Hello and welcome. This post shows photos of Takayama. I had a lovely time here. The first few photos were taken the first morning. We had just escaped from a typhoon that was bearing down on Tokyo. The weather in Takayama was rainy/cloudy. By midday it had cleared and I was given an opportunity to capture it at its best
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| There are other places called Takayama so it is often called Hida-Takayama, 飛騨高山, to differentiate it from the others. Takayama sits in the Hida region and the prefecture of Gifu |
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| Takayama retains a traditional touch like few other Japanese cities |
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| A river in a city is a must for me |
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| This is the Miyagawa river |
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| Traditional streets, doggies carried in baskets however, is a cross-cultural phenomenon! |
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| Babies carried in pouches too... |
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| You can see sarubobos all over Takayama. Traditionally, sarubobos were made by mothers and grandmothers to be given to their daughters as an amulet to ensure a good marriage, good children and happiness. The name means “baby monkey” and it is believed that as monkeys have quick childbirths, so will the possessor of this charm. Nowadays they are regarded as more general good luck amulets that anyone can carry |
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| A sunny photo this time! Love this chap! |
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| View of the bridge |
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| Happy youngsters, in a hurry! |
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| Lovely weeping willow |
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| A river creates beauty, energy and a wonderful place to get away from the hustle and bustle of the town. Mind you, while I was there in October 2014 there was not so much hustle and bustle. It was deliciously relaxing |
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| The city boundaries spread approximately 81km from east to west and 55km from north to south with an area of 2,177.67ｋ㎡ (around the same size as the Tokyo metropolitan area), making it the most extensive city in Japan. 92.3% of the area is forest and it is geographically divided by mountains, rivers, gorges and passes |
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| Sunset ride with daddy |
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| Takayama now ranks as one of the prime candidates among travellers wishing to add a rural element into their itineraries |
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| The gate to a lovely temple called Sakurayama Hachimangu |
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| This is an old shrine, which is thought to be the village shrine for the north part of old Takayama city, situated to the north of Yasukawa dori |
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| The inner gateway beautifully illuminated by the sunset |
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| The trees are a majestic backdrop |
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| Don't forget to wash, or else! |
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| Superb door |
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| Takayama is best known for its inhabitants' expertise in carpentry. It is believed carpenters from Takayama worked on the Imperial Palace in Kyoto and on many of the temples in Kyoto and Nara |
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| Many moons ago, Prince Takefurukuma-no-mikoto was sent from the imperial court to subjugate the monster Ryoumen Sukuna, who was controlling Hida... |
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| ...It is said that the shrine originated when this warrior enshrined Emperor Ojin as the deity of this sanctuary and prayed for the success of the mission |
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| Can someone translate this for me? |
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| The current shrine was rebuilt by Arishige Kanamori in order to protect the north part of Takayama castle |
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| Its festivals are held on the 9th and 10th of October. (Takayama Matsuri) |
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| Another water feature of the city |
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| I love these bridges |
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| Back to the Miyagawa river. Next time Kyoto, and a beautiful garden. See you then! |
