The one hour side trip to Shirakawa was another one of the highlights of the vacation for me, because it was beautiful and the museum we visited did such a great job explaining their culture. Again, this trip was on Katelyn's list from the research she did preparing for the trip, and I'm really glad we fit it into the itinerary.
The village we visited was one of a few that have been designated as UNESCO Heritage sites. It is located in a remote area that was difficult to get to, so was cut off from civilization for hundreds of years. More interesting information for those who want it can be found here.
One of the interesting aspects of the town is the houses. We visited one that had been made into a museum, and learned a bit about how they are made and what they are used for. The top floor is used for raising silkworms as making silk is one of the main industries in the area. The steep roofs are also useful for offloading snow, which is quite heavy in the wintertime.
We were there in springtime, so the cherry trees were in bloom and there were daffodils and other bulbs. The surrounding mountains were covered in snow, but again it was quite warm so I think we made this trip at a perfect time (late April).
Check out this sign that I noticed as I think some cities in the US need this!
Much of my learning came from the signage at the museum we visited, which was in someone's home. As is customary in Japan, when you entered you were invited to take off your shoes. As we entered the main living area I was somewhat shocked to see an open fire pit. It was interesting to note that there was no attempt to funnel the smoke out, so that made the house a bit smoky and unpleasant, but still totally worth the visit. The first display I saw was a window into the floor of the house which was the area used to create gunpowder. In case you ever wondered what the raw materials are that go into gunpowder, I now know they are dry soil, wild grasses, silkworm droppings, and human urine! They said it was fermented near irori and sometimes mixed for 4-5 years. Wow, that's planning ahead! Yeah, I didn't know what irori was either, it's basically a sunken hearth, but here's more info if you're curious.
The museum was very well done, with signage that included hand-drawn pictures, a few English words, lots of Japanese, and in some cases, even QR codes. Definitely worth the few yen we paid to tour the place. Here is a gallery of photos to give you a feel for how this museum worked. It just goes to show displays don't have to be fancy to be effective! The view from the top story was pretty amazing too.
As we wandered around the town, I noticed once again the open-running ditches full of clear water. Here, they even contained trout! And some resourceful shopkeepers used the cold water to chill drinks for sale.
Here I finally broke down and had a soft serve ice cream cone, which are advertised many places in Japan by the huge plastic ice cream cone out front. I have to say it was one of the best soft serves I have ever eaten! Apparently many cities in Japan use local milk for their ice cream which is why it tastes so good. No photos, though, sorry!
Here are a few more photos from our wander around town to give you the flavor of the place.
It was here that we first noticed the manhole covers. One of the things I love about writing a blog is it causes me to go look up something I'm curious about, and then share that information with you. It's true, there are many different manhole covers in Japanese towns, and according to this website, here's why:
"In the 1980s, rural municipalities began creating unique designs for their drain hole covers in an effort to get locals on board with costly sewer-works projects. This way, taxpayers had something tangible to enjoy in return for their hard-earned yen. As it would turn out, the idea proved to be a good one, and there are now over 12,000 unique artistic designs among the 15 million manhole covers nationwide."
After awhile, we made our way to the river, and along the way I noticed this "fire cistern". Understandably, given the make-up of the roofs here, fire is a big concern in this area, so they have quite a system to control or prevent it. Once again, when I looked it up I learned something. If you're interested in seeing their fire prevention system at work, along with a walk through a Japanese village, check out this video.
The river itself was gorgeous, and many people were crossing the bridge. While looking up information about the river, I found this cool blog which has some great photos of the area as well as good information that we didn't capture on our short time there. We were taking our usual selfie with the river in the background and a kind tourist noticed and offered to take our photo. This is one of the things that the pandemic put a damper on - other people offering to use your phone! In this case, I was glad to take him up on it.
The last thing we did before catching the bus back to Takayama was take the short walk up to the overlook. This gave us even better views of the village.
For the first time I decided to take advantage of the many vending machines around. I bought the best-tasting tea! Of course, it may have been so tasty because I was hot and sweaty by then.
I would be remiss in finishing this blog without sharing a photo of the sign I noticed in the ladies room. I know, you're probably thinking "you take photos in the bathroom???", but even though I felt weird I just couldn't do justice to this topic without a photo. Imagine you're a very small, remote village without regular garbage service. What do you do to control the influx of trash most tourists generate while they visit? You post a sign like this!
The next day we were off to Gero. As we were riding the bus and walking around Takayama, I couldn't help but be amused by some of the business names and signs. So for your entertainment, here is a selection.
We worry about mailbox theft where we live, in Takayama they just leave it in a box on the stairs!
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