prevents one from getting light-headed from entering a hot bath on an empty stomach. That’s really thoughtful omotenashi spirit. #ilovejapan.

You know what’s better? Their toilet paper.

My god this is the first time I see the toilet paper folded this way!! (usually it is just a simple triangle). What intricate designs they gonna do next, an origami gyoza?? I was so amazed that I took photos of the folds so that I could replicate it. Alright. Squares instead of triangle for my home toilets.

(Am I the only person who gets excited over toilet roll folds?! Please tell me I’m not alone.)

(Ok you know what, Gyoza toilet paper folds already exists. Or at least gyoza-looking folds. It’s called the Pleated Tuck. I just googled.)

(OK WHAT THE HELL. They freaking fold their toilet papers into hearts, roses, clovers, cranes, neckties, Mt Fuji, ribbons, butterflies and erm… dragon. and a… Goddess? Apparently it took 30 hours to fold a dragon. You probably need a really bad diarrhoea to make that one.)

(Ok. There’s a website dedicated to toilet paper folding. It’s called Toilet Origami. Alright glad to know that I’m not the only one.)

(I just spent the last 20 minutes watching toilet paper origami tutorial videos. This is getting too much. Alright. Challenge accepted. The danna’s gonna come home to different paper animals and stuff ready to kiss his ass every day.)

(Sorry if that was too much. Now back to origami original topic.)

View from room!

Changed into yukata and took a stroll in the outdoor area of the ryokan.

Can you believe this is a view within a ryokan?😍

<3

Our banquet dinner at night.

Kaiseki style.

The main highlight of the day was the Hoba Leaf Miso Grilled Wagyu, a Hida Takayama specialty. The miso was slightly sweet and very flavorful (might be a little too salty if you mix it all, but it’s perfect if you have a bowl of rice to go with.), and was a great match to the soft, juicy beef.

Ahhh Japanese wagyu is still the best.

With Tai Tai from Taiwan.

<3

3 fake Japanese okusan again haha. We should totally have a club for this.

That’s all for today! Next up it’s Hida Takayama, which is made world-famous by the anime “Your Name”.

After our Udon making experience in Nagoya, our group departed for Seki city in Gifu prefecture to witness the craftsman skill of the world-renowned swordsmith in Japan – Hanomoya Cutler Sansyu 刃物屋三秀.

Seki Hamono Museum

Cutler Sansyu has a museum in Seki City, where you can visit for a Japanese Sword Forging Tour, which also includes Iai performance, kimono wearing free trial, tea ceremony, workshop and of course, a factory shop for your shopping! I was really excited for the visit because I was just looking for a new blade to add to my kitchen top.

Kimono Wearing

Their kimono are some of the most elaborated I’ve seen! As they are just a single layer you can put on easily, the wearing only takes 20 seconds, but still it makes a gorgeous photo-taking opportunity.

Try on the men’s attire too if you like. Haha.

Sword-Forging

The president of Hamonoya Sansyu, Yoshida Kazuhiro gave us brief explanations on how Seki City is the word’s 3rd largest blade-producing area, along with Solingen in Germany and Sheffield in England.

And there are 3 important conditions that makes Seki City the perfect place produce world-class blades, and that is the abundant pure water source from Nagara River, the availability of coal for quenching, and the soil that produces red clay for blade making.

Blades that they produce include Japanese swords, professional and family use knives, scissors, nail clippers, etc.

Watch a live demonstration of Japanese-sword forging right here at Seki Hamono Museum. The master swordsmiths will show you how their blades are made with traditional forging style that has been passed down by their ancestors from centuries ago.

Accompanied with burning red flames…

And flying sparks!

You can see a thick block of steel being hammered, then folded together before hammering it, repeatedly. That’s how you make super strong blades.

Even visitors get to get a taste of how pounding the raw steel with a heavy giant hammer is like. I can just say that I am sure of every single blade they produce here are made of sweat, blood and heart.

Hold a sword to feel the Samurai in you.

居合道 Iai Performance 

(Screenshot from my IG story)

Master Yoshida gave us a quick glimpse of the exceptional sharpness of his sword slicing the bamboo into halves.

Scissors-making workshop

After the performance, you may also enjoy a little workshop on putting pieces together to make a pair of mini scissors. You can mix and match different colors for the holder!

Mine is white, for that Muji minimalistic look. And the genius thing about it is that…

It can be folded!! Omg super awesome ok! It’s perfect for traveling, and I won’t have to worry about the kids getting hurt accidentally.

