An atmospheric mountain town with interesting architecture, it also was there that I met some really amazingly hospitable, friendly and outright kind people and ate my share of good food. This time around, I spent four nights and good part of five days there, and saw quite a bit of the town and surrounding area. And yet I would like to go back again before too long. Hopefully this photo-essay helps explain why...
No one posed for this photo taken in the old part of Takayama town!
Did I mention that a number of the old wooden buildings
(with sugidama hung above their main entrances) in the
old part of Takayama town are home to sake breweries? ;b
So much of the town looked like a movie set (except if you peeked into
the windows, you saw working establishments -- e.g., the building
with the bicycle in front is home to a working barber shop)!
Wandering about the city after dark, you can come across a place
where you can shoot arrows, and an ace female archer coolly
hitting the target time after time while a quiet crowd watches in awe! :O
At a street corner, you'll suddenly come across a row of bibbed
which Puppet Ponyo feels comfortable around
In the grounds of Takayama Jinya, Japan's one remaining major Edo-era
government building, can be found this heartwarming sign
The trunk of the tree in question -- which I touched
and also proceeded to hug!
The icing on the cake: a handmade note made for me by
a friendly Takayama Jinya ticketing office staffer after she
ascertained that I was a genuine fellow fan of Funassyi :))))))
4 comments:
Hi YTSL,
This entry gives one a glimpse into "an atmospheric mountain town" and fortifies your obviously lifelong passion for this country, especially in its more quaint aspects...Third photo from the top is my kind of photo because of the vegetation on the building's facade, which makes it so different from the photos of the neat wooden structures depicted above it. This photo could be from a sidestreet in a Southeast Asian city, say somewhere in Malaysia.
This blog introduces me to Sarubodo dolls, with Ponyo obviously overjoyed to pose with her new friends.
Bill
Hi Bill --
My first visit to Japan was as a 14 year old and each subsequent visit to the Land of the Rising Sun has been thoroughly enjoyable. And yes, I do prefer the more traditional and rural parts of the country also while finding much to enjoy when in its large, modern cities. :)
Hi YTSL,
I had to leave an additional comment on your bottom photo of the Funassyi note. It moves me that someone would take the time to write this for you. This is an example of how travel can reward one by personalizing the traveler's experience. This is a memento that one would like to keep for a long time.
Bill
Hi again Bill --
Since I think you'll appreciate it, here's sharing what I wrote (at some length) on the We Love Funassyi FB group about that beautiful note:
The kind of thing that can happen when you're in Japan wearing a Funassyi t-shirt. In particular, when visiting Takayama Jinya, one of the women at the ticketing counter noticed my t-shirt and asked me if I knew about Funassyi and its signature "nassyijiru bushaa". I said yes and then told her I also was familiar with the puriketsu phrase and pose (which I demonstrated to her and her colleague, both of whom broke out in giggles).
As I was exiting the historic Hida-Takayama town attraction, the woman excitedly beckoned to me and when I went back over to the ticketing counter, she presented me with a lovely handmade note! And almost needless to say, she and her colleague are fellow Funassyi fans... 😘
More than by the way, this was the best of a bunch of encounters I had on my recent Japan trip with -- if not Funassyi fans, then people familiar with the Pear who appeared amused but also happy that I am a fan of Funassyi. As an aside: I've worn Hello Kitty t-shirts in Japan too but I've not had as many open and positive reactions to them as with my Funassyi t-shirts, file folder, etc.! 🤗
Post a Comment