Wandering in the golden season of the Land of the Rising Sun
20/09/2019
In my 10 years of traveling, the Land of the Rising Sun is the place I visited the most (4 times). However, every time I return, the same street, the same scenery but with different colors of each season left me with completely different emotions. That autumn trip to Japan was also a trip filled with private sobs when I realized that opening my heart was not as difficult as I thought.
Autumn silence in ancient Takayama
Takayama is a beautiful mountain city in Gifu Prefecture, famous for its morning market culture, well-preserved old town with centuries-old wooden houses, and picturesque Hida Folk Village.
As soon as I entered the old town of Takayama, I was amazed by the rustic, old look of the ancient wooden houses from the Edo period (1600-1868). Each house has now become a restaurant, tea house or souvenir shop with its own unique decoration style but still preserves the ancient look with traditional architecture for the whole neighborhood.
The more I walked, the more I was fascinated by the charm of these wooden houses. The lovely flower arrangement in front of the door like a welcome gate, the stone cat waving to welcome guests, the wooden doors creaking when entering and exiting, the exquisite hand-made souvenirs and countless types of fragrant sake are the details that make up the unique charm of this old town.
Hida Folk Village, not far from the old town of Takayama, is truly a picturesque village, magically appearing in the brilliant golden autumn colors. The ancient wooden houses and rows of trees with many tones of color are reflected on the lake surface - where white swans swim freely, creating a dreamy scene. It seems that all the colors of autumn are gathered here, surprisingly splendid, from yellow, orange to bright red, dark red and purple.
This place is also known as an "open museum" with dozens of ancient houses built in the early architectural style of Japan. The sloping roofs shaped like two hands clasped in prayer are made from many layers of thatched grass, ensuring good windproofing and heat retention to withstand the harsh winter climate. All the objects in these houses are preserved intact and displayed realistically, helping visitors imagine the daily life of the Japanese people in the past.
Strolling around Hida village, admiring the brilliant autumn scenery against the rustic backdrop of the countryside were memorable relaxing moments of the trip.
Shirakawa-go after harvest
An hour bus ride west of Takayama is the ancient village of Shirakawa-go, a UNESCO-recognized cultural heritage. Shirakawa-go is a famous tourist destination throughout the four seasons of Japan. Each season, the village paints a picture with different colors. Spring is colorful with hundreds of flowers blooming, summer is cool with vast rice fields and blue sky. Winter is white with snow covering the roofs, while autumn is golden with changing leaves and ripening rice fields. We arrived when the rice had just been harvested, but that did not reduce the romantic autumn beauty of the village.
Sharing the same ancient architecture as the Hida Folk Village, the houses here are not museums but actual homes of the local people. Hundreds of houses with steep thatched roofs up to half a meter thick, nestle in the valley of Mount Hakusan, central Japan. We were lucky to witness the scene of people thatching a new house. It turns out that such an elaborate traditional sloping roof is the work of many people.
Wandering along the village roads, whether early morning or late afternoon, the scenery appears strangely peaceful. Roofs are interwoven between rice fields and red maple branches, in the distance are white clouds floating in the Hakusan mountain range. We only stayed in Shirakawa-go village for a short night, regretting that we could not enjoy this peaceful scene any longer.
Relax in Takaragawa
Saying goodbye to the peaceful old villages, we came to Takaragawa resort, located in the Minakami hot spring area, northern Gunma prefecture. Considered one of the most famous onsen (hot spring resorts) in Japan, Takaragawa Onsen has large open-air hot spring baths, surrounded by spectacular natural scenery, unique throughout the four seasons, along with cozy traditional rooms (Ryokan) and authentic Japanese cuisine. This is also the most luxurious experience of this entire journey and it is truly worth it.
There is nothing more relaxing than immersing yourself in 38-40 degree hot water.oC in the cold weather 8-10oC, listening to the sound of the babbling brook and watching the yellow leaves flying every time the wind passed by. And then, in traditional Yukata costumes, the group walked on the road covered with falling yellow leaves in the drizzle, constantly admiring the autumn colors here, so brilliant it was heartbreaking.
