But when the whole Japan was covered in rain clouds (except Okinawa), we turned to plan B: staycation and stuff our bellies with local food.
Choosing Takayama was easy. It was on the way back to Tokyo via Nagano. It is one of the few Japanese cities with traditional feels. We drove in the misty fog and stopped by one of UNESCO's Heritage Sites, Shirakawa-go, where, even in the rain looked impressive.
We reached Takayama just before dinner, so we randomly hunted for a local restaurant. Honestly, nothing could ever go wrong eating around Japan. Even the convenience stores' food are of high quality you could just basically eat rice balls every day. We knew we would get tasty food, but what we got was far more delicious at Bandai Kadomise. The beef in miso paste cooked on magnolia leaf, the sets of tiny dishes made of local ingredients and the overall dining experience was so satisfying.
Early morning, we headed to the morning food market which was also famous around the area. It was still raining so we could not do much (I wanted to hike a nearby mountain) than devour everything we laid our eyes on, lol. The local food vendors we super friendly and in their broken English, tried to communicate with us. That was so heart-warming. My favorite was the custard pudding and freshly baked chocolate croissant (well, croissant is croissant!).
We passed by the road of traditional shops and private residences, where most of the tourists were. The area was indeed interesting, and depicted so much of old Japan.
After splurging on local delicacies: pickled radish, powdered mushroom soup, sesame walnuts and a lot more, it was time for us to leave Takayama. That was also after Kevin swore to come back next year, just to eat. xoxo
