Japan: 13th Sep 2015

So before I forget, the hotel here at Takayama is Hotel Associa. I stayed for 2 nights.

This morning was a rush to pack an overnight bag whilst our main suitcases are taken to Hiroshima. Not sure if I mentioned it but this was the same deal with our suitcases going from the Tokyo hotel directly to this hotel.

On the coach we drove through many tunnels, including one that was 10.7 kilometres. It took 10mins.

We visited a district called Shirakawa, a small village in the mountains. It became a tourist destination when the thatched roofs became nationally protected. We first stopped at the top of the hill for the views of the village below. There is a marathon happening here, with competitors starting in Takayama, running up and around the mountains. Apparently its a yearly event. I bought mochi at the shop here at the top. There was a girl and her mother serving. They were very fun. I used my Japanese on them. The girl was fun to talk too. She was 34 going on 21. The mother was in her 60s but looked 50. Only said basic stuff like how tall I was, how old we thought we were compared to real ages, and what sports I do (swimming).

At the bottom of the valley we had to walk across a swing bridge to get to the village. It was beautiful. It was overcast but there was beauty in the way the clouds rolled off and around the surrounding mountains. It was very much like NZ but to be honest reminded me more of Samurai Champloo (listen to Who's Theme by Minmi).

As a group we visited one of the thatched homes and had a talk about how they made them and how to maintain such a home with smoke to warm the roof to keep away the snow and termites. We ate the rice dumplings Goheimochi and Mitarashi Dango, which was traditional and yet another feature that reminded me of Samurai Champloo, then looked around the town by ourselves. The runners were passing through. I shouted 'Gambare!' at them as they passed. I then bought a green tea ice cream. My first one! Wasn't bad either.

Next stop on the coach was a small village called Gokayama which showed us exactly how the fire at the stove would smoke up the thatched houses. The curator was a guy dressed up in traditional garb and even sang us an old Japanese styled song.

Next on the road was Kanazawa on the north coast, where we are staying tonight. Before heading to the hotel (ANA Crowne Plaza), we stopped off at a traditional part of the city. There was a gold leaf making workshop and an old street to walk down where a few of the girls were in Kimonos.

This hotel has WIFI but I cant get it working.

I went for a walk to see what was about and where to eat. Nothing much was there so I turned back. Very near the hotel there was an underground set of restaurants so I walked down, and ended up picking a chain restaurant called The Olive Oil Kitchen. I chose Beef Paella with Half Boiled egg in Sherry Wine and Gorgonzola Cheese. I chose this restaurant because it was busy with local people (always a good sign), and because the menu was in english.
The atmosphere was so good so I stayed for chips and dip. The 'chips' were not anything like tortilla chips at all. Sort of like some mexicany flaky pastry based things :/

I'm now back in my room watching anime on live TV. Not sure what it is. Seems to be about some boy and girl who can turn into wolves. The boy is called Ame. Actually now that I think about it, this film is most probably Wolf Children from that director that did Summer Wars and The Girl Who Leapt Through Time. God damn it I'm spoiling it for myself :/

Hahahaa there's a news programme called BS News. Lol