The Gifu prefecture
...Want to know where it is? Get a map. I only know how to walk to places in walking distance. Other places have no geographic description, only a name of a station and a number of a bus/train. Sometimes they can be north or south or "up in the mountains". Or as in our case "down by the Sea of Japan".
I don't like organized trips. I really don't. But in Japan it becomes so annoying it's even funny. Our guide (nice lady in uniform who was cursing the day she got that job entertaining a bus full of gaijins) didn't speak any English. Which ofcourse makes perfect sense on a trip offered to new students who are new in Japan. But no worries - she didn't speak Japanese either, as she was speaking keigo, the polite form of Japanese where honorific verbs, suffixes and prefixes take the place in the sentence where meaning used to be. Now, I like having the option to show your respect to someone through language, but don't see special need to show that kind of respect to the fact the bus is stopping for a toilet break...
T
he upside of the organized trip was the nice fancy Japanese style hotels (ryokans) we stayed in.The nice tatami rooms, cute yukata robes, 
elaborate many-course dinner most of which I had to feed to my non kosher-challenged friends. And then - the wonders of Japanese style relaxation - get drunk on warm sake and cold beer and hop to the onsen.
The onsen is an endless pleasure, especially if its outside in the cold air, and you can go in and out. One of the places had a jakuzi on the roof, and when it got too hot you could stand there naked and observe salarymen working late in an office building across the street.
Of the places we v
isited I recall mostly Shirakawa-Go, an authentic village famous for its straw roofs and practice of traditional arts and instruments.
The Festa Forest (?!) in Takayama. This things (never knew what to call them) are used for festivals such as the Gion-matsuri. In the exhibition u can see the figures move, dance, fight and play the drums. A
ll in very detailed design and quite impressive.
Tonjibo rocks. A placed favored by suiciders. very nice view, but I prefer my suicides less violent.
I loved one of the last places we went to, Eiheiji Temple, but have no pictures of it, as it was forbidden to take pictures inside. It is a practicing Zen temple, very beautiful wooden buildings and garden, the atmosphere is very serene and the apprentice priests pass u by silently in the gloomy corridors.
In conclusion, rural Japan indeed has a lot to offer. Visiting it in the winter is an idea we have been considering since the trip...Hope it works out.
...Want to know where it is? Get a map. I only know how to walk to places in walking distance. Other places have no geographic description, only a name of a station and a number of a bus/train. Sometimes they can be north or south or "up in the mountains". Or as in our case "down by the Sea of Japan".I don't like organized trips. I really don't. But in Japan it becomes so annoying it's even funny. Our guide (nice lady in uniform who was cursing the day she got that job entertaining a bus full of gaijins) didn't speak any English. Which ofcourse makes perfect sense on a trip offered to new students who are new in Japan. But no worries - she didn't speak Japanese either, as she was speaking keigo, the polite form of Japanese where honorific verbs, suffixes and prefixes take the place in the sentence where meaning used to be. Now, I like having the option to show your respect to someone through language, but don't see special need to show that kind of respect to the fact the bus is stopping for a toilet break...
T
he upside of the organized trip was the nice fancy Japanese style hotels (ryokans) we stayed in.The nice tatami rooms, cute yukata robes, 
elaborate many-course dinner most of which I had to feed to my non kosher-challenged friends. And then - the wonders of Japanese style relaxation - get drunk on warm sake and cold beer and hop to the onsen.The onsen is an endless pleasure, especially if its outside in the cold air, and you can go in and out. One of the places had a jakuzi on the roof, and when it got too hot you could stand there naked and observe salarymen working late in an office building across the street.
Of the places we v
isited I recall mostly Shirakawa-Go, an authentic village famous for its straw roofs and practice of traditional arts and instruments.The Festa Forest (?!) in Takayama. This things (never knew what to call them) are used for festivals such as the Gion-matsuri. In the exhibition u can see the figures move, dance, fight and play the drums. A
ll in very detailed design and quite impressive.Tonjibo rocks. A placed favored by suiciders. very nice view, but I prefer my suicides less violent.
I loved one of the last places we went to, Eiheiji Temple, but have no pictures of it, as it was forbidden to take pictures inside. It is a practicing Zen temple, very beautiful wooden buildings and garden, the atmosphere is very serene and the apprentice priests pass u by silently in the gloomy corridors.
In conclusion, rural Japan indeed has a lot to offer. Visiting it in the winter is an idea we have been considering since the trip...Hope it works out.
3 comments:
i should be doing smthing more productive but have been on a PUNK'D marathon to avoid reality... i miss standing butt-naked on the roof watching the salarymen down on the road!
Well we can go do it on the roof of Kyodai library and watch gariben.
butt-naked on kyodai library rooftop IN THIS WEATHER?????????????????????
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