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A Briton and two Finns are sitting in the only open bar in Takayama village in Japan.
It’s New Year’s Eve.
The city is deserted.
On a silent night, everything turns upside down and suddenly we are in Kurosawa’s Dreams.
But at least this is not Skyfall.
New Year in Takayama
The bar’s drink selection is not too wide.
I’ve been quietly dreaming of a glass of sparkling wine to celebrate New Year, but any wine would be a better option than a mug of sake that I’ll be sitting by the whole evening.
New Year in Takayama is silent, as in Japan in general the New Year is celebrated mostly at home with the family, so it is also one of the few days when most bars and restaurants are closed.
At least in small villages like Takayama.
We look at each other in the empty bar and burst into laughter at the absurdity of the situation.
A doubt creeps into our minds that Tokyo would have been a better choice to welcome the new year after all (as we’ve wondered in Nagoya).
Let’s back a little bit. How did we enter this situation…
Takayama is as mute as Kurosawa’s dreams
The Christmas spent at the Alps hotel is over and our work in Takayama is done.
Stefan arrives in the lobby of our hostel in the center of Takayama the night before on New Year’s Eve.
We get Hida burgers at Le Midi restaurant and wander the snowy streets.
Stefan’s Yankee friend who lives in Takayama has hinted about the area, which has nice little bars that are always open.
We walk around the alleys, wondering which would be a suitable place for the New Year’s Eve party.
It’s quiet.
Most places are closed.
It doesn’t look very promising now. I guess they’ll be open tomorrow, right?
We walk through deserted streets in the snow.
It’s beautiful, but what would we do now?
We see a dimly shining small light in an alley.
This is it!
Behind the door, we find a small local bar run by an old man.
The friendly gentleman turns out to be a big fan of movies and music.
A huge record collection fills the back wall of the bar.
Ken is a savior
We sit at the bar talking about movies, Japanese culture, traditions, how they change, and other things. Of everything between earth and sky.
We are the only customers, so the owner has time to chat.
The atmosphere is homely.
Also in terms of selection.
As a wine drinker, I am grateful for the remains of a bottle of white wine.
A bit like the house parties of my youth.
Let’s not exaggerate.
There are more options here, but mostly leftovers from other great evenings.
But who cares when the vibe is lovely.
We complain to the owner that we would like to celebrate the New Year tomorrow, but…
An understanding man says that he knows that it would be important for us Europeans to celebrate the new year, but unfortunately, there is no place open here. Japanese stay home for this event.
He looks at us in silence for a moment.
I sense perhaps a hint of pity in his eyes before he continues:
– I have nothing important to do. I’ll watch movies at home tomorrow, that’s all.
I could open a bar if you want to come here.
New Year in Takayama, and doors remain locked
On New Year’s Eve, it’s difficult to find a place open even for dinner. Fortunately, there is at least something available.
Sushi may not be the best of my life, but we are grateful that we can fill our stomachs in a restaurant and not need to spoon 7/11 micro-meals in our hostel lobby.
We are joined by Ben, an English teacher living in Takayama.
He is that Yankee who told us about the always-open bar area.
He is downright dismayed that none of the places are open.
Ben doesn’t want to believe us but wants to check out the restaurant block himself before he’s convinced that there’s only one bar open, and that’s just for us.
He tells us that this is the first New Year when Takayama’s bars and restaurants are closed, and he has lived here for several years.
Who cares, we only need one open place.
We’re not teenagers looking for a pub crawl.
Or at least we, Stefan’s elderly parents.
We wander towards the last night’s bar.
We slow down at the street corner.
Is this the wrong street?
There is no flashing light advertisement.
Yes, this is it. I’m 100 percent sure of that.
We walk slowly forward.
That’s the neon sign.
But it’s not blinking.
We try the door.
It’s locked.
We look at each other stunned.
That’s it, our only hope?
We wonder if the only option is to buy a bottle of wine at the always-open 7/11 and celebrate the new year in the hostel lobby.
How festive!
I wouldn’t be very surprised if “our son” Stefan would throw himself down in the snow at this point and start shouting “Mom and dad, I want to go to Tokyo!”.
Not that it would be typical to him.
A successful film about a good person
We glance at the clock.
The owner has promised that the bar will open twenty minutes earlier.
So much for that.
We are already taking steps away when the sign lits on with a slow flicker.
The door opens and Ken invites us in.
He has watched Kurosawa’s films at home, upstairs of his bar.
In the middle of the three-hour movie, he had jumped up in horror and remembered
– I promised to open my bar!
