When we lived in Japan, we’d both visited Takayama separately. Christy remembered it as a very small, hilly town (which it wasn’t) and John remembered it as a fairly large city (which it turns out, it is).
While it’s a biggish city, there are several blocks of well-preserved, old houses in the center. In the nearby hills there were many, many temples and shrines - making for a very nice walk along the Higashiyama path.
Staying at a ryokan meant we had access to colorful yukatas. Even though the summer season popular for parading through the town dressed in these “outdoor” yukatas was technically over, we didn’t hesitate to dress-up and walk through the town. We enjoyed it so much, we even wore our yukatas out to a fancy dinner after being assured by our ryokan hosts that it wasn’t too odd.
What was very odd, was a meal we had at a small gyoza restaurant, where the chef blasted death metal music, insisted every visitor draw a picture representing their home country, and was particular about many, many things, but cleanliness wasn’t one of them. Fortunately, the gyoza were delicious, though we tried not to pay attention to the black build-up on the fryer.Read more
Rowena SingerThis was the most unique meal experience I've had in Japan. I think I managed to keep it together until Christy made comments about the stovetop's level of cleanliness and John's observations of the death metal music.
JapanGifuTakayama ShiKatanomachi36°7’59” N 137°16’59” E
JapanGifuTakayama ShiKatanomachi36°7’59” N 137°16’59” E
Lucinda Ayers
You both look fabulous!!
Rowena Singer
Christy and John are seriously so photogenic, particularly when they were wearing yukatas while walking about town.
Rowena Singer
This was the most unique meal experience I've had in Japan. I think I managed to keep it together until Christy made comments about the stovetop's level of cleanliness and John's observations of the death metal music.