People from nearby sell fresh farm products, flowers or some local crafts in most of the stands.
For breakfast I decided to have mitarashi dango, which are grilled rice dumplings coate in a soy-based sauce. They are sold all over Takayama in street kitchens, and are really good!
On my way to the train station I took a detour via the Hida-Kokubunji Temple. This three level pagoda stands beside a ginko tree that is said to be over 1200 years old!! The temple's main hall is the oldest structure in Takayama.
Since I did not have the time to take a trip to the nearby Shirakawa-go region to see the gassho styled farmhouses there I visited the Hida Folk Village (Hida no Sato) which is ten minutes by buss from Takayama.
The open air museum exhibits over 30 very typical farmhouses and some other buildings from the Hida region and is quite beautiful. The main attractions are a number of gassho-zukuri houses which were moved to the museum from the Shirakawa-go region. These massive farmhouses have steep, thatched roofs which look like praying hands: "gassho-zukuri"
Almost all buildings are open to the public and you can see the how they were built! Quite impressive!
The houses are nicely preserved on both the outside and inside, and a lot of everyday utensils which were used are displayed. In a lot of houses, the indoor fireplaces were lit, producing a wonderful scent. I got a very good impression of how people used to live and work from wandering around in the folk village!
Back from the museum, I caught a train to Furukawa, which is a small town in the mountains about 20 minutes by train north of Takayama.
Furukawa is smaller and less crowded than Takayama, and has a nice well-preserved old town as well. Both Furukawa and Takayama gained wealth and fame through the high quality timber of the region as well as the high level craftmanship skills of the local carpenters.
There runs a small canal, named Seto River, through the old town. The Seto River is inhabited by many large and colourful carps. Along its most picturesque section, old store houses with white walls (shirakabe dozo) line the canal.
Not far from the canal is the Mishima Candle Shop where traditional japanese candles (warosoku) are still today handmade and sold. The shop has been in business for more than 240 years!
I was lucky, just when I got to the shop a man demonstrated the process of making the candles, which was quite impressive.
When I returned from Furukawa to Takayama, I was quite tired after another long and eventful day. My buss did however not leave until 7 pm, so I was expecting to have to wait another 1.5 hours at the station as it already was dark and most shops were closed... But I managed to change my ticket and catch an earlier buss that was just about to leave :-)
Back in Nagoya, Judy, our secretary was quite happy to see me - she feared that I would never make it back because I got lost somewhere in the deepest outback of Japan... :o
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