Heartbeat in Towada
I used to think that being moved or excited by someone or a certain moment seemed to be only for the youthful, fresh and impulsive age. Then I surprised myself when, 20 years after my youth, my heart skipped a beat once again in front of the romantic autumn scenery in Towada with a new person I just met.
I don’t want to share too much detail about that moment as a respect for “the other person”, I can only say that I had a very special and memorable day walking with autumn in my life. Perhaps the brilliant natural scenery of that autumn sublimated my emotions.
Hand in hand, we walked along a small stream. The intermittent drizzle made the air feel colder with each gust of wind. Walking silently side by side, we seemed to have some kind of magical connection, to be able to “hear” what the other said, what they were thinking, even though neither of us said anything.
I don’t remember exactly where that road was, but it was near Lake Towada. The autumn scenery couldn’t be more spectacular, with babbling brooks, small waterfalls flowing along moss-covered hillsides, and red and yellow leaves filling the frame.
The sense of time and space that day seemed very vague. We just wandered together until the sky turned dark and were a bit confused and anxious to catch the last bus of the day. Even though that person will always be a "stranger", those emotional moments, at least for me, will still be imprinted forever!
MORE INFORMATION
Visa:The procedure for applying for a visa to Japan is not simple at all. You need to prepare a passport, a 4.5x4.5 (cm) photo, a visa application (according to the Embassy's online form), a travel itinerary, a hotel booking and a flight reservation (no need to issue a ticket yet). The application review time is one week, and a tourist visa is valid for 90 days from the date of issuance, with a single entry for a maximum of 15 days (for a single-entry short-term tourist visa). The special thing is that the visa fee is only collected when you are granted a visa, collected at the Embassy on the day of passport return.
Trip:Since Japan opened its tourism to Vietnam, there have been many airlines with direct flights from major cities in Vietnam (HCMC, Hanoi, Da Nang) to major cities in Japan (Tokyo, Osaka, Sapporo). In addition, these airlines often have promotional programs with very preferential ticket prices. We chose Vietnam Airlines, flying to Osaka and returning from Tokyo with a promotional ticket price of 12 million VND.
Transportation:Traveling between cities in Japan is extremely simple thanks to the extremely modern public transport system. For foreign tourists, the most economical way is to buy a JR pass (Japan Rail Pass) for 7 days or 14 days (depending on your time), which can take most public transport from the world's second fastest bullet train, Shinkansen, to regular trains, buses, metro, subway. There are many websites or apps that help you choose the most suitable public transport to move from one place to another at the time you want. I used the Hyperdia site and was extremely satisfied with the accuracy of the information provided.
Time:Before setting out to see Japan’s autumn, you should follow the leaf-changing schedule that is regularly updated on Japan’s autumn travel websites. Normally, autumn starts in September and ends in mid-November. However, the time when green leaves turn yellow, orange, and red varies by region and year. Our journey started from October 22 to October 31.
Cuisine:Japanese cuisine is one of the unique features of the Land of the Rising Sun. Not only famous for Sushi or fresh seafood Sashimi, traditional dishes such as Bento boxed rice, Udon/Ramen noodles, or grilled beef are also very special. Coming to Takayama, you cannot miss the famous Hida beef, which is as delicious as Kobe beef, but much cheaper.
Accommodation:To save money, we always stay at small guesthouses (hostels). Although small, these guesthouses are extremely clean, cozy and have professional service. I usually prioritize booking rooms at hostel chains with many branches in cities such as K'House, J-Hopper, Khaosan.
Skin:Japan's autumn weather is extremely beautiful, October is cold from about 12-18oC, at night it will drop a few degrees lower. So, in addition to autumn clothes (thicker than normal summer clothes in Vietnam), you should prepare for yourself 2 coats (1 thin, 1 thick), along with a scarf to comfortably admire the autumn colors.
