Takayama

Takayama sits deep in Japan’s Alps, and its old town preserves entire streets of dark-timbered Edo-period merchant houses, several still operating as working sake breweries. The morning markets along the Miyagawa River are a genuine local institution rather than a tourist add-on, with farmers selling produce and pickles much as they have for generations. Timed around the spring or autumn Takayama Festival, the town’s temples and its processions of ornately carved floats make for a particularly memorable visit.