Blade Shopping

Shopping time!! I guess most people would be shopping for kitchen knives (me me me!!), but they do have scissors, tweezers and other blade items.

If you love cooking, or cooks sometimes and would like to improve your cooking, I’d definitely recommend buying a good knife. Guaranteed life-changing (at least in the kitchen!!). Honestly, some kitchen disasters were caused by a lousy knife (it’s not you, it’s the knife. Hahaha)and I was surprised that how much more I enjoyed cooking when I finally bought a good-quality Japan made knife.

Japanese knives are known to be world-class (I think I mentioned before about a Japanese Knife VS bazooka battle on my IG story before, how the knife could withstand multiple bazooka bullets shot through it and not even break T___T), and the best entry-level knife to get is the Santoku Knife 三徳包丁, literally the “three-virtue knife”, which is all purpose and performs well for all three types of cuts slicing, dicing, and mincing.

They have tons to choose from and I bought one that’s on sale, only half price!!! It was 14800 yen, and I paid 7300 yen for it, WORTH EVERY YEN. SGD90 for a knife sounds really pricy considering you can easily buy one from Daiso for $2, but good knives are not supposed to be cheap. I know this after I saw how blades are made from the museum.

Each piece is forged from several pieces of steel, hammered and folded over and over again to create that unrivalled strength and sharpness, whereas cheap blades are stamp cut like cookies from weak steel, and bend, chip and break easily.

The first time I used it was to thin-slice cucumber. It sounds like I’m crazy but I held the knife in my hand, thanked it for being mine, and told it “yoroshiku onegaishimasu“, and then I slid it down to half the cucumber on the chopping board -my heart squeezed a little with the first slice. Then I continue to smoothly sliver the cucumber in thin strips, savoring every single chop. It feels soooooo shiok I don’t even know how to describe. I literally sighed when the blade smoothly and effortlessly separates the juicy flesh of the vegetable into perfect thin cylinders. I felt like a masterchef. Hahaha. I’m so in love with my new knife. And to think that it is one of the more basic, entry-level knife they had in store!!

That said, as with any other knife, even the sharpest knife in the world gradually turns blunt with use. Get a good knife, and sharpen it regularly. I bought an electronic sharpener from Donki in Japan and works well!

Get your Seki-made knife and I guarantee you it’s one of the best investments you will ever made for your cooking life.

I didn’t expect a blog post on blades could turn so long, I guess I’ll stop here and next up I’m blogging about the ryokan I stayed in Gifu!

Quick filler post while I prepare for our family spring trip back to Japan.

My… yearly coordinate post😂. First and maybe last of 2018 😂. It is really because the danna was helping out every day with the kids, cooking and housework in the apartment that I get to play dress up… a little. People who think that I look like this every can’t be more wrong 😂. I usually go pick cheesiepetits up from school in Singapore in my pajamas hahaha.

We were in Gold Coast last year and the heat was insane. This year we postponed our trip and it was perfectly warm and breezy in the day and cooling at night!  Also the easiest weather to coordinate your outfits. Winters are always disastrous for me.

So here are some outfits. 😅 And I think it’s no use knowing what I wear anyway because I bulk-bought most of my clothes from zozotown because they are having crazy deals for off-season apparels, and then have them shipped to the danna when he travels to Japan for work and bring them back for me. I guess you can use a forwarder if you insist haha. But some of the clothes are really dirt cheap like from 700 yen!

Anyway.

Coordinate 1

Top: GYDA (I wore it backwards so that it is less revealing haha)
Bottom: Egoist

So that can bring the sexy back 😛

Coordinate 2

Top: GYDA
Bottom: ANAP (for like 1200 yen!!)

Pineapple girls

Coordinate 3

Top: Lowry’s Farm
Bag: Human Woman

Coordinate 4

Bottom: Beauty&Youth
Hat: Bought more than 10 years ago!!
Shoes: BEAMS

Coordinate 5

Special guest hehe.

Hat: UNIQLO
Top: AZUL By Moussy

Coordinate 6

Same hat, same bottom, same shoes, new top I got from Billabong. I always wanted to try out Aloha shirts haha. It’s super comfy! Tote bag is novelty gift from Japanese fashion magazines. I have tones of those and they are my favorites!

Camera from Fujifilm Singapore hehe.

