Where is Takayama, Japan? Location, size and history

• Old town: well-preserved Edo-style streets². Sanmachi is the heart of the city³; walk the Edo-period merchant streets.
• Markets: merchants set up stalls every morning³. Find the riverside morning stalls.
• Festivals: the Spring Festival on April 14 and 15 and the autumn Takayama Matsuri (Hachiman Matsuri) on October 9 and 10⁶.
• Craft: local carpenters are called Hida no takumi¹.
• Open-air museum: Hida Folk Village preserves more than 30 historic buildings³.

For the full list, see the things to see in Takayama, or plan meals with where to eat in Takayama.

• The area was part of the old Hida Province and was settled as far back as the Jōmon period¹.
• In 1588⁷ Kanamori Nagachika built Takayama Castle. Merchants had to live farther out, along the Miyagawa River⁷.
• In 1692⁷ a Kanamori lord was moved elsewhere, and the shogunate took direct control of Hida.
• Takayama Jinya was the seat of government from 1692 until 1868⁸.
• The town was established in 1889, and became a city when it merged with Onada on 1 November 1936¹.
• On 1 February 2005⁴ Takayama absorbed neighbouring towns and villages.

Plan your visit

• Choose a base on the hotels and ryokan page.
• See the train and bus routes into Takayama.
• Use the map guide to place the sights.
• Check the season on the weather page.