Takayama
We had a busy morning yesterday. After breakfast, we started our day by checking out Matsumoto Castle. It was a beautiful and fascinating building:
From the castle we went to Matsumoto City Museum of Art. There were some absolutely stunning pieces of artwork in there. I was really interested in artist Yayoi Kusama, her work was absolutely amazing! Unfortunately, I felt like I had to rush in the art museum because we had to catch a bus to Takayama.
The 2 and a half hour bus journey took us through the Japanese Alps and the sights were truly stunning! We're staying in another traditional style building with sliding doors, tatami flooring, and futon beds. Again, it has a traditional Japanese bath, which I have taken full advantage of the past two days.
Yesterday in Takayama we had a walk around the town before sitting down to a Japanese meal in the evening. We then all gathered in the lounge area for drinks and the group really bonded. Today we have seen a lot of the town. This morning we went to Takayama Festival Floats Exhibition, which displays some absolutely stunning floats from Takayama's famous festivals. We then went to the Sakurayama Nikko-kan, which has some absolutely fantastic scale models of many famous temples/shrines from around Japan. The amount of detail is unbelievable!
We then walked around the Sakurayama Hachiman Shrine which was really nice, before heading to the morning market to mooch around the shops and stalls. From here we then walked into the main town and to a Sake bruery to sample the goods! I love sake!
In the afternoon we jumped on a bus to Hida Minzoku Mura Folk Village, which is a kind of museum village which shows how a Japanese mountain village may have looked hundreds of years ago. It was really interesting, and the architecture was amazing.
I bought myself a Yukata and I'm tempted to wear it around the town!
This evening we have been for a Japanese meal within the town. I had the Hida Beef, which is just like Kobe beef where they massage the cows and feed them beer to keep them relaxed. It was delicious. Considering I don't like fish, I've eaten quite well in Japan.
I've really enjoyed being in Takayama. Tomorrow we're off to Kanazawa, which I'm really looking forward to because there is a huge samurai and ninja influence there.
From the castle we went to Matsumoto City Museum of Art. There were some absolutely stunning pieces of artwork in there. I was really interested in artist Yayoi Kusama, her work was absolutely amazing! Unfortunately, I felt like I had to rush in the art museum because we had to catch a bus to Takayama.
The 2 and a half hour bus journey took us through the Japanese Alps and the sights were truly stunning! We're staying in another traditional style building with sliding doors, tatami flooring, and futon beds. Again, it has a traditional Japanese bath, which I have taken full advantage of the past two days.
Yesterday in Takayama we had a walk around the town before sitting down to a Japanese meal in the evening. We then all gathered in the lounge area for drinks and the group really bonded. Today we have seen a lot of the town. This morning we went to Takayama Festival Floats Exhibition, which displays some absolutely stunning floats from Takayama's famous festivals. We then went to the Sakurayama Nikko-kan, which has some absolutely fantastic scale models of many famous temples/shrines from around Japan. The amount of detail is unbelievable!
We then walked around the Sakurayama Hachiman Shrine which was really nice, before heading to the morning market to mooch around the shops and stalls. From here we then walked into the main town and to a Sake bruery to sample the goods! I love sake!
In the afternoon we jumped on a bus to Hida Minzoku Mura Folk Village, which is a kind of museum village which shows how a Japanese mountain village may have looked hundreds of years ago. It was really interesting, and the architecture was amazing.
I bought myself a Yukata and I'm tempted to wear it around the town!
This evening we have been for a Japanese meal within the town. I had the Hida Beef, which is just like Kobe beef where they massage the cows and feed them beer to keep them relaxed. It was delicious. Considering I don't like fish, I've eaten quite well in Japan.
I've really enjoyed being in Takayama. Tomorrow we're off to Kanazawa, which I'm really looking forward to because there is a huge samurai and ninja influence there.