We indulged ourselves on bowls of corn flakes as well as Vegemite on ...well, bread (there's no toaster to be seen in our Japanese-styled room). The weather app on Jen's iPhone assured us that it would be scattered clouds only for the day. Inevitably, it was misting rain and freezing (well under 10 degrees anyway) as we left the Inn. The 'old town' of Takayama is known as the Sannomachi Quarter, and is loaded with historic charm - although completely lacking in footpaths to speak of.
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| Ikeda Bashi bridge - on the way to Old Town (as opposed to Funky Town). |
We noticed some parked Rickshaws and initially thought they had been artfully placed for dramatic effect. It turns out they are used with great enthusiasm by individual tour operators in traditional attire - ploughing through crowds of people and traffic congestion with equal abandon. I couldn't decide whether the stony faces and white knuckles on some of the passengers was from the chill weather - or from them seeing their lives flash before their eyes.
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| A fully-operational Rickshaw (also known as a two-wheeled conveyance of doom). |
The tiny streets were lined with various souvenir shops, sake tasting centres and restaurants - interspersed with shrines hundreds of years old. There was also this little red guy called Sarubobo ('happy monkey baby'), who would grant happiness and good luck to its owner. These guys were everywhere, from plush toys, jewellery, to rice crackers - he seems particularly associated with Takayama itself. Lily picked up a Sarubobo plush toy/mini-handbag thing and looked quite chuffed with herself.
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| Foot-deep open guttering a natural draw-card for a two year old. |
Making use of the water rushing along the guttering/canals on the edges of the old roads was an automated marionette - perched over the canal and driven by a small timber waterwheel. The device cleverly revealed a different local dish each time the creepy guy in the box lifted his lid. Josh was transfixed.
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| A waterwheel-powered marionette. What sorcery is this?! |
The temperature had not risen, nor had the misty rain abated. I spotted a street vendor selling something hot. It turned out they were selling cooked-rice dumplings on a stick, covered in soy and baked over a fire. These were known an Midarashi Dango (I know, I reckon it sounds like a saucy Latin dance too), and they were awesome. I later sampled some Hida beef (quality, locally-grown stuff) on a stick - it was tasty, tender and warm.
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| Hamish snacking on Midarashi Dango. |
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| The great canned taste you know and love - now in gum form! |
I somewhat foolishly mentioned the term 'toll-way' while Jen was driving. She immediately swerved off the main road we were on - thinking she had inadvertently found a one-way trip out of town. After some fun off-roading through some farm fields (well, lane-ways) we found our bearings and made our way back to the Inn.
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| Short-cut from the Rickshaw Inn to the restaurant strip. |
On our way to dinner we observed one of the many crazy cyclists (in this instance a middle-aged woman), careen into a pedestrian who had the nerve to cross the road. Both were largely uninjured, and ridiculously polite considering.
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| Why is it that these alley-ways always look nicer at night? |
We had earlier spotted another Italian Restaurant that looked ideal for dinner, but the place was full. They indicated we could wait and they would have a table shortly. While we waited in the increasingly chilly evening air, the wait-staff provided a couple of sheepskin blankets to keep us warm on a seat outside. The meal was lovely, and the walk back to our room was collision-free.
The pillows in our room are reasonably solid - how solid? Lily nearly cracked one of Hamish's ribs during a pillow fight (think cement mix in a pillowcase). The kids are all out like lights (or is that concussed) - tomorrow sees us call into Shirakawa-go before stopping for the night at Kanazawa (on the coast of the Sea of Japan).
