We had been pretty lucky with the weather up to this point, but the rain set in this morning and only got worse through the day. At least we started indoors at the Takayama Jinya, a government building dati
ng to the early Edo period when the Tokugawa Shogunate took direct control of the area for its timber resources. The building continued as something equivalent to a county courthouse until 1969. In the early days it also served as a residence for the head man and his wife and servants.
Just outside the Jinya is a morning market which we had a little time to e
xplore. In addition to fruits and vegetable there were a few crafts and lots of pickles to buy.
Next, we proceeded to walk across the red bridge to the historic district where we spent some time strolling a street filled with shops and restaurants, not unlike a touristy town back home. Think Jacksonville. Although we had been promised sake tasting, it seems that the sake breweries have all moved out of the area. There were still a few sake shops as evidenced by the containers seen below, on display in front of several shops. Our lunch spot by contrast was a very modern restaurant upstairs in a furniture store, offering western style food with an Italian flair. We were presented with a lovely plate of fish and grilled vegetables and had access to a salad bar with additional side dishes and desert.
Strolling back up the street the umbrellas came out in earnest and we 
gathered back up under an awning outside a museum before heading to the bus to settle in for our two-hour trip to Kanazawa. The drive consisted of a few breathtaking glimpses of mountain scenery in between tunnels. One of the tunnels was among the longest in the country at 11km. I was starting to get a bit claustrophobic, not to mention asphyxiated by the time we emerged from that one.
Once in Kanazawa we stopped at one of several historic Teahouse districts. Again, the
area has become a tourist destination of shops and cafes though we did hear some shamisen music echoing the past. And again, dodging the umbrellas of our fellow travelers was the name of the game, not to mention the taxis and police cars. We did see a few women dressed in kimonos but our guide assured us they were just playing tourist and probably not even Japanese, let alone geisha.
Back on the bus for a short ride to our hotel. A most impressive Crowne Plaza with a waterfall in the lobby, located next to the train station which I look forward to exploring during our free time.
Now that I’m about recovered from jet lag, I realized that I have been neglecting my daily haiku. So, during free time yesterday I went back and made some up for the days I missed and appended them to the blogs so you might want to scroll back and take a look if you like haiku.
Here is the one for this day:
Umbrellas open
Deflecting the falling rain
Blossoms emerging.