Morning seemed to come earlier in the small town of Takayama, faster than it did even in Miyajima. As early as 4AM, there were trucks on the road and the sound of shopkeepers cleaning their storefronts for the busy day ahead. Ramona got an early start and headed out for coffee and breakfast, while Karl stayed at the ryokan for the traditional Japanese breakfast. This one included soup, rice, vegetables, yogurt and a warm miso paste. After breakfast, we met up in our room and headed out for another day's adventure. What's interesting about Japan, is that most shops and many stores don't open until 10AM. That makes for quite a gap between the morning meal and going shopping!
Our ryokan rents bikes, so it seemed like it would be a good way to get around town. We started out, pedaling around the quiet town seeing where the streets would go. After a little reconnaissance, we opted to try and find the Takayama Folk Village, a restored town from feudal Japan. It took quite a bit of meandering to find the right road. Many roads in Japan actually lack street signs. You simply have to know which street is which, or be ready to ask a lot of questions. Fortunately, a few kind souls pointed us in the right direction. As we got closer to the right location, we encountered an underpass tunnel that pedestrians would use to cross a major four-lane road. In the underpass, instead of being decorated with art or advertisements, we found the tunnel decorated with completed jigsaw puzzles. We think someone took all the finished puzzles they had at home, and put them up on the walls. There was a puzzle of kittens, Dragon Ball Z, a mountain range, puppies and a gondola.
After a time, we finally found the road that led up to the village on a steep incline. We road the bikes halfway, then opted to walk the remainder. At the top, the folk village lay inside a reconstruction of its original wooden walls. Inside the gates, we found a large pond at the center, with a series of buildings. Each building was a reconstruction of a family's home, with each family providing different skills for the village (there was a woodcarver, a fisherman, a farmer and a home used by a provincial agent). Before we entered the first home, there was a series of displays of children's games that would have been popular in the 1600s, such as a spinning top, a cup-and-ball toss game, a bamboo-reed water pistol, and stilts. The displays were certainly interested, but it mostly reminded us that we're very thankful to live in the 21st century.
Leaving the village, we chose to find a good lunch spot to beat the day's heat. A nearby hotel had a warm foot bath out front, so we stopped in the shade and relaxed our feed. Karl inquired with the hotel staff for a good restaurant, but was unsuccessful. We rode into town, circling the streets until we happened upon a restaurant serving beef. We opted to dine here, choosing the hamburg steak for Ramona (sort of like a Salisbury steak) and a beef pasta bowl for Ramona.
After an excellent lunch, we continued to wander through Takayama. We happened upon a 💈 shop, so Karl chose to have a hot towel shave. The 💈 was very jovial and gave a very good shave. Karl mentioned that Ramona was a teacher, and indicated he was a teacher as well. He pointed out his photo on a calendar on the wall, and several photos of his students, one of which had since become an accomplished comedian. We took a picture with Washimi-san and said our goodbyes. We continued to criss-cross the streets, shopping for sourvenirs. When we'd finally run out of steam, we sat by the river and just enjoyed a moment's respite with one another.
Riding back to our hotel, we returned our bikes and took advantage of another hot soak in the tub! It's truly marvelous, the way a warm tub relaxes every part of your body! Well-rested, we headed down for a delicious meal before packing for our return trip to Tokyo.
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