Takayama, Japanese Alps, Japan

Tallest wooden structure in Nara, 100 metre pagoda

This the fifth day of our Japanese road trip and what a difference from Malaysia, both in climate and culture. In Malaysia, there was a huge amount of new construction but the problem there is that they don't maintain anything and after about five years, the buildings and infrastructure look like they are falling apart. In contrast, the Japanese seem to take pride in the appearance of 

everything. Orderly is the word that comes to mind. It's also great to be in cooler less humid 

weather. 

We spent our our first three days in Kyoto wandering around the old city looking around the

 temples and shrines and parks that this city is famous for. We thought we had missed the the

 cherry blossom time but we managed to catch the spectacular tail end of it. The weather was 

perfect for walking and we did plenty of that. We visited the sixteenth century Nijo Castle with its amazing nightingale floors that sing  like birds when you step on them to warn of intruders.We

 stayed at a ryokan which is a traditional Japanese hotel with pretty much everything on the floor on tatami mats. No chairs, only a table about a foot off the floor and futons instead of a bed. I'm not sure that it suits my creaky old bones but it was comfortable enough. Very plain and 

peaceful.

 We took a day trip to Nara which used to be the capital of Japan in the fifteenth century and     saw the huge wooden  Buddha in the shrine of  Todai-ji  and the famous deer in Nara park. 

We managed to negotiate the organized chaos of Kyoto station to buy tickets and find the 

correct train. Finding stuff is a little tricky here as almost everything is written in Japanese. 

Looking for restaurants can be a major undertaking as they are mostly very small and look 
like someone's house.

We took the train to Kanazawa and walked around the mostly restored Kanazawa Castle and

 the Kenrouko-en gardens, ranked as one of the top three gardens in Japan completed in the

 early nineteenth century.

Yesterday, we got on the highway bus to Takayama via Shirakawa-go through the mountains. 

Shirakawa-go is another restored ancient traditional village, beautifully preserved as a

 UNESCO world heritage site. Unfortunately, the weather turned rainy and cold so we didn't see the snow capped mountains to their best advantage.

Takayama is a small mountain town famous for its artisans and sake. We have been walking around the town mostly in the rain and we got educated on the culture of sake by two delightful Japanese ladies on a tour of a restored eighteenth century house.

It rained hard today so instead of going up to Kamikochi high up in the mountains for a walkabout and an onsen ( hot bath) experience we walked about the town and visited several museums.

Tomorrow, which is the admiral's birthday, we leave for Mount Fuji and look forward to the hotel with a promised view of the iconic mountain. Hopefully, the weather will clear as per the

 forecast.

vending machines are everywhere in Kyoto

traditionally dressed girls with electronic devices

cherry blossom, Kyoto

sitting room in the ryokan, Kyoto

bedroom futons 

red maple, Kyoto

imperial palace,Kyoto

gardens at Kenroku-en, Kanazawa

cherry blossom

entrance to Nijo Castle with the nightingale floors

lunch in the Nara Forest

the tea house at Kenruko-en gardens

restored thatched cottage at Shikara-go

Lunch in the Nara forest

junior Japanese tourist, Kyoto