Ryokan Takanoyu Takayama

It's almost impossible to guess how nice & luxurious the inside of the hotel was just by looking at the exterior of Garaku. A huge glass window reflects a flow of Zinzu river. I had thought that Zinzu river is just an ordinary river which is not so much worth watching. I was quite surprised to see how nice the river looks through the glass window there! I was quite impressed by the ...

... and some old relics dating back to before the Jomon period (each period in Japanese history is marked by the Emperor who reigned at the time. Even today official dates and many business transactions are marked by the year of the Emperor – we are in the 21st year of the current Emperor, Akithio) It is located in the Japanese Alps and called “the roof of Japan.” It is surrounded by beauty and natural hot springs.

We did some shopping in the little old part of ...

... cookies, a fondue machine, a soft serve ice cream machine, soda fountain, and espresso machine. They even had these sugar syrup that you can slather your dessert if you felt that it wasn't sweet enough. They also had some pasta, soups, and sandwiches if you wanted some kind of real food. At first I thought I was in heaven. But after tasting some of the cakes, I thought that they were really bland. I was expecting yellow cake but ...

... when cooked a unique melty experience. Yes i am raving but i'm serious, it was that good and if anything, i've never tasted anything like it. Go gastro-tourism!

The next day was our day of hardcore sightseeing which included going to see the traditional folk village which has reconstructions of various traditional houses, and examples of traditional art such as exceptional woodcutting, in a beautiful country setting. Also on the list were: the old style ...

... some money on cab fare. Hopefully I can remember to ride on the left side of the street and the other vehicles remember to do the same. I'm also hoping that the rumors of English-speaking guides are true.

Adjusting my expectations... I had thought I'd zip through the castle and get to Kyoto early. Probably not. Everything takes longer than you think.

... selling local fruits and vegetables, hand-made crafts, and souvenirs in front of Takayama-jinja (a beautifully preserved government building, complete with adjacent rice storage buildings) and along the Miya-gawa river. Saw some of the vegetables we’d eaten the night before and learned a few Japanese names of vegetables I did recognize.

I bought a canned coffee from a vending machine and took a ...

Route 41 is a road that goes along with Zinzu river. Autumn is the best season to come to Zinzu river as trees alongside of the river turns their colors.

When we went there it was a bit early for the best season. I really wanted to come back to see the autumn leaves, but I never had time to do so. Too bad.

There is a small dam on the way to ...

so i am in matsumoto, out of the last 7 nights i spend 6 on parkbenches, the last time i took public transport was 8 days ago and suddenly i have a lot to write about...
First, a night in a youthhostel in JP sets you back around 35 to 40 dollar per night...nothing included, except the privilege to check in after 4 pm and leave before nine...ah...and at 9 pm they lock you in...thanks, then i prefer to sleep in my sleepingbag in a park,more fun, mmore adventure, more cheap....

Matsumoto, Chubu, Japan asci

... reallllyyyy exited about it! really so cute! or in jap kawaiiiiiiiii!!!!!!!!!!!!! [squiking vioce] so the bus came and we were off to the onsen the onsen for those that dont know is hot springs a bit like hamat gader but really more amazing! i wont tell the entire story so in a nutshell it was really weird and scary getting into a dressing room and simply taking all the lairs of cloths off.... the jap really tryed to help me understand how things work ...

... head to Tokyo (and a Rickie Lee Jones concert!), then Mt. Fuji and on by air to Xian and Shanghai before heading to Cambodia. Finally, and again, little ones are cute everywhere especially when forced to wear costumes. We'll try to write again from Cambodia. Take care and Happy Thanksgiving! MAJ [majnsen1@yahoo.ca] & RAP [pepperlegal@yahoo.ca]