Ireland day 1328. Sunday 18 May 2025- Takayama 1

Today’s summary	Had a later (8am) breakfast at the hotel then hiked through the jungle up to the ruined Matsukara Hill Fort. Rang the bear-deterring bells along the way but didn’t see any. Walked down to the Hido No Sato open air museum then visited the truly amazing Hida Takayama Museum of Art. Private onsen in the evening then bento boxes and beer in our room for dinner.
Today’s weather	Overcast but dry all day. Light southerly wind. Appx 26c

Today’s overview location (The blue mark shows the location of our route)		Close-up location (The blue line shows where we walked) (Click button below to download GPX of today’s walk as recorded, or see interactive map at bottom with elevations corrected): Matsukara Hill Fort Historic Village and Art Gallery

Commentary

There’s no other way of putting it. Today was amazing.

It started ordinarily enough, with breakfast in the ryokan at the exceptionally late hour of 8 am. Mind you, I had spent an hour in the onsen beforehand, so we hadn’t wasted the early hours lounging about in bed drinking cups of tea.

After our Japanese-style breakfast, we gathered our things and set off out of the hotel to start our day’s activities. Our first stop was the nearby Family Mart, to get some provisions for lunch. Then we headed off through the suburbs of Takayama and, just behind a shrine, found a small footpath heading off into the hills, almost hidden by the encroaching jungle.

I had some idea where we were going, as I’d done some research on possible hikes in the area last night and spotted this one as a faint trace on the Strava heatmap (such a useful innovation). All being well, I hoped that the trail would lead us up to the top of Matsukara hill, with a ruined and rarely-visited fort on the top. So we launched ourselves into the undergrowth not knowing quite what to expect, but definitely hoping for the best.

In the end, the path turned out reasonably well. It was just about distinct enough to follow the whole way to the top, and there were red ribbons tied occasionally on the trees marking the route. Once we got to the top, the fort was clearly visible, though in a ruinous condition, and the views from its massive fortifications were simply stunning. The Northern Alp mountains lining the horizon to the north east, and Takayama at our feet, nestled deep in the folds of the valley below.

From the top we descended to join a narrow road where there was a picnic area and a small washroom. We paused for an early lunch and admired the notices warning us about recent fatal bear-attacks in the vicinity. We had seen a number of large shiny bells fixed to posts at various posts along the route – clearly they were there to be dinged to try and scare off any unwanted ursine companions. Anyway, we didn’t see any traces, but it was probably just as well that we didn’t know all the gory details about the fatalities before we set off.

After our snack, we headed down another path to the Hido No Sato open air museum. This fine site contains dozens of wooden houses and mills which had been transported there from all over the Hido area, for preservation. it was well done, and we spent almost two hours taking a leisurely look around.

On the way out we noticed an advertisement for the “Hida Takayama Museum of Art”, which was said to be only 600 metres down the road. So, on the spur of the moment, we decided to go and have a look.

It was a bit difficult to locate the entrance to the museum, as it’s housed in the Sanctuary Court Takayama resort hotel – a residence so discreet it’s almost impossible to find out anything about it online. Eventually we located the entrance – a large anonymous black door set in a blank wall. As we approached, it silently opened in front of us so, with some trepidation, we walked in. Once inside, the doors shut behind us and we appeared to be trapped in some sort of an air-lock. But fortunately,a second set of doors slid open and we stepped out into the most modern, marble clad, science fiction-style building I think I have ever seen. I half expected Blofeld to stroll over, stroking his white cat, and announcing “Good evening Mr Bond. We have been expecting you”.

The museum itself is as sublime as the building that houses it. It mainly features French Art Nouveau and Art Deco glassware by artists like Gallé, Lalique and Tiffany. There are only five rooms but we both agreed it was by far the best art gallery we’d been to in Japan. If Val hadn’t been with me, I think I would right now be seriously wondering if I had imagined the whole thing. The contrast between a morning spent in a mosquito- and bear-infested jungle and an afternoon spent in an uber-deluxe art gallery admiring French glassware was almost too much for my brain to compute.

Anyway, after a good look round, and especially, on the way out, at the magnificent Lalique fountain rescued from a war-ruined Parisian suburb, we left and walked the half an hour or so back to town. On the way, we stopped off again at a Family Mart to get more bento boxes and sushi for dinner.

Once back at the hotel, we finished off this day of bizarre contrasts by soaking in a private onsen up on the top floor of the ryokan. All that remains now is to relax in our room, listen to some streamed jazz while we attack the bento boxes, and crack open a couple of cans of beer.

Every day on this trip has been pretty magical, but I think by some margin, today was probably the most memorable of the lot.

Today’s photos (click to enlarge)


We arrived at the level crossing just as the Nagoya to Toyama express was arriving at Takayama station	Amazing Monopastrum humile plant growing in the forest undergrowth. It’s from the Erica family, so bizarrely it’s related to heathers. It’s not actually a parasitic plant, despite its looks. It gets its nutrients from mycorrhizal fungi which it hosts in its roots

The ruins of the Matsukara hill-fort, rapidly disappearing into the jungle. Indiana Jones would be at home here	On the top of the hillfort, with the Northern Alps, rising to 3,100m (10,000ft) rising on the horizon in the background

Historic waterwheel in the Hido No Sato open air museum	Inside the truly stunning Hida Takayama Museum of Art. It features a lot of French art deco stained glass objects and is actually part of an uber-smart “Residence” hotel, which seems to be doing its level best to keep it self off the map

*Truly magnificent Japanese Tiger Beetle, Cicindela chinensis.* Its body was about 2cm long**