Wanosato Takayama is a beautiful traditional ryokan, set within 20-mins drive from historic town of Takayama. Perched in a forested area next to Miyagawa River, it looks over the region’s famous A-shaped houses with their steep 60-degree straw roofs – ‘gassho zukuri’, or ‘praying hands’ in Japanese. Situated close to Gokayama and Shirakawa-go, Unesco World Heritage Sites where these are preserved, guests at Wanosato are well placed to make an easy day-trip to these towns.
Dating back over 160 years, Wanosato Takayama has just eight rooms. This ancient minka (house of the people) has a Gassho-zukuri roof, a unique thatched and steeply pitched roof that is only found in this small region of Japan. Inside, the rooms are spacious with high ceiling and come with an irori fireplace at the centre, that is lit each evening, creating a warm and cosy atmosphere for dining and to relax and enjoy sake and share your days adventure.
Most guests at the Wanosato Takayama look in on Ainokura and Shirakawa-go on an easy day-trip from Takayama, returning to the town of cosmopolitan restaurants for the evening. The real beauty of the place however, lies in its surrounds. As you walk into the hills from the old quarter, rich with 13 temples, you hear running water wherever you go; above the Yasu River winding through the centre of town, where a series of shapely bridges turns the bustling city into a garden.
Amenities
Bar/PubCoffee ShopConciergeCribs/Infant Beds AvailableFamily RoomGardenMultilingual StaffRestaurantSafety Deposit BoxesSpa/SaunaStay Wanosato Takayama has just eight rooms and villas. All are furnished with futon beds and come with sitting areas, large baths with cedar-wood soaking tubs and picturesque river and forest views. The four villas vary in size and design but all are elegantly decorated with heavy timbers, natural materials and four- to five-meter high ceiling, creating a wide-open space. The four standard rooms are simply decorated and enjoy the traditional compliments of a Japanese ryokan.
ChildCare Families with children are welcome to stay at Wanosato Takayama but there are no specific facilities available for children.
Dine The dining hall on the first floor of the Wanosato Takayama is decorated with centuries old 'Shunkei-nuri' or red lacquered wood. Here you are served hearty mountain vegetables (sansei), freshly caught river fish (wasakana) and Hida Beef around an ‘irori’, or traditional sunken hearth. After dinner, locally distilled sake can be sampled around the large raised hearth that takes centre stage downstairs.
Relax Wanosato has been blessed with the waters of the Miagawa River, and the natural underground spring in which its healing waters are incorporated into a part of each guest’s rooms. There are no plastic water bottles here as both guests and staff are at ease to drink from the tap. For relaxing there are two indoor baths, one for men and one for women, however, to enjoy the hot springs, there are beautiful public baths.
Experience Wanosato Takayama is situated in the ‘Snow country’, a talismanic phrase in the Japanese lexicon relating to purer, simpler world where city dwellers can go to cleanse their souls. The crowning grace of the area is the pretty boutique town of Takayama; foreigner-friendly than almost anywhere else in Japan. It has its own cluster of traditional ‘A’ shaped houses but its beauty lies in its narrow lanes of two-story wooden houses of the kind that have disappeared almost everywhere else.
Location Wanosato is approximately 20 minutes from historic Takayama, sitting in the stunning mountainous of the Gifu prefecture.
Getting there Takayama is straightforward to get to, taking approximately 4 hours from Tokyo, stopping via Nagoya en route. Firstly take a Shinkansen bullet train to Nagoya followed by a train to Takayama that takes just over two hours. Takayama is also just a few hours drive from Kanazawa via the beautiful village of Shirakawago.
When to go Japan kicks off its year with cold winter days when temperatures occasionally drop below freezing. Spring (March to May) brings pleasant, warm days, and early April is probably the best time to view the cherry blossoms. Summer (June to August) is hot and muggy. Autumn (September to November) means the return of the dramatic foliage season, when the parks and green areas of the city mellow into varying hues of orange and red.
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