Central Japan Tour Day 3
Fujifilm X100VI 23mm f/2: 1/4000s, f/4, ISO800
Today was all about Takayama City. I already want to go back. This is where we first area where the Autumn colors started to really show. The city preserves much of the Edo period (1603-1868) aesthetic, customs, and traditions without the hustle and bustle of the more crowded Kyoto.
After the Japanese/Western buffet breakfast at the hotel, we started the day at the historical government house. It’s definitely more like a beautiful mansion with its own museum and garden all in one place! As a tour, there wasn’t enough time to absorb the wealth of information and culture in a spot like this, but it was a nice walk-through experience anyway. These are mere snapshots that don’t really do the place justice. I should mention that the random rabbit detail photo is the way the construction workers hid nails!
Next, the bus dropped us off a block from this beautiful, red-railing bridge. I had every intention of coming back to the bridge to compose more intentional photos, perhaps even with the tripod and filters, but alas, the bus pick-up point was someplace completely different so I never made it back here. This was the crossing into the Old Town District. I think I recall some calling it “Little Kyoto.” It certainly has the charm! Hida beef is the brand of Wagyu in this part of Japan. They serve it traditionally, like nigiri, and in soup-based dishes. There were a few of the nigiri versions on the Main Street. I regret not trying it here. I also picked up a snap-close wallet while I was here in the artisan shops because the wallet I had brought snuggly fit American bills, but Japanese yen is quite a bit taller! I would certainly love to spend more time here in the future.
Then it was lunch time and we got Ramen!
Our final stop for the day was a visit to the Matsuri no Mori Festival Museum. This was a very unique stop. Many Japanese festivals involve the construction and mobilization of very elaborate, very tall floats. This museum featured intricately adorned mechanical floats. These floats performed robotic performances at scheduled intervals of time.
Before we knew it, we were back at the hotel to enjoy a delicious Hida Wagyu beef dinner, concluding Day 3!