Takayama
A peaceful little (little…hah) town with a nice kind of not-so-modern atmosphere. My main destination that day was the hida folk village. This was a collection of OLD time japanese houses from all around the region and from different periods. All the buildings were arranged in a little village like tour arrangement thingamajig…and yeah it was great to walk around in. I spent just over two hours there and still didnt see all of it. The coolest part about this place is that the caretakers still light the morning fires in the open fire-pits in each of the buildings to maintain the period atmosphere, keep the bugs out, and keep the roof lashings tight. Apparently its an important part of the upkeep of these old dwellings. Anyway I only have a couple pics of this place…
The Local Bell…duh.
And some of these structures were put together with no nails. What a technique in architecture… I dont have a photo of this uploaded unfortunately. The following is up inside the attic area of one of these houses. I suspect they may have used it for drying gohan (rice).
Ya think?
Anyway you would sometimes see handcrafters of items that were made back in the day actually making things in the houses as well. There was a basketweaver and some lady sewing stuff…and there was also a woodcarver who was kind enough to let me take a picture (shashin totte kudasai?). The musty smoky smell, dark rooms with light coming through the sliding paper-window doors… it was really neat. I had a chance to check out the Takayama morning market the next day which was neat…local fruits and vegetables as well as handcrafted items. Kind of like saturday market only its different. Because it is every day! Next destination is Kyoto, and I have photos but tomorrow I am hoping to get them on CD so you will have to wait for me to upload them. I will try to get up early (8:00) and get down to a photo store.
Props to the monkeyfoo, word up dad. What is your mailing address? E-mail it to me somebody! I have a postcard to send that mofo… Ok anyway love to yall (esp you Heidi, word we got to meet up before you take off) and I will get back with pictures of Kyoto, Osaka, some of Koyasan, and the Moriguchi family! Grandma Hirokazu and Kumiko send their love, and say hello back!
Ja mata ne from Osaka, I will be headed to Zenya’s parents’ house in Nara tomorrow to check out some real country side…and cook some hamburgers!
Tags: Travel
D-roe
dude, that little camera takes some pretty nice F*%ki^g pi$Tu#s. yeah. i had a choir thingy tonight. it was kinda fun. michelle and john did a duet…yeah uh i signed on this talent search thing, its not really a show but we just perform in front of other artist and the judges.. well i am off to bed and to eugene tomorrow. i will ttyl
Dylan,
Finally found some time to come and look at this thing and then i forgot i could leave comments and so here i am…again 😉
seriously bud you have quite the knack for finding that perfect shot that sums up the trip in those thousand words. ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL!!! This is really amazing to watch and im definitely jealous of this little trip of yours (although i am thinking about spending a term in Italy, and i hope you’re drooling with greed right now…although it wouldnt really make any sense considering where you happen to be sitting right now…).
ANYWAY…
call me whence you get back from this loverly trip of yours and i will try and get down there (i need to see crystal anyways) and we can talk about this trip of yours further. I would definitely love to see some of the stuff that you bring back…i know its gonna be amazing!
Much love to you bud,
Brad
btw…heres my email thingy…
What e-mail thingy?? Anyway glad you are following up on this thing, Im not going to post alot here because the computer at the Atoma youth hostel is a DINOSAUR. PREHISTORIC. OOOOLLLD. I GUESS THIS WAS MORE THAN ENOUGH WORDS IN CAPS. Anyway I am in fukushima, and just wrapped up a visit with a professional sword smith…I will post more on this at some point. Anyway its off to yokohama tomorrow…and I caught little Shokos flu. HEAD ACHE. Im hoping that a good nights rest and a little warm sake will help…thats what ota-san my translator said. Ok love you guys!!! Toodles.
D Roe on the j go
Oh and the camera takes nice pictures foster??? “#’&%$%$”#”(“)#’$&%#’ is a number of some kind…or maybe a percentagosophy…ism. Anyway cool about the qoir stuff, hope it goes well and I hope you have a good time in Jewjene…ha ha ha
DJ Roe
Okay, I’m jumpin’ in here but I cannot compete with your computemailjunkyardstuff language!! Is that the cool thing to do……go phonic??….its stretching it a bit to even use the word phonic, tho. It’s okay….I waded in and finally grasped the meaning. I am so anxious for you to write about your experiences in “Moriguchi country”….guess you’ve visited with them already because you said you caught Shoko’s cold and they greeted me. I’m so envious! Altho I just got back from Bend and Duane’s retirement party….it was so fun….but you can sure tell the generation I’m in….everyone, esp. the guys…..are talking about their knee and hip replacements….my goodness, how depressing!!!!! But I’m glad they are back “in the saddle again” so to speak, because all of them are.
This communication is fun because I also get to hear words from other grandsons, etc. Hi Bradlee, how’s school going…..your father was not too thrilled with your passion (or lack thereof) at this point. You better get your rear in gear and accomplish what you are there for…..it’s entirely up to you! Is the job interfereing (sp) or what? Do you get to see Crystal at all….or even talk to her on the phone? Dad said your choir was really good, tho. Luvin yu, Dylan Sayonara Gramma Joanne
Dearest Grandmother,
In an attempt to reconcile the afformentioned lack of linguistic artistry, my current message must appear far more formal. Ha ha just kidding. Anyway moriguchi country was alot of fun, and Shoko is just the finest little kid ever! Anyway I met everybody except Simon…he had a disk slip in his back and could not get out of the house much. So anyway I met Hirokazu, and Kumiko…both very kind and forthcoming people. We connected on his artwork alot. Also I met Zenyas parents who live in a very traditional style house in Nara…big house! Especially for Japan! Um, I hope Brad is doing what he is supposed to be doing…DELINQUENT!!! And Grandma maybe you could chastize him more thoroughly via e-mail *wink*. Ha ha anyway I am sorta on the mend healthwise…still coughing up some nasty creatures…I think they might be Furbys or something… Well now I am going to start a new post I think…no more pictures from japan though…I dont have any more uploaded but I have decided that I will continue to update my blog from home when I get back. Ok ta ta for now.
Dylan-ku