Takayama

I had some great outdoor adventures in the little town of Takayama - a small hamlet that looked over the Japanese Alps. It took a good to chunk of time just to get there, but it was well worth it.

I just scored. Found a free serve-yourself sake tasting cabinet.

The air in Takayama was cold and crisp.  The ground was covered in snow, and I sort of got there late in the day.  That didn't stop me from trekking up one of the nearby hills on foot.

I have to admit I do some pretty dumb ass things in nature when I'm alone.  At the trail head just before this picture of me in the snow, I saw warning signs not to continue on the path because it was slippery and snowed in. They were in Japanese and I can't read Japanese, but it was pretty obvious.  I continued on after seeing hundreds of footprints in the snow going past the sign.

Hiking around Takayama was refreshing.  Before this, most of my walking had been urban walks (from Guangzhou up to this point in my journeys, save Miyajima).  Ran into a guy with a group of dogs, but aside from that, the walk was just me, snow, and clean air.

After coming down the hill, I stopped at the local library to check my email.  I was very impressed by the library and wanted to take pictures inside of it to show my mom (who is a teacher librarian), but the librarian told me not to take pics. 

I asked where I could get some good food, and the staff told me to get some Hida gyu, which had meat quality standards similar to that in Kobe.  So I stopped at one place on the major road that ran through town to get a Hida beef noodle bowl.

I was craving a Guinness.  After a somewhat unsuccessful search for an Irish pub (I found one and the lights were on, but it was closed), I went back to my hotel and soaked myself in their external rooftop onsen. It was a clean and beautiful onsen and no one was around.  The snow came down slowly like powered sugar. I had the onsen all to myself for an hour and a half.  The only bad part was that I forgot my towel in my room.  I walked back soaking wet, but felt like a million bucks!

Hida Gyu dinner

This one's for my mom.  Buen Camino!