Takayama

I only stayed in Takayama as a base to visit the legendary Shirakawa, but found it a rather pleasant place in its own right. Not only does it boast yet another of those fascinating open air building museums (Hida no Sato), but the old town itself is rather quaint, though stuffed with tourists staggering from one brewery to another, not to mention hordes of Japanese schoolgirls taking each others photos in the time honoured fashion requiring several dozen rabbit eared poses and blocking the narrow alleys for days at a time. To top it all, just 100 metres or so from the railway station, there is a typical Japanese hotel (Takayama Ouan) complete with rooftop onsen where you can lie in the hot bath with snow falling on your eyelids, looking down on the street scenes below and then, still wearing only a yukata, wander downstairs to a most excellent dinner of Hida beef and other Japanese culinary delights.