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The rainy season has officially ended, as today dawns clear and sunny. Of course, that also means that it's hot. Really hot!
Christine started her day with a trip to the Onsen and sauna this morning, while Kent used the free internet connection to catch up on the world of news and sports. Once we were ready to go, we headed down to check out the breakfast buffet here in the hotel. It was a blend of western and Japanese food, which was a nice change. Kent never enjoyed a bowl of cereal more than the one he had this morning. Christine found some little hamburger on a stick type thing that we both enjoyed and Kent found the Wasabi cheese that was also a big hit.
After breakfast we met up with the group and headed out for our tour of Takayama. The first major thing we came across was the Hida Kokubunji Temple that was rebuilt in the 16th century. The original foundation from the 8th century is still visible in a few spots. There is also a massive Ginko tree out in front that is 1200 years old. There is also a beautiful 3 story pagoda at the site.
We moved on from there to the morning market. This is a whole long street of vendors selling souvenirs, fruits, vegetables, etc. Christine got sight of a heron and we decided to forgo the rest of the shops to take some pictures of it. After meeting back up with the group, we were walking in an area that was similar to the post towns of the previous few days, when Christine noticed a sign for free sake tastings. The group decided that we should go in and check the shop out. It ended up being a much bigger shop than it looked like from the outside and there was a lady who was making glass jewelry on site. We watched her for a bit and Christine found two nice necklaces to purchase. Just as we were getting ready to leave the sake/jewelry shop, one of the shop keepers rushed over and pointed outside. As we looked out, there was a traditional Japanese rickshaw going past with a couple on their way to the shrine to married. This was very cool to see and we took lots of pictures, much to the delight of the couple who was smiling broadly.
Our next stop was a sake brewery to "purify" ourselves prior to heading up to see the festival floats. We tried a couple of different Sakes, but our favorite by far was the plum sake, which apparently is only made in very few breweries. We liked it so much that we bought two bottles to bring home.
After the Sake tasting, we headed to the museum where they display some of the floats that they use in their bi-annual festival. The festivals are held in the spring and fall each year, and these very ornate and massive floats are pulled (or carried) through the streets. The museum holds 4 floats, so they change the floats that are there 3 times a year so that all the floats get displayed. Each of the floats is different, but all are covered in gold and amazing detailed carvings or metalwork. They were spectacular!
Next door to the floating museum is another museum that holds a replica of the giant temple grounds in Nikko (which is about 2 hours north of Tokyo). Just looking at the replicas was enough to make you realize how impressive the actual place must be. It took 33 master Hida carpenters 15 years to complete the models and the museum has special lights that go on and off with different colours to simulate sunrise and sunset. At least one of the folks in our group is thinking of heading up to Nikko when the tour ends to see the actual buildings in person.
Our last stop of the tour was the Sakurayama Hachinangu shrine. We cleansed ourselves with water and then all prayed briefly at the shrine. When you pray, you bow twice, clap twice (to scare away any evil spirits), pray and the bow again before you leave. There were several other small shrines on the site, one which was to the fox (who is the messenger of the gods) and one where students go to pray for success with their studies.
After the shrine, the tour was done and we had free time to explore more if we wanted to. We were pretty tired from the heat, so we decided to head back to the hotel and take a nice soak in the onsen on the roof of the hotel. On the way back, Christine stopped at one of the street vendors and got a little rice dumpling on a stick for a snack. There are these vendors all over the place. It appears to be the Japanese version of a Canadian hot dog vendor.
We changed into our Japanese robes and headed up to the onsen. Luckily one of the private onsens was available, so we were able to soak together in the lovely natural stone pool. It was very relaxing and after about 25 minutes of soaking, we decided that we had had enough and headed back down to the room to prepare for dinner.
Dinner was another serving of the amazing Hida beef, but this time you cooked it yourself over small charcoal grills that the restaurant brought to your table. It was one of Kent's favourite meals so far.
We are staying another night at the same hotel in Takayama that we stayed in last night and then heading to Shirakawa-go tomorrow afternoon. Talk to you when we get to Kyoto!
- comments
Mom/Doren & Rick Rick really liked the grilled food.Great pictures! Loved everyone one of them. I wish I were there.The Onsen looks inviting too! Looking forward to hearing/seeing more.Love Mom & Rick
Mom Thanks for the call this morning; it was great to hear your voices. Your photos are amazing and I love reading about your daily adventures.XO
Wally and Gunta This is a great blog. Sounds like you are doing the adventure of a lifetime.