Coordinate 7

Dress from About A Girl in Isetan Scotts. The straw hat is a gift for Sakura but it’s too big for her so… mama wear.😅

Coordinate 8

The same top is coordinate 1 but different color. This time I wear it front-correct. 😛 Denim skirt from About A Girl in Isetan Scotts.

Coordinate 9

Dress from Lzzie

Family Coordinate

We are all wearing… a wink! 😉

Update again soon! I have too much to catch up!

Early March I spent 1 week in Japan on VisitJapan‘s influencer program. They have selected influencers from all over the world to visit different parts of Japan.

I was originally supposed to be on the Kansai trip but I couldn’t make it for that week so the organizer assigned me to Chubu & Hokuriku area instead. And I was soooooo happy and thankful because that was one of the regions left in my yet-to-visit #47PrefectureMission. By the end of that trip, I have visited 5 new prefectures, and now I have checked off a total of 36 prefectures, leaving only 11!!!

Thank you, Japan, for loving me back. T_T.

There are so much I need to blog about, but first I’d start with our first day as a group in Nagoya, where we visited Yamamotoya for an udon-making experience!

Yamamoto Ya

Yamamoto-ya is one of the oldest and most loved chain for Miso Nikomi Udon (noodles in stewed miso broth) – one of the most famous Nagoya specialties.

Their noodles are freshly handmade every day, and there’s no preservatives used so you can ensure the highest quality for your meal.

With Nancy and Tai Tai from Taiwan. 3 fake Japanese okusan here hahahha because all married to Japanese danna. ^^ The first night we chatted until late night about our housewife life being married to a different culture and we all could relate soooo well.😂

Udon-making

Yamamotoya is using two kinds of different flours including soba flour to coat the noodle so that it blends well with the miso-based broth.

Each participant get to experience the dough making (due to time limitation we skipped this), rolling, flattening and chopping!

Roll it out, roll it out!

This rolling technique is called “men uchi” (literally “noodle beating”).

Udon master demonstrating his skill.

Evenly sliced udon noodles.

My turn. ^^

Mine!!

I really do feel a sense of achievement haha, especially now that I’m enjoying cooking. Maybe one day I’d make my own noodles!

Me and Tai Tai who probably had no idea what we were doing haha.

Miso Nikomi Udon

After the experience we are treated to a scrumptious set lunch that includes the highlight of the restaurant, and probably in Nagoya – Miso Nikomi Udon!

Side dish – tempura fried to crispy perfection.

Simmered dish – daikon and yam stick in miso sauce! (Yes daikon was really yummy haha.)

The claypot Miso Nikomi Udon! A very local way of eating it is to use the claypot lid as a serving bowl, to cool a small portion of noodle down since it is served steaming hot!

A lot of people find the broth a little on the salty side for them, but apparently this is the true Nagoya taste! For me I really enjoyed the chewy texture of the noodle, it is different from any other udon I have tasted before, really 很有嚼劲 (very al dente), and the udon master was right!! A light coat of soba flour on the raw noodles allowed it to absorb the broth, making the noodles itself super flavorful.

Itadakimasu!

Yamamoto-Ya has a few branches in Nagoya, do check them out when you visit the city!

Also, I have received some enquiries about udon-making experience, and yes they do accept bookings from travelers, only at the Okutecho branch! More info on their website, FB page and IG : @yamamotoya_official. (Sorry it’s only in Japanese for now T_T).

Hope you guys like it!!

Last summer in August 2017.

A new prefecture conquered – Aomori, 青森 in Kanji, which means “green forest”.

I don’t know why but there’s something mysteriously romantic about the name Aomori, maybe because of the image of deep, mystical wildwoods, maybe I have remembered the mesmerizing photos I have seen of Aomori in the past… But it has always been very high on my visit list!

We took the Hayabusa Shinkansen to Hachinohe, Aomori Prefecture. The ride took only around 2 hours 45 minutes!

Bento on board!

Junya in his favorite bullet train.

Hanichone station!

Just in time for their summer festival!!

Hasshoku Center 八食センター

If you’re in Hachinohe you can’t miss out Hasshoku Center, a huge marketplace selling fresh seafood as well as restaurants that offer local delicacies.

And do you know what Hachinohe is famous for?

UNIDON!!!!!!

YES!!!

This was the first restaurant we saw (right at the entrance), called Ichiba Tei (いちば亭). And they had a huge poster standie at the restaurant entrance featuring their specialty sea urchin bowls. And I told the danna, “Ok we are going in. No need to see the rest”. Haha.