The film was reportedly Red Beard, Kurosawa’s last black-and-white film, which critics worldwide have pronounced “A successful film about a good person”.
Evening like in a movies
Unwashed glasses from the previous night are still lying on the bar counter.
The view makes us smile.
It’s like we’ve entered someone’s home.
As we were.
Now I could have a glass of sparkling wine.
I’m not surprised there isn’t one available. It’s not the most typical bar drink in Japan, at least outside of the big cities.
I get rid of the only drop of wine in the house, the same one that was in my glass the night before. There hasn’t been a new delivery.
I wonder if I would dare to grab a bottle of cheap Chilean red wine from the 7/11, hand it to the host, and buy a drink from it as if it had originally been house wine. Or pay some kind of opening fee.
I can’t do that. I’m afraid of offending Ken.
It wouldn’t be about the money, but the host might be upset if the house selection was not enough good for us.
So I sit all evening with a huge glass of sake in front of my nose, without filling it occasionally.
Sake is not really one of my favorite drinks, although I have tasted very high-quality ones.
On this trip too, we sipped sake at a bar in Fukui, which, according to the bartender was equivalent to sake champagne. He was right.
This sake in a bar in Takayama, on the other hand, is more like moonshine than champagne, especially in terms of strength.
So I decide to make it through the whole evening with one glass.
Not everyone notices the same until it’s too late.
You must be joking – is this Skyfall?
Lights attract barflies.
Soon our secret bar is full of westerners looking for a place to spend the evening, as well as locals escaping the family celebration.
Salary men who sacrifice themselves for their work also have a day off, and what could relieve work stress better than alcohol?
We are joined by a young man who, after first talking with Ben and Stefan, suddenly notices Ismo from the other end of the bar counter.
Eyes widen in surprise:
“Daniel Craig!” he exclaims in disbelief.
We are equally incredulous. I guess the man isn’t serious after all.
Yes, he is.
We assure him that Ismo is not Daniel Craig, when this hero of his own life starts telling others:
– They just don’t want to reveal. It’s understandable that Mr. Bond wants to be incognito, but that’s Craig!
This young man is a little worried that we won’t reveal the truth, even though he has identified Mr. Bond.
At least he has the right to have a signature, he begs. At least group photos!
I mostly wonder if we are in some kind of hidden camera show.
Stefan giggles next to him at the breaking point.
In the end, the young man, i.e. this Bond fan, returns to his table, satisfied with the photos taken with Mr. Bond. At the man’s request, the photos of agents playing with finger guns have been stored on his mobile phone.
He must have been quite surprised the next morning.
An international New year in Takayama
The group of Craig fans are exhausted and end up taking a nap on the couch behind us.
Next to the counter is a Spaniard who, like his compatriots, speaks his mother tongue so fast that our language skills run out.
Amidst the enthusiastic clapping of hands, we understand that he has just heard from his wife (who is sitting without a drink at the table) that he is going to be a father.
– Now we need to get more drinks and fast! he shouts.
Some kind of family celebration this evening too, after all.
An Aussie sitting at the other end of the counter, on the other hand, is not suffering from pregnancy sickness, but from the drinks dispensed by the host.
More native English speakers are starting to accumulate around us.
In addition to Ben, Stefan and our non-English speaking couple, a young Aussie couple joins us at the counter.
Time passes fast in a great company.
Disappearing fiance
The man is very polite and the woman also talks at the beginning. Until the latter suddenly disappears from the front door next to her.
First I don’t ask anything, but when the woman doesn’t return, I ask her fiance where his other half might have gone, if everything is fine.
He replies that she felt a little bad.
We parents, more or less, make the young man run fast after his wife.
– Now you really don’t stay here to chat if your partner is not feeling well!
Man answers my worried question that she only drank a few glassfulls, but goes outside to check the situation. Soon he rushes back inside, grabs his coat, and disappears into the snow.
After the door closes, Ken shrugs his shoulders and states: “I’m not a bartender, so I always put in a double dose of alcohol”.
And this is the end.
But it’s not Skyfall.
Hotels & hostels in Takayama
These are the places we have stayed in Takayama – for a New Year & Christmas
- *Centrally located hostel – here we stayed for this New Year
- *Onsen hotel in the Alps near Takayama – here we stayed for this Christmas
- *Centrally located hotel (with onsens!) – here we stayed for another Christmas
P.S. If you choose Tokyo, check my list of affordable accommodations in the world’s most populated city.