Yokoso (welcome) to Central Japan!

For five days I tuned out digitally and reveled in the beauty of the real world, the one I could touch, smell, see and hear. With no Internet, e-mail and BBMs to distract me, I took in the natural wonders of Gifu and Aichi Prefecture in Central Japan and it was all worth it.

The first day began at 4 a.m. when I had to wake up to catch the 6:45 Delta 630 flight to Nagoya. I didn’t mind the early morning rise because it meant getting a full first day in Japan, a great incentive for any traveler. Besides, I figured I could sleep on the almost four-hour flight over.

And sleep I did; the flat bed in Business Elite was just as comfortable as my own bed at home. The 180-degree fold-down flat bed, crisp cotton linen-covered full-sized pillow and quilted duvet nestled me in a warm, private cocoon of comfort and luxury, transporting me to a dream filled with resplendent images of Japan. It did not feel anything at all like being on a plane with hundreds others; I relished my personal space.

I woke up briefly to enjoy a hearty breakfast of omelet, freshly baked bread and green tea while listening to the state-of-the-art on-demand music on the noise-reducing headsets. Before I knew it, the captain was announcing our descent to Chubu Centrair Airport in Nagoya; the Boeing 747-400 slid smoothly and quietly down the runway, signaling our arrival in Japan.

Let the party begin: The Hida Takayama Matsuri (festival) is a huge crowd drawer with its elaborate, colorful and historical floats.

The Nagoya Chubu Centrair International Airport is a first-class airport that boasts more than 40 restaurants and food outlets, numerous gift shops and retail establishments including a spa and a Japanese-style bath. The straightforward design of the departure and arrival lounges make it easy for travelers to transition from one flight to another whether domestic or international. English signs accompany Japanese ones so foreign travelers don’t get lost; it has an efficient and modern rail connection to the city of Nagoya and nearby towns making it easily accessible and convenient. Voted consistently as the best regional airport, the Nagoya Chubu Centrair Airport is a destination in itself. I would definitely recommend traveling via Nagoya for those who wish to visit Kyoto, Nara, Osaka and the rest of central Japan; it takes less time and money than coming from Tokyo. And with the bustling, modern metropolis of Nagoya as base, you will have the same experience Tokyo offers.

Our group of seven was bundled into a waiting van by representatives from the Nagoya Tourism Board and Yoshi Kusano, a local tour operator and our designated guide. While I had been to Nagoya before, it was my first time to all our other destinations; needless to say, I was excited to discover the other lesser-known areas of interest in Japan.

Our land trip began with yummy obentos (packed lunch) accompanied by lively annotations from Yoshi-san. Our first stop was the World Cultural Heritage site of Shirakawa-go in Ogimachi, a village of gassho-style (thatched gable-roofed) houses that date back to the 18th century. The houses were built with all natural and locally sourced material like the mansuku tree and the pampas grass, manually twisted, tied and raised without the use of nails or any metal objects. The houses are architectural wonders in that they are built to withstand strong winds and extreme weather conditions. A “living and working” village, Shirakawa-go has designated historic buildings but also includes residential houses, inns, restaurants, museums and shops all in the authentic gassho architecture. Walking along the winding paths of Shirakawa-go, I was reminded of the movie The Last Samurai, of the tranquil village that provided refuge to the American military officer who embraced the Samurai culture he was ordered to destroy. This time though there was no conflict, just happy, welcoming faces beaming with pride at their treasured homes. And of course, there was the creamiest and most tasty macha (green tea) soft ice cream I have ever tried.

One with nature: There is nothing like a relaxing, therapeutic soak in the outdoor natural bath of Takayama, Gifu Prefecture.

By nightfall, we arrived at Yakushi-no-yu, a ryokan (Japanese-style hotel) in the popular Oku-Hida Hot springs area of Takayama. After polite introductions with the staff of the hotel, we were whisked off to our tatami (straw mats)-designed rooms; the place was bustling with Japanese tourists, eager to enjoy the ultimate ryokan experience — kaiseki (traditional multi-course Japanese meal) dinner and onsen (natural hot bath).

We couldn’t wait to get settled in and meet up for a kaiseki dinner ourselves featuring the much-vaunted Hida beef, a relative newbie to the Japanese prime beef market but now a close rival to Kobe beef. We sat Japanese-style in a private dining room, each with our own personal grill and ample servings of Hida beef; the consensus came immediately after the first bite — we were in gastronomic heaven! Hida beef has a “total melt-in-your-mouth oishii-ness.” Some of us ventured into the onsen (the ryokan had four) after dinner to soak in the famed baths; in the rustling of the river water, stillness and sublime beauty of the hills surrounding Yakushi-no-ya, I found quiet and content.

Our second day promised a “high” and I mean that literally and figuratively. We made our way to Shin Hotaka Ropeway where we took two double-decker gondolas capable of climbing a total of 2,156 meters high. At the top of the ropeway, we marveled at the breathtaking 360-degree view of the Yari and Hotaka Mountains. There was still snow on some of the mountains and I wondered how arresting the landscape would be in wintertime — priceless, I imagine.

From the glorious heights of Shin Hotaka Ropeway, we went down to the earthly grounds of Takayama City. We took in some local food at a neighborhood pit stop and had generous bowls of handmade ramen in shoyu (soy-flavored) broth. We savored every morsel of the 760-yen bowl of Ramen and agreed that it was definitely one we must try again.

Up, up and away: The double-decker gondola at Shinhotaka Ropeway soars more than 2,100 meters for a majestic view of some of Japan’s tallest peaks.

