We left the touristic and unavoidable Kyoto to venture to the foot of the Japanese Alps to Takayama. This is not yet the high mountains (we are about at 600 meters of altitude), but already on the way, the landscape has changed. We are surrounded by these mountains very sharp, young, covered with forests that are crossed by only high-voltage lines. The climate has changed, even if the last few days in Kyoto, a fresh breeze had settled. This time we released our windproof from our bags, and even put a sweater for the evening stroll. arriving here, we crossed the fall, which is not already installed in the country below.
Look at the scenery through the window of a train, it’s already traveling. Slowly, small details of reality as we know it change, to gradually draw a whole new landscape.
Our ryokan is great. Although far from the station. This time we have right to a very large room where we do not need to fold the futons to install the (large) Xim’s hardware. There is even a small seating area. This whole place is a great luxury.
We are mostly outside the city and when we open the window, we have a view on the forest and it smells good the nature. The tanuki are both present on the spurs of the houses. I think this is a sign showing that we live close to nature (in fact I had already seen a tanuki in the window of a store in Tokyo, but it was a Hello Kitty dressed as tanuki).
The afternoon was spent visiting the Hida Folk Village, located 400 meters from our ryokan (we admire the talent of the organizer).
This village consists of traditional houses of the Hida region, which were transplanted here. It is an eco-museum-village, in a way, and some of the original building date from the mid-eighteenth century. The village was formed to preserve the memory of Japanese traditions. Well as in France, most eco-museums of local arts and traditions are quite boring (it must be said), as having brought together in one place different architectures, ancient crafts and explanations of certain traditions, like all rites about marriage, it’s very interesting. This is better than the museum of the perennial hoof or the ox plow. I do not think to find it more interesting because it is also exotic: what makes the place interesting is the juxtaposition which allows the comparison. As we really enjoyed the place, we returned for the “night illuminations” with the lights of the houses.
And autumn begins to vibrate the leaves of the mapletrees.
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