Inuyama, Japan

Urakuen Garden 有楽苑

Inuyama 犬山 literally means dog mountain, is located approximately 25 km northwards from Nagoya. I actually planned a day trip to this place as I wouldn't want to spend too much time in Nagoya, and relatively this touristy little town is not very far away from Nagoya. We took a train in the morning from Fushimi Station (Nagoya) to Inuyama-Yūen Station.

Our first stop was Urakuen Garden (有楽苑) which houses one of the Japan National Treasures, Jo-an, one of the 3 finest teahouses in Japan. Well there was suppose to be entrance fee, not knowing that, we somehow went in by the side gate, thinking that's the entrance to it, until we're about to leave and saw the main entrance. A little guilted, but we're glad that we saved some money from that. LOL~

Takayama, Japan

飛騨特産品の店さくら井や @ Hanasatomachi 花里町

Departed from Shirakawa-go, we arrived safely at Takayama Nohi Bus Center at 4:15pm - we didn't have much time left so we had to kind of spend our time here wisely.

Similarly, the temperature here was as insane as Shirakawa-go. We waited no further and marched towards the old town district, Kamisannomachi 上三之町. The old town district is due east from the bus terminal, after crossing the Miyagawa River 宮川.

Takayama is known for its preservation of buildings dating from the Edo period two-three hundred years ago along the streets of its old town district. Apart from immersing oneself in the cultural richness at the old town, there are plenty of attractions to visit along the streets such as sake brewery, art galleries, museums and coffee houses.

Miyagawa River 宮川


Nakabashi Bridge 中橋



Kamisannomachi 上三之町
三川屋本店
For a while it snowed quite heavily, as you can see in the photo.


Gohei Mochi 五平餅 @ ¥400


Harada Sake Brewery 原田酒造場

Shirakawa-go, Japan

We boarded the bus (Gifu Bus) at Meitetsu Bus Center at 9:00am and was expected to reach Shirakawa-go at 11:53am, it took a little longer and we reached Shirakawa-go Bus Terminal 白川郷バスターミナル at around 12:30pm.

Image courtesy of Meitetsu

Located in the Gifu Prefecture, Shirakawa-go is the first place I parked in our Nagoya trip itinerary as it has become an increasingly popular travel destination - I've seen friends posting photos of their trip to Shirakawa-go on Facebook and Instagram back in 2016. It thus became the highlight of our trip this time round and I certainly prayed for a smooth journey there.

Looking out of the bus window on our way up the Gifu mountains and the amount of snow was surely something that reminisce my student exchange experience in Sweden. I was surprised at Kenneth's calmness when he told me that that's his first time seeing snow (well, I would have been overly excited like a little kid if I were him).

The moment I alighted, I regretted that I was pretty underdressed for this harsh weather - merely a long sleeve T-shirt underneath my winter jacket, a pair of gloves, a pair of jeans and a single pair of socks underneath my usual pair of shoes, and it's −2°C.

Pickup point for Tenshukaku Observatory

We started walking southwards and realized there's this spot that people are queuing, and of course, it's the pickup point for the observatory. We boarded and paid ¥200 fare when we alighted at the Tenshukaku Observatory 天守閣展望台.

The view of the village from the observatory was simply mesmerizing.

There's a professional photographer there who helps to take photos of you with her DSLR and your camera(s) as well. The photos are immediately printed at the back and you can buy them if you wish to.