We headed out to Takayama city and walked the streets of Sanmachi, the old part of town replete with old original wooden houses turned shops selling local crafts, sake breweries, Japanese-style inns, antique shops and restaurants. We stopped by Takayama Jinya, a perfectly preserved specimen of Japanese architectural ingenuity from the 1600s, a government administrative office from the Edo period that is now a national historical site. We bought ourselves some freshly made senbeis (rice crackers) and snacked on them while walking the quaint streets. The Takayama Spring and Autumn matsuri (festival) are regarded as two of the three most beautiful festivals in Japan. The rituals which started 350 years ago courtesy of the influx of rich merchants, showcase the city’s high quality artisanal work; floats decorated in complicated carvings, lacquer, gilded wood and detailed metal works featuring marionettes of Japanese gods and nobility are paraded in the streets twice a year in April and October.

From a ryokan nestled in the mountains, we moved to the Takayama Green Hotel for the evening. While the hotel is generally western by design, it also housed two onsens, a feature common among hotels in the Takayama area. I headed down to the hotel’s natural hot springs before turning in for the night, eager to take in some of the relaxing benefits of the outdoor bath.

Early the next day, we headed to the Takayama farmers market, a fresh produce and local food market à la Legaspi Village Market, where we sampled some miso soup and bought sparkling sake (Japanese rice wine). We then made our way to Gujo City’s Samplekobo, a Japanese company that produces most of the plastic food samples displayed in Japanese storefronts. There we tried our hand at making plastic dessert tarts complete with strawberry, whipped cream and orange slice; we all felt like children in art class playing with dough.

From Takayama in Gifu prefecture, we drove to Aichi prefecture where we visited Inuyama Castle, the oldest castle in Japan built in 1537 and now designated as a national treasure. On our way back to Meitetsu Inuyama Hotel, our hotel for the day, we stopped by Urakuen, a beautifully landscaped Japanese garden where the Joan and Genan Tea Ceremony houses built by Oda Uraku, green tea master and younger brother of the great warlord from the Edo period Oda Nobunaga stand.

Dinner fit for an Emperor: We were treated to an exquisite Kaiseki dinner at the Spa and Resort Shofu-en.

Meitetsu Inuyama Hotel is a western hotel located by the Kiso riverbanks; there you can watch evening Cormorant fishing, a local fishing tradition that utilizes Cormorant birds to catch fish. We had a buffet dinner that night where I particularly enjoyed the ebi (shrimp) tempura cooked fresh and light by the Japanese Tempura Chef. My room faced the river so it was quite calming; I went for a second night to the onsen just before I went to bed, happy to immerse myself in the therapeutic hot water typical to the region.

On our fourth day, we “slipped back a hundred years into Japanese history” with a visit to Meiju-Mura; an open-air museum, it features 60 buildings and structures from the start of the Meiji period including the original main entrance hall and lobby of the Imperial Hotel designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. From there, we made our way to Gamagori, a seaside town famous for the Laguna Gamagori Resort, a premier marine complex with a theme park, shopping mall and a sprinkling of natural hot springs. Later in the day, we trekked over to the Gamagori Orange Park where we got to try fruit picking. The grapes awaiting us were sweet and succulent; too bad we could only pick what we could eat at the site.

What trip would be complete without shopping? Before calling it a day, we went to Aeon, a large Japanese supermarket chain that sells just about everything. I acted as translator to our group and assisted them in purchasing different kinds of okashi (Japanese snacks), food items, beauty products and household goods; with our fukubukuros (happy bags) we headed for the Spa and Resort Shofu-en, overlooking the Mikawa Bay for the evening.

Sake, anyone?: Nihon shu (sake) from different regions including the sparkling kind are on proud display in this corner sake store in Takayama.

On our last day we visited the Okazaki Castle where we found the Iyeyasu and Mikawa Bushi Museum, a museum that depicts the life and times of Iyeyasu Shogun, one of the most powerful and venerable leaders of feudal Japan.

Before heading back to Nagoya Chubu Centrair Airport, we stopped by Nagoya City for lunch and Nagoya TV tower where we got a bird’s eye view of Nagoya City.

We said our goodbyes at the airport as I was taking the shinkansen (bullet train) to Tokyo and they were going back to Manila. Our group started out the journey as strangers but ended the trip with a forged friendship. While traveling with strangers is known to have its pitfalls, this trip was nothing but delightful; we all kept up with the hectic pace sans complaints, finding laughter and discovering marvels every step of the way. I would most definitely go on a trip with this group again, no questions asked.

After spending a week in Tokyo, I flew back to Manila via Narita at no extra charge; there is no better way to fly to Japan than with Delta — the flexibility in travel arrangements, the very reasonable prices, the newly reconfigured aircrafts that feature the spanking new flatbeds in Business class and Economy Comfort in Economy class plus the all-important-for-Filipino-travelers 40kg to 60kg baggage allowance that goes with every Economy and Business class ticket purchase are just incomparable. At US$330 plus taxes until Aug. 31 for a promotional roundtrip Economy fare, who could resist? If you add US$40 each way, you can move up to Economy Comfort for more legroom and personal space. And for US$695 plus taxes, you can avail of the instant upgrade promo to Business Elite. Now, that’s what I call a sweet deal!

After more than a week without e-mail and the Internet, I finally got digitally reconnected. Did I miss out on anything life-changing? Nah. Would I digitally unplug myself again? For trips like this, absolutely and with much pleasure.

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(Delta Airlines flies daily to Nagoya; for more information on their Economy Comfort and Business Elite fares and promotions, please visit their website www.delta.com or call 632-841-8800)