takayama – part 2

we went to one of the shrines on a hill top

one of the shrine’s ladies was raising the japanese flag for some reason.. perhaps it’s something to do with the national holiday

in japan, if you draw a lot predicting bad luck, you tie it to a tree or, in this case, a fence in the shrine or temple

looking downhill from within the compound

next to the shrine was the exhibition hall for the portable shrines and floats for the festival that Takayama is very famous for. the festival is related to this shrine, but i cant remember the details of the festival.

there are about a total of 12 floats in total, and they’re displayed on a rotational basis.

there’s also a miniature replica of the famous temple in Nikko – near Tokyo – in Takayama for some reason unknown, and it made me feel that Nikko must be gorgeous! i’ve heard it quite a few times while learning japanese, and seeing the replica makes me really want to visit too.

it’s a huge place, and the detail on the gates and walls are amazing

the morning markets are another highlight of Takayama, and they’re basically makeshift stands selling various fresh produce, sweets, pickled items, etc that are open from around 6 to noon.

here are some stuff we saw there and on the way there:

a shrine and one of the most attractive lots-dispensing machine

if i recall what i learned about genetically modified foods many many years ago, naturally growing corn – that hasnt even been inter-bred for colour – actually isnt entirely yellow, but a combination of colours like these:

pumpkins, squash, etc!

hello kitty and doraemon cookies anyone?

 

while osaka has its takoyaki – tako meaning octopus – takayama has its beef balls, which are basically takoyaki that have the famous hida beef instead of octopus. takayama is famous for its hida beef too, and it’s apparently nicer than kobe beef. i did try hida beef while i was there, but my untrained palate couldnt tell which was better. both are good (and expensive) beef and i enjoyed them very much.

the sign below claims that its taste will move you

i also found the milk boxes outside each house very cute:

many of the houses in takayama looked something like this, with a flag on the outside. i’m not sure why the flags are there – it could either be because of a national holiday, or that they’re more patriotic in the country..

we went to a cafe for tea, and were surprised by the amount of crap that birds in takayama have:

thankfully the cakes were a different matter:

takayama and denver are sister cities, but i think it’s still rather odd to erect such a sign in a japanese park:

my reaction was pretty much “wth?” when i first saw that sign! it was put up to commemorate the visit of one of the mayors.

and one of the ex-mayors of denver had a comical name :P

i really like this sign:

saw these really cute bottles in one of the convenience stores too