Despite that initial setback, we made the most of the morning. We called in at a cafe for waffles for breakfast (I was roundly mocked for choosing a breakfast sandwich instead). Daniel even had an espresso, which he says was quite good. I was less adventurous, getting something called “Italian coffee” which is a lot like “normal coffee” but with some froth on top. We spent the next little while roaming the streets of old Takayama, perusing the handicrafts and sake breweries (or distilleries? I’m not really sure) until our bus to Shirakawa-go, a small country town famous for its rural atmosphere.
The bus was packed, and there was little space for baggage. This led to a pretty tense moment on the bus between me and an old man who wanted to go up the back. I really wanted to let him, but there was literally nowhere for me to put my backpack. We worked it out in the end, but it ended with me sitting on a weird foldout seat in the aisle. Also on the bus, by strange coincidence, were our original roommates from Kyoto. Small world.
Shirakawa-go was pretty beautiful. Nestled right in a valley between mountain ranges, it was covered in snow. Old farmhouses dotted the landscape, and entry to the town was gained by crossing a long, narrow bridge over a river many metres below. After dropping our bags at our inn, situated in one of the traditional farmhouses, we explored the town a bit. Lunch proved difficult, as most of the restaurants were closed, but we persevered nonetheless.
We ate back at the inn, the meal being prepared by the woman who ran it. River trout, Japanese vegetables, rice, pickles ,tofu, beef – it was quite a feast. Daniel and Ali had a great time. I’m not a big seafood eater, so the prospect of eating a full trout – head, tail and all – with my bare hands was less appealing.
After that, an American guy staying in the inn told us there was an onsen (hot spring) just down the road. We hadn’t had the opportunity to go to one yet, and the prospect of nuding up in public wasn’t incredibly appealing to some, but we went anyway. It was great. After the initial shock of being naked in a room full of other guys, it was really warm and really relaxing. Given that Zarah felt the need to find homosexual overtones in a snowball lob, I can’t imagine what she’d make of that, but I think it’s fair to say it was a worthwhile experience.
Anyway, that’s all for today. Daniel and Ali take over from this point on. I’m looking forward to joining the ranks of the readers. See you soon!
-Nik
(This post has been submitted by me because Nik is currently on the plane home)
Flaming homos.
ReplyDelete