After our Mass-finding delay, we did indeed make it to the heritage sites, stopping first at Gokoyama and then at Shirakawa-go. The picturesque scenes of farmland, flowers and thatch-roofed houses, combined with insight into Japan's past made every effort absolutely worth it.
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| Dandelions - make a wish! |
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| Lily pads! |
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| Iris's are in bloom! |
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| Rice paddies! |
The iconic buildings of these UNESCO villages are the gassho-zukuri houses, topped with thick thatch roofs which are designed to fend off the area's harsh winters. Historically, these homes accommodated large extended families and were used for raising silk worms on the upper levels since the structure provided a variety of light and ventilation exposures useful at different stages of the insects' development.
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| A lookout worth the hike! |
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| Charming villages! |
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| Exploring! |
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| Snapping photos of the beautiful landscape. |
A highlight for us was actually staying in one of these houses, since many have been converted to ryokans and are open to guests. This was our first traditional Japanese overnight experience, so of course we did our best to embrace the customs of our new locale. We ate dinner and breakfast seated on the floor, wore slippers in the house (as is customary everywhere in Japan) and even donned yukata robes for a bit. Our room had large screen doors and overlooked rice paddies, effectively keeping the bugs out while allowing the spectacular view in. For anyone travelling to these villages, the ryokan experience is not to be missed!
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| A hearth like this is common to traditional rural Japanese homes. |
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| Traditional Japanese dining experience! |
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| Konbanwa! |
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| In front of our ryokan. |
Despite the delay in our arrival, we actually had plenty of time to explore Shirakawa-go, and in fact, arriving any earlier probably would have left us with some extra time on our hands. Fully satisfied with our lovely weekend away, we hit the road toward Ebina (home) on Monday morning. We did get turned around a couple of times, but the Japanese toll road attendants were just as helpful as everyone else native to this country has been thus far. In fact, at one point, the toll workers were so friendly in helping us find the way that they called ahead to our next toll booth. By the time we got there, the cashier saw us and exclaimed, "Ebina!" with a big smile (and additional directions). It didn't take us long to establish a "lost American" reputation, but fortunately we made it home safe and sound.
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| How many helpful Japanese people does it take to get us pointed in the right direction? |
All in all, we'd say that our first solo road trip was a great success and we're already looking forward to the many more to come!
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| For Mom M....ice scarf in action :-). |
What an amazing experience. What did you eat for dinner and did everyone get the same food or did you have a choice? Yes, I was excited to see the ice scarf in action!
ReplyDeleteEveryone was served the same food for dinner and for breakfast. The two meals were similar to each other but not exactly the same. Both meals had rice and each person had a little burner on their tray which heated up something to put on the rice (like beef or some sort of peanut sauce). Dinner had fish and lots of pickled veggies. Breakfast had a hard boiled egg. It's hard to remember all of the details because it's typical to receive several small dishes during one meal so it's a bit hard to keep track. We did take pictures though!
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