Oyado Yoshinoya Takayama

... 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 ...

... These houses are between 300 and 500 years old and have to be “re-thatched” every 40 years, a process that takes about 4 days and the help of the entire community.

The houses are huge, usually 3 and 4 stories tall with a great room on the first floor with a fireplace in the center. The smoke from the fire rises up through the 2nd and 3rd floors which have vented floors. After many years, this smoke and soot creates the ...

... the bartender spoke amazing english (he spent two years of high school in the u.s) and let us sample a plethora of sake varieties - hot/cold, dry/sweet etc.. until we had all found a favourite. This was followed, as many night henceforth would, by staggering into a local karaoke bar, and proceeding to serenade with and to the locals until around midnight when, to the tune of sweet home alabama, we sauntered home to pack our things for our train the next morning to Hiroshima.

... en anglais. Donc, j'ai fait un peu de repassage, refait mes valises et lu un peu.

Takayama est dans les montagnes. C'est un petit village ou il y a beaucoup d'agriculture et ou les gens travaillent le bois. Ils sont memes reputes pour leur travail. Il y a de tres beaux bols en bois lacques qui coutent, vous vous en doutez, une fortune. C'est une petite ville et tout ferme a 4h30-5h. Et quand je dis tout, j ...

... were photo-ops right inside the main gate, which of course we utilized. Walked around the lake and then up the hill (read: mountain). Most of the houses were among the trees. The houses themselves, with their fascinating architecture, were arranged as a community, but in reality most had been tens or hundreds of miles about. We got an immediate impression of hokey-ness. But it was still fun, and I enjoyed ...

... student.....being that we are soooo far behind, this will be - a picture is worth a thousand words...enjoy the pictures. Your students/children are doing great...we have been sleeping Japanese style on the floor for six nights and are anxious to move on to Hiroshima for real beds and bathrooms in our room. We have been taking the Japanese style baths every night!!...
Gosh, hard to believe our trip is almost over!!!

couldn't get to the computer last nite. only have a minute this morning.
took a train here yesterday. it's up in the "mountains", which are like big hills. it's really such a neat town. their specialty here is making sake and woodworking. i think i'll get a few real pretty bowls.
tim said yesterday on the train "show me the pictures of sedona", he was really missing her and he continues to narrate. as of ...

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...

... away. We bought a combined ticket of return bus ticket plus entrance to the ropeway for 5000 Yen. The mountain scenery on the way was stunningly beautiful. Then as we approached the ropeway the cloud started to descend on the mountains. The first cable car ride took about 5 minutes and at the middle station was a café with outdoor mountain seating area. There was also a hot spring to dip your feet into. I decided to save that for on the way down. Then we took the second cable car ...

... Still, when in Rome...

Had green tea with Al and our respective roommates in the boys' room. Green tea sets are provided in each room with numerous spare cups and a flask full of hot water for refills. I love the teapots here (teapots! Could I be more of a British stereotype?). Rather than the looped handle on the opposite side of the pot to the spout, traditional ones here have a stick-like handle at 90 degrees to the spout. I really ...