tenglorioushotdaysinthesouthof
Honshu.
Thecancellationofthemorning
marketsalongtheMiyagawaRiver
thatrunsthroughthecentreoftown
shouldhavegivenussomeindication
ofhowseriouslytheJapanesetake
theirweatherwarnings.Weheaded
outoftowntotheHidaFolkVillage,
butitwasclosed.MuseumHida,
closed.Even theTeddyBear Eco
Villagehadshutupshop.Everything
wasquiet.Infact,therewerenolocals
onthestreetatall,justWesterntour-
istslikeuswonderingwhetherwe
shouldbemoreworried.Sowespent
theafternoondrivingthroughthenar-
rowstreetsexploring.Sometimesthe
roadsledtoa shrine,sometimesdead
ends,andoncethestartofaforest
walkwherewesawaflyerwarning
tourists,infourlanguages,thatbears
hadbeenseenin the these woods.
Bears?
InJapan?
Howdidwenotknowthatthere
wasstillwildliferoamingaround
pockets of Japanese wilderness?MOUNTAINSPA
Apartfromstrongwindsovernight,
wewoketofindTakayamawaspret-
tymuchuntouchedbythetyphoon,
althoughunfortunatelyotherareasof
Japanweren’tsolucky.Bythefollow-
ingdaytherainhadsetin.Oneofthe
itemsonmybucketlistwhileinthe
JapaneseAlpswastovisitanonsen
(hotspring),sowecouldn’tthinkof
a betteroutingona drizzlydaythan
toheadupintothemountainswhere
onsensareaplenty.
There are twoways to drive
throughthemountainsinJapan:the
highroad(thelonger,scenicroute),
orthelowroad(throughtunnels,the
quickway).Withlow-lyingclouds,on
thisoccasionwetookthequickroute,
asvisibilitywasgettingpoorerthe
higherwedrove.
Thefirstofourmanyhotspring
experienceswasanopen-aironsen
locatedonthesideofariverand
ensconcedundera pedestrianbridge.
Beinga publiconsen,therewasonly
anhonestyboxtocollectourmon-
ey. And, as this was a rathermistyramen andmitarashi dango (rice dumplings); reflections in the pond at Happo One
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Back Roads of Japan