A really lovely town of 80,000 population, in the mountains at about 2,000 ft. elevation. A quiet town with a wealth of ancient preserved architecture.

We explored the inside of one of these ancient houses which were surprisingly large.

We did a lot of trekking along the temple/shrine route which borders the town’s residential areas where the mountains rise above the valley floor. Amazingly peaceful and quiet with the wind through the trees and birds chirping. Each temple had its own graveyard.

Last night we had a lovely bento box dinner at a small mom and pop restaurant then went to the famous Yu Bar for an after dinner fiddly and watched the owner/bartender, Yuichi Sano, perform his magic putting Tom Cruise to shame as a bartender. Tomorrow we visit the Hida Folk Village. This is Takayama’s answer to Williamsburg.