Takayama

I didn’t sleep well last night, so I woke up still tired, but at least I felt free of the discomfort of the kidney stone I experienced yesterday. I skipped breakfast to try to catch up on some sleep and felt much better when Marg returned to the room. The weather was miserable in Kanazawa this morning. It was overcast, chilly and raining heavily. There were a couple of ear splitting thunderclaps. Time to leave, I think. We walked to the station, which was just around the corner from our hotel, and caught the Shinkansen to Toyama. There we changed trains to a different style of train. It wasn’t as fast or as comfortable as a Shinkansen, but it had wide windows which provided a great view of the scenery on the 90-minute journey to Takayama. We soon left built up areas behind for rural communities cultivating rice. The train climbed into the mountains, following the course of a river flowing in the opposite direction to the way we were going. It was far and away the most picturesque scenery I have seen on a train here in Japan to date.

We pulled in to chilly Takayama about 11.30 am. Takayama is famous for its well preserved old town, its cuisine and the sake that is distilled here. We soon found out that its hospitality was also pretty special. We were met in the street, welcomed and ushered in to the lobby, where we were invited to sit at a table. A large drum was struck three times to make us welcome. Matcha tea and a mochi sweet were brought to each of us. Our rooms would not be available until after 3 pm, so we went out for a walk. Upon our return we were each given traditional Japanese outfits to wear to the bath house. Our room is a Japanese style room with a beautiful river view. I was hoping to find a bed to lie down on because I was still tired, but the futons will not be prepared until we go to dinner tonight. I struggle with such low furniture, but I do appreciate the opportunity to spend a few nights in traditional Japanese accommodation.

The old town, known as Sanmachi Suji, is a well preserved area of Takayama where the streets are lined with traditional wooden merchants’ houses, constructed in the Edo-style of architecture. Takayama is a centre for Japanese crafts such as woodworking, glassware and handmade dolls, and many exquisite crafts are on sale in specialist shops in the old town. There were a few sake distilleries along the streets where you can sample before you buy for a small fee. And there were plenty of street food places where you can try the local delicacies. Apparently the Hida beef is the specialty here. It looked and smelled delicious, but unfortunately I still don’t feel up to eating after the kidney stone. Hopefully I’ll try some before we leave. Marg and Theresa liked the goods on sale in many of the shops here. They’re keeping an eye out for things to bring back for the grandkids. There’s plenty to choose from. I really enjoyed walking around the old town. It’s such a huge contrast from the modern Japan we’ve seen elsewhere. We were lucky that it didn’t rain during our walk, although it was very, very chilly. Just a short time after we returned to the hotel, the rain began.

And, I can’t leave the old town until I post a few dogs in prams and costume photos. I’m getting used to it, but it never ceases to amuse me. We even saw a few places that sold clothing for dogs. I wonder what the dogs think of it.