Takayama

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We arrived in Japan on 15th August, blisteringly hot, quite unbelieveable heat! It happens to be a heat wave about 35 - 40 degrees! Wow! Thank goodness for air conditioned buildings! We flew into a city called Toyama north west coast, where our Japanese experiences began. We checked into a hotel with all mod cons, found it all quite amusing, all the gadgets - including a toilet with lots of buttons to press! The Japanese are lovely people, willing to help and haven't been anything but kind to us. They are clean, tidy and organised.
On th 16th we continued to our desired destination, Takayama (after taking a train for an hour the wrong way to Tateyama - well it does sound the same!) a traditional city / town with preservation areas. Very quaint and interesting. Finding a budget hotel， we checked in for 3 nights in a traditional tatami room. It was great! Futon like beds and maｔs on the floor, we got right into the Japanese way of life! The streets had lots of Japanese restaurants rather than a mixture to suit tourists! So noodles and rice dishes for our stay　ｉｎ　Ｔａｋａｙａｍａ．　Ｄｅｓｐｉｔｅ　ｔｈｅ　ｔｒａｄｉｔｉｏｎａｌ　ｓｔｙｌｅ　ｏｆ　ｔｈｅ　ｔｏｗｎ，　ｗｅ　ｄｉｄ　ｆｉｎｄ　ａ　ｋａｒａｏｋｅ　ｐｌａｃｅ！　Ｗｅ　ｈｉｒｅｄ　ａ　ｂｏｏｔｈ　ｆｏｒ　ａｎ　ｈｏｕｒ　ａｎｄ　ｓｔｒｅｔｃｈｅｄ　ｏｕｒ　ｖｏｃａｌ　ｃｈｏｒｄｓ！　ＨＡｖｉｎｇ　ｆｕｎ　ｓｏ　ｆａｒ　ｉｎ　Ｊａｐａｎ！

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Photos

In our Tatami room
Japanese robes and tea set supplied.

Shine in Takayama
Wonderful designs!

Inside a traditional home.
Very civilised and clean.

Our first modern Japanese toilet!
Wait till i take a picture of a Japanese squat toilet! Some of these have sound effects as soon as you sit down! Some automatically flush！

Japanese restaurant
The menu was all in Japanese! How we managed to order rice, chicken and fish was amazing!

Famous Red bridge
All the other Japanese tourists were taking photos, so we did too!

Comments

[Sue and Dad]

travelblog
Hi Zoe great to see you're having a great time. Were keeping up with your blog ok, not bad for a pair of old technophobic geriatrics! Really envy those japanese temperatures. we've had rain, rain and more rain but surprisingly some sun this week and set to last for the weekend. odd that as it's august bank holiday. our farming plans are full steam ahead at present with planning application going in this week. End of october will tell whether we have been successful or not. if not we may catch first plane and join you!!!! take care and have fun lots of love Dad and Sue xx

[Tim and Norma]

Hello
Hi, We have just read your notes and it seems you are having a good time. Cant belive we are in the 20 century on a computer on line(not ours!) All the best for your future travels, keep us posted. Tim and Norma. x