At some point in time, it became a UNESCO World Heritage Site...and I think that may have ruined it.
Imagine a small hamlet, completely isolated. Innocent. Idyllic. Then, bring in the tourists by the bus loads. Add in locals trying to capitalize on their good (?) fortune by selling cheap souvenirs, ice cream...whatever. Small roads choked by human foot traffic.
Awful.
The bus arrived at 10:30. I walked to the top of the hill, to the view point.
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| View from designated view point |
Then kept walking up.
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| Terraced farm at the top of the hill |
The view WAS spectacular.
Then I walked back down...and the hoards had arrived. I walked to the farthest reaches of the village. Thought I’d better eat. Had...something...crunchy...may have been hash brown potato...or something else. No idea. Then had ice cream.
It was now 11:30. My bus wasn’t until 2:30. Now what?
So walked back to the terminal to see if I could get an earlier bus. Although, I didn’t think of that right away. Managed to (thankfully) get a bus at 1pm to Takayama.
The hotel I’m staying at, while a highrise, is configured in the old way...shoes come off upon entry & put in a locker. The hotel floors are covered in tatami mats...which, are unexpectedly and unbelievably comfortable under foot. My room is six tatami mats in size...which is the average size of a room in a traditional Japanese household. A tatami mat is 6’x3’ (ish).
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| Top: Hotel room in Takayama Bottom: View from hotel room |
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