Japan - Day 3
On the 3rd day we :
(1) Went to Gifu's Shirakawago, which is a rural area, famous for its steeply thatch-roofed houses, which does not allow snow to accumulate on top. It's quite high up in the hills, so it gets quite a lot of snow. There was a house converted into a museum where you can climb up to the roof/attic and see household items made of straw, etc. Interesting.
(2) Went to San-machi Suji, which is the center of old town Takayama, filled with tourist friendly shops. We actually had the option of going to the nearby Temple, but a few of the groups opted to see the shops on the streets instead. After all........you see one temple, you've seen 'em all. Like when I went to Italy....see one ... three.....five statues....then they all start to look the same.
(3) Went to Isawa, where we stayed at Isawa Kasugai View Hotel for the night. Here we enjoyed our first Japan Hot Spring, but I swear....the water was just too hot. Even the outdoor hot spring was just oo hot. WE couldn't take more than 15 minutes in it.
Rating for Shirakawago
Attraction : Scenic
Price : n/a
Experience (Good/ Great/ Awesome) : Great. Very scenic, and interesting, and peaceful.
Photo Op (Good/ Great/ Awesome) : Great. The steep roofed houses with hills for the background make for a nice photo op.
Rating for San-machi Suji
Attraction : Shopping
Price : Reasonable
Experience (Good/ Great/ Awesome) : Good. Small shops along parallel streets.
Photo Op (Good/ Great/ Awesome) : Good. Nothing fantastic.
Shirakawago - view from the lookout hill
The steeply thatched roof
I'm sure we're ALL familiar with this. I love seeing this thing in anime.
I don't know what they call this.... this.... this floored space outside of the house, but I freaking LOVE THIS. I can just imagine some locals sitting there with their feet hanging.....and drinking some moon-viewing sake.
Our lunch about 1-hr drive away
This beef was PARTICULARLY AWESOME. And we were lucky. Due to some miscomnunication, some parties did not know they can opt for NO-BEEF courses....so my friend and I wound up sharing =EXTRA= THREE PLATES of BEEF!!!
San-machi Suji.
Love these different types of sake bottles
Our tiny hotel for the night, Isakawa Kasugai View Hotel
How tiny can a dustbin get?
I loved the 9-partition tray....I just filled it up like mad. Food was GOOOOODDDDDD..........duck...beef....sashimi....cucumbers...and Hokkaido crab.
That's all for today,
FanTa
(1) Went to Gifu's Shirakawago, which is a rural area, famous for its steeply thatch-roofed houses, which does not allow snow to accumulate on top. It's quite high up in the hills, so it gets quite a lot of snow. There was a house converted into a museum where you can climb up to the roof/attic and see household items made of straw, etc. Interesting.
(2) Went to San-machi Suji, which is the center of old town Takayama, filled with tourist friendly shops. We actually had the option of going to the nearby Temple, but a few of the groups opted to see the shops on the streets instead. After all........you see one temple, you've seen 'em all. Like when I went to Italy....see one ... three.....five statues....then they all start to look the same.
(3) Went to Isawa, where we stayed at Isawa Kasugai View Hotel for the night. Here we enjoyed our first Japan Hot Spring, but I swear....the water was just too hot. Even the outdoor hot spring was just oo hot. WE couldn't take more than 15 minutes in it.
Rating for Shirakawago
Attraction : Scenic
Price : n/a
Experience (Good/ Great/ Awesome) : Great. Very scenic, and interesting, and peaceful.
Photo Op (Good/ Great/ Awesome) : Great. The steep roofed houses with hills for the background make for a nice photo op.
Rating for San-machi Suji
Attraction : Shopping
Price : Reasonable
Experience (Good/ Great/ Awesome) : Good. Small shops along parallel streets.
Photo Op (Good/ Great/ Awesome) : Good. Nothing fantastic.
Shirakawago - view from the lookout hill
The steeply thatched roof
I'm sure we're ALL familiar with this. I love seeing this thing in anime.
I don't know what they call this.... this.... this floored space outside of the house, but I freaking LOVE THIS. I can just imagine some locals sitting there with their feet hanging.....and drinking some moon-viewing sake.
Our lunch about 1-hr drive away
This beef was PARTICULARLY AWESOME. And we were lucky. Due to some miscomnunication, some parties did not know they can opt for NO-BEEF courses....so my friend and I wound up sharing =EXTRA= THREE PLATES of BEEF!!!
San-machi Suji.
Love these different types of sake bottles
Our tiny hotel for the night, Isakawa Kasugai View Hotel
How tiny can a dustbin get?
I loved the 9-partition tray....I just filled it up like mad. Food was GOOOOODDDDDD..........duck...beef....sashimi....cucumbers...and Hokkaido crab.
That's all for today,
FanTa