A gorgeous sunset viewed on my first evening in Takayama :)

The sky over Takayama minutes after I got into town

 

Light show at sunset!

 

I can't decide whether I prefer the vertical 

or horizontal shot more, so here's sharing both :)

 

The day that I got on the Hida Limited Express train that would take me from Nagoya to Hida-Takayama, I decided to opt for the one that began its journey at 2.48pm and arrive at my destination at 5.10pm.  This way, I could get in an extra meal in Nagoya (that would consist of hitsumabushi at the branch of Maruya Honten located within Nagoya's JR railway station) before my departure.  In addition, the timing would ensure that I'd be making what I knew would be a scenic train journey in broad daylight and would also be arriving at a town I had hitherto never been to before dark (which is something I think helps me in getting my bearings).

 

What I hadn't actually thought about but turned out to luck upon was my being in Takayama to view an absolutely gorgeous sunset -- one that rivals the memorably beautiful sunsets I've witnessed in places like Matsue (where sunset viewing is a seriously popular activity), Hong Kong and, in my youth, from a beach on Malaysia's Pulau Langkawi!  Shortly after arriving in the Hida mountain town, I noticed a couple of people standing in front of the train station with cameras aimed at the sky.  Upon following their gaze, I let out a gasp and hurried to go check in to my hotel (which was just across the street from the train station) -- and, upon doing so and looking out a window, saw that the sky had become even more beautiful than just a few minutes previously. 

 

Fishing out my camera out of my backpack, I started taking shots of the sky -- and I'm ever so glad that I managed to capture how it looked for just a few minutes on my first evening in Takayama.  Here's what makes it more precious: though I did make a point to look the next few days, nothing approaching the beauty unfolded at sunset because the sky was way too cloudy or for some other weather-related reason!  So am I really glad that I arrived at Takayama on the day as well as the time that I chose to do! :)