Today we started out at the Matsumoto Art Museum where they are having a special exhibit of local daughter Yayoi Kusama’s work. She gained fame in New York City in the 1960s but returned home to Matsu
moto in the 1970s. Here she checked herself into a mental hospital where she still lives but continues to work in a studio near by at the age of 89. Her work is a bit too avant-garde for my taste but it was interesting to see the exhibit. In addition to the paintings she does a lot of interesting things with mirrors creating an infinity effe
ct.
After the museum we left Matsumoto behind to cross the Japanese Alps into Takayama. The mountains were beautiful with rivers and streams and waterfalls and reservoirs. There was still some snow on the ground near the top. Sadly, we had only one stop and the photo ops there were quite limited. You could see a better view in the other direction from inside the building, but I could find no way around the building and the door said no re-entry, so I had to give it up.
We stopped for lunch just outside Takayama at a roadside café where we 
were served a large bowl of ramen noodles with some chicken, bamboo shoots, black mushrooms and green onions. There were a lot of fun signs and decorations around the place, so I got to take a few photos before getting back on the bus.
Next stop was the Takayama float museum. This is a rotating exhibit of elaborate floats used in festival parades in the spring and fall. Next to the museum is one o
f the shrines some of the floats deliver spirits to. And, since it was a lovely day we took a walk through one of the old neighborhoods. A preview of coming attractions tomorrow when there is a threat of rain.
Finally, we headed up a hill to our hotel, a modern high rise on the outskirts 
of town that boasts a phenomenal view. Dinner was another multicourse affair at the hotel. We started with a salad as usual. Then we had small pieces of Waygu beef that we cooked on a little grill in front of us. Next was a beef hotpot also cooked at the table. Then we had tempura, one shrimp and some vegetables. The last course was a sushi plate with a variety of fish over rice. And for desert a few small pieces of fruit. Once again, I was kicking myself for not having brought my camera to dinner.
Haiku:
Snow capped blue mountains
Road winding into forest
Flowing waterfalls