2026 Trip - Day 25: Takayama - Changing Hostels Without Leaving the Town

Unfortunately, because I had only booked one day at Backpacker Hida Takayama, there were no more beds available for today. For some reason, I had booked just one day in case the hostel wasn’t good and I wanted the flexibility to move elsewhere. I never imagined that, unlike smaller towns, hostels here fill up so quickly.

I ended up booking another place at Sakura Guest House, about a 35 minute walk away. It wasn’t the only one available, but it was the lowest price for these date, however, still more than my current hostel. I decided to book two nights. It was AUD 54.55 for 2 nights.

I wanted to explore the famous Miyagawa Morning Market in Takayama, but I arrived a little late packing always takes forever. I had food from the grocery I bought yesterday, though I hadn’t eaten it yet because yesterday I unexpectedly had McDonald’s after shopping.

Grocery from Boss yesterday

The morning market was packed with international tourists. There were a few stalls and shops, but I didn’t buy anything since I planned to stick with my grocery food as usual. The market itself was interesting, but I didn’t spend too much time there. The atmosphere felt more suited for families or groups, there were just too many tourists on vacation. Still, I carefully checked everything to make sure my expensive bus trip here wasn’t wasted. 

The walk from backpacker Hida Takayama to the Miyagawa Morning Market 

Miyagawa Morning Market 

This smells so good!

After about an hour at the market, I headed to the Old Town with its old Japanese architecture, Sanmachi Suji. Unsurprisingly, it was also packed with international tourists. The architecture reminded me a lot of Mino Town. The difference? In Mino, there were hardly any tourists, and the few that were there were mostly Japanese. It made walking around so much easier there.

In Sanmachi Suji, I spent quite a bit of time in a shop selling jewelry. They had beautiful pieces, but I didn’t get anything.

Sanmachi Suji

The way to Sanmachi Suji

Later, I went back to my hostel and finally left for Sakura Guest House. The walk, a full 35 minutes, was miserable. My backpack was heavy, and in the last five minutes, it was especially tough going uphill. My big and small backpacks together weighed about 25 kg. At one point, I thought to myself, “Is this even worth it?” Sakura Guest House cost more than Hida Takayama, and the location was so inconvenient.

Amazing view on the way to next hostel

Walking from Backpacker Hida Takayama to Sakura Guest house.

When I finally arrived at Sakura Guest House, the house immediately caught my attention, it looked like a traditional Japanese home with sliding doors. 

Since the guest house was so far from town and it was extremely cold at night, I just decided to eat my instant noodles in the kitchen.

I booked a female dorm. Two out of six bed were occupied. A girl arrived later with a friendly smile and went to her bed. She had her curtain open for a while. I wasn’t sure if she wanted to talk, later I asked if it was okay to increase the temperature of the air conditioner. She said sure. Later, another girl was very friendly too and said hi to me a few times. I was surprised and greeted back, but I didn’t really know what to say, so I stayed quiet and went to sleep not long after.

My dinner at Sakura Guest House

The view from my bed