Gujo Hachiman (郡上八幡), Japan

DAY 4, 5: Gujo Hachiman Castle, Town Hall, Jionzen-ji Temple

Part of the Onsen Ski Trip 2024 series

2024-03-18

Ski trip's over. Now, for sightseeing in Gujo Hachiman.

Last night, it snowed. The river outside the ryokan takes on a different energy with a fresh blanket of powdered snow.

For breakfast, we decide to eat at the ryokan for local flavour. While we usually don't eat breakfast at the hotel, since there's local food around, dining in a ryokan is slightly different. The meal is locally prepared and served in the traditional way of many small dishes. We have it in a tatami room down the hall, with a great view of the river. There's everything -- a bit of protein, carb, soup, etc. Really delicious.

It's beautiful weather today, so we decide to hike up to the castle. It's not a large town, and we are about 0.5 kilometers out. As we get closer, the castle appears. There's something mystical about a castle in snow.

You are allowed to walk into the castle, and slowly ascend up. Each storey provides a better view of the outlying city as you head up. It's surreal to be up here. Everything in the castle was in Japanese, though, so I'm not really sure as to what it was about. Aesthetically, still pleasing.

After the castle, we take a walk around town. There are two bridges that connect the two sides of Gujo Hachiman, and both are great vantage points for the river. Many kids in town stop by to take a look at the water. Apparently, some of the bridges are used for diving competitions in the spring and summer after the winter ice melts.

It is now Saturday. Even on a weekend, the town does not get too many people passing through. Most of the streets are empty, and the buildings seem mostly abandoned (until you walk inside). There's some great 70's style architecture modern buildings scattered among the more traditional ryokans. If you enter one of these, you often will find traditional, specialty shops or cafes. Charming.

Around midday, it begins snowing. It's still sunny outside though. The mix of snow and sun is the perfect walking around weather. While there's not much to see around the town, the streets are enough to stroll through and keep us entertained.

At night, we go to a more modern style izakaya that -- despite being not advertised as such -- has more fusion flavours. We have a nice tuna salad, which has a Japanese, light yuzu sauce on it. The baked camambert we have is paired with some pickled vegetables. The tempura contains octopus and brocolli in a light batter, but paired with a super delicious wasabi-base sauce. And, the roasted duck is mostly western tasting. Very interesting.

You really get to eat well here.

DAY 5:

We leave today to the next town, Gero, which is an onsen haven. Before doing that, we stop by a small temple called Jionzen-ji. There's not much to do other than sit in it and appreciate the garden, but it's pretty damn cold so we just take some pictures around it.