Takayama is such a charming place. Rebecca
and I woke to another overwhelming breakfast. I particularly enjoyed watching
her face as she sampled umeboshi for the first time, although was unfortunately
unable to capture it on film.
One of the very friendly women at the
ryokan recommended we wander over to the nearby markets. The morning markets are held next to a river, and
almost exclusively sell locally made crafts or lovally grown fruits and
vegetables. We bought some presents and knickknacks for friends at home and
headed down to the river to say hello to the koi.
Most of the central area of Takayama is
made up of stone-cobbled streets with traditional-style Japanese shop fronts
selling various wares. We spent most of our day wandering, eventually returning
to our ryokan to change into our yukatas.
And preparing for another feast.
The next day we had planned to hire bikes
to explore more of Takayama, but decided to climb up to the park by foot
instead. Too hot to face the descent, we searched for four leaf clovers
instead.
My wish was the Bec would never go home,
but I made the mistake of revealing my wish. Rookie error. We had one last cake
together and said sad goodbyes. Overwhelmed by Rebecca’s good looks, Japanese
people came up and asked to have photos with her, which were later posted on
the café’s blog. Classic.
Although it was sad to say goodbye, I was
so glad Bec was able to come and see some of Japan with me. I loved all the
places we went together, and am excited to be travelling to Kyoto and Takayama
again soon!
