Spa Hotel Alpina Hidatakayama

... dipping sauce that had a little soy, sesame oil, and maybe some chili oil – very yummy!

After dinner (Toshi and I were able to sneak the check before it came to the table and pay for dinner!) we went down to the onsen, men to one side and women to another. After getting a locker, shucking our clothes we headed to the the natural hot springs. We were inside and outside (in the cold) in very hot, full of sulfur and it felt so good! While we were relaxing in this amazing place ...

... br>
So we drove another hour or so and arrived at an area called, Shirakawa-go, specifically Ogimachi Village, a very old town in central Japan. More than 600 people live in this village. They have preserved rice fields, and houses that withstand the heavy snow called, gassho style houses. Gassho style houses have a large, steep, thatch roof that resembles hands folded in prayer, thus the name “gassho” which to means to pray ...

We travelled from Tokyo on the super high speed clean shiny amazing shikansen trains run by japanese rail who, outside Japan, offer the JR Railpass- a discount pass only available to tourists abroad that offers unlimited travel on the shiansen and train network for 7, 14 or 21 days- invaluable if you want to see as much as possible in a short space of time.

After arriving at our ryokan in Takayama, Erin ran through the basic ettiquette of the onsens- red curtain ...

... ville. Je suis tombee un peu par hasard sur une galerie marchande ou les jeunes branches de Tokyo vont s'habiller. Si j'habitais a Tokyo, c'est sur que j'y retournerais. Je me suis toutefois fait un peu snober par les vendeuses parce que j'avais clairement l'air d'une touriste. Il pleuvait tellement que je n'avais pas le choix que de me promener en running. J'ai aussi essayer d'aller au cinema mais j'avais vu les films qui ...

... for being of the Gassho-zukuri (literally “praying hands”)-style of thatched roofs. Built steeply to withstand the heavy snows, the thatching on the roof is an amazing 2-3 ft thick! Several of the buildings are open for exploration and contain artifacts from the period. Fires burned in most fireplaces to help repel insects and preserve the structure, as well as adding period atmosphere.

Takayama, Chubu, Japan chrisfite

So sorry that you havent received any news from us....from Mt.Fuji on, we didnt have any access....We stayed at the World Heritag Cultural Site in Gokayama, which was like staying at a camp.Basically, we have been in a mountainous area...the students have been writing a journal every day - One student writes about our day and at the end of the trip these pages will be copied by the leaders and a booklet will be made for ...

... she owns the whole of japan, this going on the " if i like it it's mine, if i see it's mine" principle.
i love you sweetheart. we both miss you both. i'm getting some stares here, so i need to go. i'll try to get on computer tonite. have to do laundry too.
i'll tell tim about orientation stuff. that was very thoughtful of you.
miss you much, you too kate :)
love you forever, like you for always
mom

A Takayama on loge dans un temple, plutot sympa ! La ville est assez touristique et on comprend pourquoi : elle regorge de temples, vieilles batisses, distilleries de sake. Il y a beaucoup d'artisanat local : bois laque, sculptures, herbes sechees... Les sobas (nouille) au sarasin sont la specialite du coin et on approuve ;-) Toujours impossible d'aller a Kamikochi, meme de ce cote. On declare donc forfait et on part vers le sud...

... procession. On entry we were given an English guide in the way of a tape recorder and headphones which gave us to very usual information. In another area next to the exhibition hall there was a huge model display replica of the famous shrines of 'Nikko' which is north of Tokyo. The lighting used to display this incredible model simulated sun rise and sun set. It was definitely worth seeing. In the evening we went in search of a restaurant serving Takayama's traditional buckwheat ...

... I'm thinking the huge amounts of flotsam and jetsam flowing down the river is probably not a good thing; we saw numerous whole trees heading down at some speed.

Still raining, we arrived at the ryokan (traditional-style inn), taking off our shoes and swapping for slippers on the way in. If you've got a stereotype in your head about home decor in Japan, our room would pretty much be it; Tatami mat (a sort of woven straw) flooring, and rice ...