Autumn in Japan

This minshuku (basically a family operated bed and breakfast) has been around since the 1920s. In many aspects it may not have changed much since then which makes it an interesting place to sleep. The thin red carpet looks like it has been walked on since the 20s! You must remove your shoes in the foyer and then are either barefoot or in your socks throughout the establishment. The exception is in the toilets where there are some slippers for you to wear upon entering them. My room was number 202, facing the street and did not have private toilet/shower. It had tatami mats, a comfortable futon with blanket and duvet, a refrigerator, table and big flat screen television. Both the first and second floors have open aluminum trough-like sinks with three faucets for washing face, shaving, tooth brushing etc. The baths are on the second for women and on the first for men. The bath itself is nothing special but nevertheless I enjoyed it. Overall I would recommend this minshuku. It...

Travelling to Takayama from Nikko was a trek but it went smooth as silk. The Nikko Line brought me to Utsunomiya. From there I grabbed the shinkansen to Tokyo and grabbed another to Nagoya. Then I jumped on the line that heads north to Toyama which serves Takayama. This last segment is spectacular as the tracks follow a river north, crossing over it many times. This river has cut a gorge into the rock and is fast flowing enough to be used for hydroelectricity as is evident by the many generation stations I saw. There are also numerous tunnels and, when not buried in one, great views of the mountains. At one point I saw a red torii gate whiz by, feet from the track, marking the entrance of a small shrine. Takayama is a village of 95,000. It straddles Miya-gawa (Miya River) where it meets Enako-gawa. The entire village is walkable and no sites are more than thirty minutes or so from anywhere else. Two of Takayama’s main sites are districts that contain houses that are reminiscent...