Takahashi Travel Video Guide

Takahashi Travel Itinerary

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Some 40km northwest of Okayama, in the foothills of the mountain range which divides Western Honshu, is TAKAHASHI , a small and charming time-warped castle town. Few visitors venture here despite the fine old buildings and temples in the Furusato Mura (hometown village) area, a name evoking images of a long lost Japan. Except for the steep hike up to the castle - Japan's highest - all of Takahashi's sights are within easy walking distance of Bitchu-Takahashi Station and can be covered in half a day. Finding your way around is simple, since there are plenty of direction signs in English.

The row of temples, ranged attractively at staggered levels along the hillside and heading north towards Furusato Mura, lies on the eastern side of the train tracks. The single most impressive is Raikyu-ji (daily 9am-5pm; Y300), ten minutes' walk from the train station, with its serenely beautiful raked-gravel garden. The exact date the temple was built is lost in the mists of time, but it is known that in 1604, Kobori Enshu, governor of the province and expert gardener, lived in the temple. The Zen garden is maintained today exactly as he designed it, with its islands of stones, plants and trimmed hedges carefully placed to resemble a crane and a tortoise and the distant borrowed scenery of Mount Atago.

Rest by Raikyu-ji's garden before tackling the strenuous hour-long hike up to the castle, Bitchu Matsuyama-jo , following a shaded track through the hillside forest; even if you take a taxi from the station (Y1200), there's still a steep fifteen-minute walk ahead of you from the car park. Takahashi's fortunes prospered from the mid-thirteenth century, when warlord Akiba Saburoshigenobu built the original fortress on top of the nearby Mount Gagyu, an engineering feat after having climbed up to the castle. Don't bother paying to go into the donjon (daily 9am-4pm; Y300), restored this century, since there are few relics inside and little view from its narrow windows. The view on the walk back downhill makes the effort of hiking up worthwhile.

On returning to the town, if you have time, explore the Furusato Mura area of old merchant houses and buildings, sandwiched between the rail tracks and the Takahashi-gawa, and cut through by a stream crossed by stone bridges topped with miniature shrines. Of the several buildings turned into museums,

the most interesting is the wooden Meiji-era Takahashi Elementary School, now the local history museum (daily 9am-5pm; Y300). Inside is a jumble of possessions, running from mikoshi (portable shrines) to a morse code machine. At the back of the ground floor are some evocative black-and-white photos of the town, while on the second floor you should look out for the dancing doll models made from old cigarette packets - a nod to Japan Tobacco, which has a factory in Takahashi.

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