Kyoto

Today we caught a local train, then our second Shinkansen to Kyoto (our first was when we left Tokyo), arriving there at about lunchtime.

We then went to the Tofuku-ji temple, 

and crossed the bridge above the gorge, 

before visiting the Hojo. 

There were crowds at the temple and bridge, but the Hojo wasn’t too bad and we really enjoyed it.

Then we took a taxi to Fushimi Inari - Taisha shrine, known for its thousands of Tori gates along paths up Mount Inari. This was excessively crowded, although I did manage to get some photos with few people in them. 

Villages

The following morning I decided to go early to the Haida no Sato Folk Village Museum. I walked there early enough to be there when it opened at 8am, so that I could leave at 10am, and be back in time for the bus trip we were going on later. 

The folk village was made up of a number of relocated traditional farm and village houses from the area. 

They were furnished as they would traditionally have been, 

or they had displays of different occupations or activities common in the traditional way of life. I was particularly interested in the sashiko information in one of the houses.

The temple was on the top of the hill and had a painted ceiling.

After I returned we travelled to Shirakawago, a village that has become a UNESCO World Heritage Site because of its traditional buildings. Firstly we visited the lookout. 

Then we wandered around the town. 

There were a lot of tourists there and it would be difficult for the villagers to continue to live their lives with the crowds. 

I felt that the museum had been a better place for me to visit and see their traditional ways.

Takayama

Today we caught the bus to the next place on our journey - Takayama. The bus took us through the mountains, past Kamikochi and down to Takayama.

Takayama still has areas of old buildings, 

and there are some interesting craft places, including one that was selling sashiki. I spent considerable time there, and by the time I finished, the others had moved on, and I couldn’t see them. So I went up the hill 

to where Takayama Castle had been. It was one of the many castles that was destroyed during the Meiji period, but the foundation stonework was still there. 

Into the Mountains

Today we caught a bus to the highlands and Kamikochi.

It gradually became colder, and after we entered the national park we started to see snow on the ground.

We left the bus before the last stop. The walk from the bus was along a very slippery gravel path to a lake beautifully mirroring the mountain above.

After we admired the lake, we continued on the path which became even more slippery. Wherever it would have been muddy there was a wooden boardwalk, which was also slippery, but the snow was gradually melting.

We saw moss and fungus 

and full streams.

Then we started to see monkeys.

Before the next glorious view of the river and the mountains.

We had a nice lunch at a restaurant and walked back to catch the bus home after a fantastic day.