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Historic center · Takayama, Gifu
Takayama Old Town (Sanmachi)
Streets lined with dark-wood merchant houses from the Edo period, with sake breweries, shops and house-museums, and morning markets along the Miyagawa River.
Illustrative images. The pictures in this guide are illustrations based on the real place, not photographs, and may differ from it.
A look at the place
Takayama Old Town (Sanmachi) in pictures
These pictures are illustrations based on the real place, not photographs. They may differ from the place.
Click the picture to enlarge it.
Discover
About Takayama Old Town (Sanmachi)
Sanmachi Suji, Takayama’s old town, consists of three parallel streets east of the Miyagawa River — Ichinomachi, Ninomachi and Sannomachi — where merchants lived and traded in the Edo period. The area is protected as a historic district and preserves two-story dark-wood houses with lattice windows, low eaves and water gutters at the base of the walls.
Several houses house sake breweries, recognized by the ball of cedar branches, the sugidama, hung on the façade; when the ball is green, the new sake has just been completed. Many offer tastings. Other houses are candy shops, wooden craft stores, miso and souvenir shops, and restaurants serving Hida beef, offered even as sushi and on skewers.
Two wealthy merchant houses, Kusakabe and Yoshijima, are open to visitors as museums. They have high ceilings, exposed wooden beams, hearths in the floor and tatami rooms, and display Hida carpentry.
In the morning two morning markets operate near the old town: the Miyagawa market along the riverbank, and the Jinya market in the square in front of the former government office. Stalls sell vegetables, pickles, flowers, crafts and sweets, often by the producers themselves. The red Nakabashi Bridge over the river is one of the town’s most photographed spots.
Before you go
Practical information
Cidade Turismo reviews its information regularly, but something may have changed. Check with the place before planning your trip.
How much time to set aside
Allow 2 to 3 hours for the streets, a house-museum and a brewery; add about 1 hour for the morning markets.
Best time
Early in the morning, when the morning markets are active and the streets are calmer, or late afternoon after the tour buses leave. Shops close in the late afternoon. During the Takayama Festival in April and October, the town becomes very crowded.
How to get there
The old town is about a 10-minute walk from Takayama Station, heading east to the Miyagawa River.
Tip
Start at the Miyagawa morning market, walk the three streets before the tour groups arrive, and visit a house-museum. Sample sake in small measures and Hida beef sushi.
Official website
Get your questions answered
Frequently asked questions about Takayama Old Town (Sanmachi)
What to do in Takayama’s old town?
Walk the streets of Sanmachi, taste sake at the breweries, visit the Kusakabe and Yoshijima houses, eat Hida beef and go to the morning markets.
What is the cedar ball at the Takayama breweries?
It’s the sugidama, a ball made of cedar branches hung on the facade. When it’s green, it indicates the new sake is ready.
Where are Takayama’s morning markets located?
One sits along the Miyagawa River and the other is on the square in front of Takayama Jinya. They operate in the morning.
How do you get to Takayama’s old town?
On foot, about 10 minutes from Takayama Station.
What is Hida beef?
It’s wagyu beef raised in the Hida region, served as grilled slices, in sushi, on skewers and in stuffed buns in the old town.
Beyond the guide
