A week in GIFU + NAGOYA : Japan’s mountains & traditional towns!

Join us for a serene exploration of Gifu, a prefecture popular for its authentically old-timey vibes, ridiculously photogenic vistas and Showa retro museums! We will be taking day trips into the mountains, exploring the town of Takayama, and also popping down to Nagoya, one of Japan’s less visited big cities (is it a hidden gem? Does it deserve being forgotten by tourists? Help me be the judge of that!)
So if you’re looking for things to do, food to eat and views to enjoy in Japan’s mountain prefecture of Gifu, keep watching!

#japanvlog #gifujapan #shirakawago

———————————–
———————————–
MORE OF ME:

*** Wanna collaborate? My email address for business and other enquiries: kakibotvids@gmail.com ***

ETSY STORE! : https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/Kakibot

Art Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kakibot/

Everyday life Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kakiblog/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/KakiBot

FB: https://www.facebook.com/kakibotnet/

Tumblr: http://kakibot.tumblr.com/

[Music] [Music] hello my peeps this is k aka kakibot and welcome to Kaki bot’s guide book this is a part two of our miniseries about the Lesser visited areas of Japan because we are here for a month and apart from the usual hauns that we needed to revisit we have also decided to visit a couple of places where we’ve never been but we’ve kind of flirted with and today we are in gefu which is this huge piece of montane land a prefecture that set just above or north from Nagoya I’m a very visual thinker and in this video we’re going to explore takayama which is this little town that we’re in right now which you can see is just like super sort of historical very dedicated to keeping itself looking beautiful and old timey next up we’re going to visit uh shakago which is one of those very photogenic Vistas here in Japan you’ve probably seen a picture of it in winter uh but this is Autumn so we’re going to show you what it looks like at this time of year and finally we’re going to move down to aforementioned Nagoya kind of a city that people tend to miss out on so yeah that is the plan for this video I hope you’re excited because um so far this place is beautiful let’s go [Music] one of the best things about traveling to takayama was the scenic route through the mountains we took the hi limited Express from Nagoya all the way to takayama passing beautiful valleys and Spa towns the train was covered by the takayama hokiku tourist pass a subtype of Jr pass which will let you explore hotpots from Osaka to kanazawa we stayed at the hotel kureto which was one of those onon hotels that on one hand feel a bit dated but come with so many freebies I loved that our room had its own KATU table and Japanese style futon beds also there was like a happy hour with a fresh drink and also the the breakfast was so good our post-travel hunger had to be satisfied by two amazing okonomiyaki made by a little Japanese grandma which is probably still my favorite foodie memory from takayama [Music] we made it to shakago which you might be able to tell by seeing the beautiful architecture behind me we took a bus from uh takayama but you can also take a bus from kazaba because it’s kind of between those two spots so um kind of depending on what part of the route you’re doing this is one of those like quintessential images of Japan especially in winter you know the whole kind of beautiful historical buildings covered in like thick layers of snow but we are here in Autumn and it’s just as stunning um the bus we took here mostly took us through tunnels but whenever we were outside of a tunnel uh the views were just uh impeccable uh the colors here truly are something else so yeah um as you can tell we are now within the Little Village area but there is also like a viewing point which is going to be our next stop after we explore here a little bit [Music] while you might know many areas in Japan to enjoy feeling like you’ve traveled back in time to an Edo or shwa city shirakawago is quite unique in its extremely well preserved image of a more rustic style area the type of housing here which is about 300 years old is called kukuri and you will find over 100 of these houses still standing strong in this Village they are built with the heavy snowfall in mind as their roofs can withstand literal tons of snow every winter in February these houses often accumulate up to 170 cm of [Music] snow this place is the long-term home of just over 1500 people who all cooperate on keeping the traditional houses standing and functional a process through which older Generations hand down knowledge about their craft [Music] a [Music] [Music] [Music] a [Music] [Music] okay time to give takayama a proper explore this city is known for old timey experiences sake and like many other Japanese destinations it’s food ooh and let’s not forget about festivals but that obviously is more of a seasonal [Music] thing the takayama shakan museum is a mustsee for anyone who enjoys Japanese history Beyond just Shogun and Samurai this is the place for anyone with a soft spot for retro toys sweets and just cool retro imagery in general [Music] the Historical Center of takayama is a dream for anyone trying to do a little traditional souvenir shopping there are both open a alleys consisting of nothing but historical buildings and also more modern Chon guy those sort of like covered chopping streets and both are absolutely teeming with little shops and food spots this particular shop would be my top tip because you can buy Chopsticks here of