Which one would you choose?

Omg I wanted ALL!!!!

The danna was the moderate one. He picked Sansshoku Don that has squid, ikura and uni as topping. But he ordered one extra small bowl of uni topping.

Me. The uni maniac. Of course go full out uni!!! I think there are like $80 worth of uni in this bowl!!!! And only 3,480 yen!!!! I LOVE JAPAN!!! Hahaha.

Ok ok ok baby you may have one bite.

Ah~~~~~~~ happiness.

AHHHHHHHHH. Come open your mouth I feed you.

Come I share with you.

Junya eats Ikura Don.

Aomoriya 青森屋

Our accommodation was Aomoriya located in Misawa city. It is one of the resorts by Hoshino Resorts. And I am so so so glad we picked here because omg Hoshino Resorts is really the best. And Aomoriya it’s actually quite reasonably priced too!

Junya knocked out after lunch. Our welcome drink was, of course, Aomori apple juice!

View from our room.

Soooooo much green! Really is 青森. ^^

It was mid summer and the temperature in Aomori was about 25C? It was perrrrfect omg. I think now I can visit Japa

Relaxing time. ^^

Haha see Sakura toddling gingerly on tatami mat.

Welcome snack in our room. Two for the kids, two for us grown ups.

Aomori Gotochi Kitty I got from the souvenir shop near train station!

Love the matching Jinbei for us all!

Onsen

There was an onsen nearby within the resort, so we went for a warming soak.

Ice cream after onsen.

Haha very generous this Junya.

Thank you thank you!

This is how the outdoor onsen looks in winter! I gotta come back again for snow.

Gold fish & Yukata

Goldfish bowl is an iconic summer decoration in Japan, you may loan one for 500 yen to add that cooling ambiance in your bedroom!

Also, you can also rent yukata for 500 yen, and choose from a variety of pretty summery prints.

Mine was white yukata with blue polka dots.

Kids get to pick their yukata for free! There isn’t one for Sakura’s size so she’s wearing her own haha.

TV time.

The best thing about Hoshino Resorts is that you practically don’t need to go anywhere. There are too many things to enjoy from within.

There would be daily performances and activities at the event hall.

The Nebuta Matsuri was happening soon and this year’s decoration theme was gold fish.

Lots and lots of gold fish lantern!

And a real fish bowl.

很有feel haha.

A giant Nebuta deco on in the middle of the event hall. We were gonna catch the real event two days after!!

Little rubber ducks in origami paper hats.

Apple Juice

What do you think this tree is? It’s an apple tree!!

Well, an Apple Juice Tree! There’s a tab on the tree and from morning until evening, all resort guests get free flow of apple juice!!

Aomori Garlic

Aomori ninniku. I love ninniku.

We had dinner in the resort of course, and I was captivated by a poster standie again.

“臭くてご麺” (Kusakute Go”men”) lololol Japanese pun ok if you wanna laugh please go learn Japanese. Incentive for you here.

Yakisoba that uses 15 pieces of garlic, OK ON!!!! I told the danna “ok no need to see others WE ARE EATING THIS!!!”. Heng the next day no need to meet anyone so however smelly also no problem hahaha.

Anyway, Aomori Garlic is famous for being pleasantly aromatic yet the smell won’t linger in your mouth. And the noodle was 2,299 yen per plate, which at first I thought was super expesnive for a plate of yakisoba. But it turned out that the portion is so huge that the danna and I struggled to finish.

Junya helping me take IG stories of live scallop.

Danna’s sake.

LAI LIAO!!!! My garlic yakisoba!!!!!

Omg now I look at this already my stomach grumbling. The black stuff are black garlic, which I thought the dish can do without because black garlic tasted more like fruits than anything else. @.@

But it was SO GOOD. There was garlic chips, garlic tempura, and crunchy onion… omg we couldn’t stop eating but it’s SO HUGE and we were really full and in the end we finished it all.

I miss this yakisoba until today. I wish I could tapao back here… If you ever go to Aomoriya please taste this on my behalf T__T.

Danna’s favorite ika.

Omiyage

There are of course souvenir shops in the resort. And all I could see was red and red and red apple everything!!

Apple pies, apple cakes, apple rusks, apple cookies…

Cartons and cartons of ringo juice

Even a cute apple dress!!

The next morning at breakfast table.

We checked out and then took the shinkansen to Hakodate, Hokkaido. That’d be in the next post!