Rewind

Well, it seems it's finally time to do the time warp - back to October last year in real time and to the 17th century in historical time. The weather was perfect, as only autumn weather can be here, and my sights were set on a place that had been repeatedly recommended to me since I first came here: Takayama. Nestled in the mountains of woop-woop Gifu prefecture, it looked much like every other town I'd seen in the inaka as we groggily disembarked from the highway bus. However, a short rental-bike ride away, we found Hida-no-Sato, a sort of living museum, with a rather large collection of Edo-era farmhouses that have been rescued from all over the country - painstakingly taken apart, relocated, rebuilt and restored on this otherwise lonely patch of mountainside. At the entrance, we were greeted by the largest Maneki Neko I've ever seen.


For the rest, I'll spare you the needless commentary and let the pictures speak for themselves. Maybe you can just begin to imagine what life was like here 2-3 centuries ago, before the age of electricity, running water, and that incomparable combination of the two, the electronic toilet...












Having some fun with the bell...




And exiting to a view over the roofs built for snow across the valley to the mighty Japan Alps.
From there, it was a precipitous but fast bike ride back to the city centre, and a leisurely stroll to the second major sight, Takayama Jinya. This place used to be the regional government offices for the Tokugawa Shogunate, and is the last such building of its kind in Japan. Not quite as ornate as some of the temples, but still eminently practical and stylish, with all the mod cons of the day, including a grand entrance...

cubicles
reception
tea room for the OL's (office ladies)
filing
green space
lunch room
bathroom
and, of course, the torture chamber...I mean courtroom.

From what I hear, the legal system hasn't changed much. That's one way to maintain a ninety-odd percent conviction rate and a "safety country" that everyone can be proud of... but I digress.

We wandered back toward the city centre, to admire the tourist street, again little changed from Edo times, apart from the electric lighting and vending machines...

As fate would have it, there was a local matsuri on, so we had a look at the yatai, stocked up on barbecued Hida beef and local beer, and found a spot on a bridge over the river to enjoy our lunch.
After that, we explored the back streets for a little while before heading back to the bus station.

Worth the hype? I don't know, but it was pleasant enough, and a welcome break from the concrete wasteland and sweltering heat of summer. I'd do it again, but not in winter. Brrr...

Stay tuned, dear readers, as hopefully I'll get back to this before another month passes. Plenty of pics left to go, and the new travel season is approaching...