many shapes and sizes and designs and you can have them engraved with your friends and family names for free [Music] [Applause] [Music] one of the stranger parts of takayama is the H takayama teddy bear Echo Village it consists of a themed restaurant a Teddy shop and also a little teddy bear Museum which is also very eco- themed as the name already suggests [Music] I say this is a really cute spot to check out on your way to the Hidan noata open air museum plus you might even pick up a new member for your travel group [Music] [Music] [Music] the open air museum is especially perfect for all of you who couldn’t make it to shirakawago as here you might see great examples of the very same type of architecture in this case of course it is no longer lived in but it still offers great opportunity for photos and peaceful views [Music] there is a bus that comes here from the main bus station at takayas Town Center so you do not have to hoof yourself uphill the same way we did so don’t you worry we did however take advantage of this connection on our way back to takayama and enjoyed the city center clearing out and calming down for the off peak hours and beautiful evening light [Music] oh [Music] our evening stroll through takayama included some sake testing as this is the famous place with the sake testing fending machines you buy yourself a couple of to tokens and just go and try a little cup of this and that and you know anything that sounds good to you and then if you’re truly in love with one of the sakes you just buy a bunch of bottles which is what we did with one of the Yuzu sake which is so refreshing and [Music] amazing and that is it for our absolutely lovely time in takayama because the city life is calling and the city in question is Nagoya Japan’s fourth most popular city was a bit of a mystery to us and we were excited to see what it was all [Music] about one thing that every guide will recommend is the Nagoya castle and that is the one thing we did not do for this video we did however walk around and enjoyed from afar I mean when we were around it was already closed so it wasn’t fully our fault it was just kind of a timing [Music] problem Nagoya is also somewhat famous for this photogenic Bookshop although they technically forbid taking pictures on the stairwell I guess I have now become one of those YouTuber menaces and will never be L into Japan ever again what we were not willing to miss out on though were trains this is the SC magav and Railway Park which is an amazing Museum to anyone who loves trains like me uh on the outskirts of Nagoya kind of close to the seaside you can take a train here from the Nagoya station it only takes about 25 minutes to get here and probably about like 300 Yen and to get here you pay, Yen but uh yeah it’s wonderful you get to go into all of those trains there are so many so we’re going to take you here into this amazing Museum and then we’re going to explore magya itself [Music] even if you aren’t into big trains I believe everyone loves themselves a tiny train and this museum has Japan’s biggest model train diorama where if you’ve done some Japan travel already will be so much fun to watch and kind of decode there are just so many little details you’re going to notice including like the little human figures doing weird things I could just watch it for hours [Music] if I were to be completely honest with you I found the Nagoya Skai prominade a bit terrifying of course rationally speaking this is a very very safe way of enjoying a view of the city and on a day with slightly better visibility you would probably have the best of times here with your camera or just good old [Music] eyeballs as we didn’t manage to try hi wagu beef over in gifu where it is originally from we had to catch up here in Nagoya because Simon especially is a big lover of wagu beef bakuro ichai Nagoya West is a fancy Akin restaurant where we got a whole selection of delectable meat cuts plus also some veggies and tofu because personally I need a bit of a pet cleanser between all the delightfully fatty beef I really enjoy that we had all of this space for ourself it it felt very intimate very relaxing after a long long day of enjoying [Music] trains all right the very end of our last day in Nagoya that takes us to the end of this video too the video about gfu and AI hopefully you enjoyed it um this last two days here in nagya have been interesting um first of all it’s been really hot and humid which you can probably tell by the fact that you can likely see your own reflection in my glistening forehead but also this is a strange city which kind of this is like the first time ever in Japan that I had like this sense of being like a post Soviet country which you know as a Czechoslovakian I can say that uh but also Nagoya has these really modern beautiful spaces like this is a really nice public space this whole uh this whole park kind of around the TV tower I love it here uh we came here on both nights of being in Nagoya so uh yeah I find this really fun okay hopefully you’ve enjoyed this video maybe it has inspired you to come in one of these three places that we’ve taken you to if you’ve ever been to gifu or Nagoya tell us in the comment section below if there are any other spots that you would recommend people to go to if you want to follow my travels and my life in Scotland mostly uh please don’t forget to visit me on Instagram that would be Kaki blog where I post a lot of my travel and kind of like Scottish stuff uh or you can visit me on Kaki bot where I post most of my artsy stuff yes that is truly it for me I hope you had a fun time and I will see you soon bye [Music]