Japan: Takayama

Next it was off to Takayama, a place which has retained some of the more traditional buildings. The countryside on the way there was nice too:

I'd booked a traditional Japanese ryokan (inn) instead of a normal hotel for an experience, and I definitely wasn't disappointed. My hosts were lovely and my room was really pretty, as was the rest of the place.

The lady who was looking after me told me to do lots of walking because she was going to make me a big dinner, and she wasn't kidding!

The food was delicious but it was so nicely presented it almost seemed a shame to eat it.

After dinner it was time for bed, which was pulled out and made up for me:

Breakfast was delicious again, and well and truly filled me up for a good day's walking around the town. It included a sweetish vegetable mix cooked on a large leaf, which was a neat little touch.

Takayama really is a pretty town, with a river running through the center of it.

Here's one for all the cat lovers - there was only of these and no explanation of what it was all about, but it was very cool/cute:

The town has a couple of morning markets, with this one arranged along a narrow street along the riverside. There were tent stalls as well as established shops selling food, souvenirs and crafts of various sorts.

At one point a Japanese lady who turned out to be a tour guide asked me to take her photo for her. She'd just gotten and was wearing her first ever kimono and was excited about it. This was a good chance to get my photo taken as well.

The town has an older and a more modern section, which is near the train station. The old shop fronts and little museums were really something to look at.

There's also a very large park that goes up into the hills, which was nice to walk through:

There was also a small picnic area, complete with this warrior statue:

After that it was quick trip to an area in the old town which has some of the many temples and shrines that are dotted about the town (the first is one from earlier).