Takayama A tourist town in the Japanese mountains | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Our bullet train on the way to Takayama. They really are very sleek. | Some scenes from the train. There were lots of little rice paddies. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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  Our AirBnB house in Takayama. It was very much a mid 60's house. | Finally had a TV again! |   At what we thought was a grocer store, but what turned out to be a restaurant supply store - a huge selection of pickled vegetables | At a "cook your own" restaurant. You chose your own cut of the heavily marbled Hida beef. |   Grilling the beef at our table | Peter ringing a bell at the Hida Folk Village |   This device was designed to scare away wild boars, apparently | Lots of wood-working shops in Takayama, selling nice looking furniture |     Rice paddies, again. I wonder if the rice is sold, or just used by the family? Rice prices are sky-high in Japan, because of tarifs. |   We saw this huge temple off in the distance. Apparently it's the main temple of a new religion called Sukyo Mahikari. | Dressing up in traditional outfits at the Hida Folk Village |   Some of the longest benches I've seen | They had some traditional toys and games to try |   Interesting single log table |   A snake sunning itself on the stone wall | Lots of houses that are traditional for the area |   Some very thick roofs |   They must not have had very many nails. Much of the construction relies on things being tied together |   A lot of manual work (in this case, weeding) is done crouched down in Japan. There was a group of 3 men doing this. You wouldn't see it in the US. |   Weaving sandals |   Nicely designed tables and benches at the rest area |   More hida beef | And always plenty of noodles and rice! |   A spaghetti noodle sandwich, with some pickled ginger. |   The "cute dance" | One of the many nice river views in Takayama |   The morning market. Much of it was not tourist oriented, and I think a lot of it was more of a social opportunity for the older local ladies who ran the stalls. |   It looks like this is an interesting, less expensive alternative to the fancy over-engineered fish ladders they have in the US | This temple in Takayama was combined with a playground |   Most temples had an area like this, where you would tie your folded up fortune | But this is the first fortune vending machine I saw |   This space, right off a main street, had a sign saying "free lounge". It included a crib, complete with fresh white linen and a fluffy blanket! |   Another Hida beef experience, this time a burger | Yea for McDonalds! It's always comforting to just get a simple cheeseburger. |   Some shots from the train from Takayama to Nagoya | Lots and lots of little garden plots everywhere |   I think these bushes may have been tea |  The airplane on the way back had a "Star Wars" theme | | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||