Takayama – both breathtaking and nourishing

Ron is such an optimist that he still demands we go down to breakfast right at 7, when I am long past caring. Yesterday, there was a grill-your-own-fish station as the highlight of the buffet, featuring blowfish, which is apparently deadly if you don’t cook it right. Those are some mighty high stakes for breakfast.

We’ve driven over to Gifu prefecture. Prefectures in Japan are basically states. We’re in a town called Takayama, population 88,000, which I am in love with. It’s slightly mountainous and very green. Here’s a picture of one of the traditional streets:

And here’s one of the river that runs through town and then the gorgeous green hillside:

On our way to Takayama, we stopped at a UNESCO World Heritage site called Shirakawa, famous for Gassho houses. The houses are thatched roof structures, each with a roof about 2 or 3 feet thick. Shizu says it’s good that these are governmentally-protected now because each half of a roof costs $200,000 and only lasts 20 years. So $400,000 to re-roof and you need to do it every 20 years, which should make you all feel better about your own homes. The houses are also apparently freezing inside during the long winter months. Here’s Shirakawa:

We got to tour one of the houses and we were set to go upstairs and check out the cool roofline when a school group swarmed in and took over. There were so many of them and the stairwell was so narrow that I never got upstairs and so I offer this picture instead. This is how they stored their shoes to go upstairs. They walked in one by one, placed their shoes in this very tidy fashion, and went on their way. I cannot imagine a group of American schoolchildren doing this.

Here’s the river that runs through Shirakawa:

Having toured Takayama and Shiragawa, we were headed to our hotel for the night. Shizu said there were no restaurants right nearby and so she was going to stop the bus at a grocery store so we could buy some take out items for dinner. You all surely must know how much I love a grocery store by now. But here? With a goal of purchasing an actual edible meal? It was never going to work out. I’m hungry and I’m existing mostly on candy, vanilla ice cream cones and rice at this point.

And then Shizu said there was also a McDonald’s nearby. Someone from the deep reaches of the bus said “I’m going to eat there” and then there was this general murmur of assent and agreement that rolled through the bus. Shizu, a very alert and intuitive guide, said “Are some of you planning to eat at McDonald’s?” And 22 American hands shot up into the air.

The atmosphere on the bus was giddy as Shizu pointed out the golden arches and when the bus doors opened, 11 of us strode over in a fury of desperation rooted in the fear of any more Japanese buffets.

I actually have an action photo of our jaywalking group as we approach the front door, but I’ll leave you with this: