A mountain village of gasshō-zukuri farmhouses, with steep thatched roofs like hands joined in prayer, built to shed heavy snow, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Some are museums or guesthouses where you can stay overnight. The view from the Shiroyama viewpoint is classic.
On some winter evenings the village is lit up; these events need reservations. Buses run from Takayama and Kanazawa. Takayama has a beautiful old town of merchant houses and morning markets.
One of Japan's three great gardens, created by the lords of Kanazawa over two centuries, with ponds, streams, tea houses and a two-legged stone lante…
One of Japan's few original castles, called the 'Crow Castle' for its black walls, with its keep standing above a moat, with the Japan Alps behind.
A valley in the mountains of Nagano where wild Japanese macaques bathe in a hot spring to keep warm, especially in winter, when snow covers their fur.
The palace where Japan's emperors lived until the capital moved to Tokyo in 1868.
A Zen temple whose top two floors are covered in gold leaf, reflected in a pond surrounded by pine trees and gardens.
A Buddhist temple on a wooded hillside in eastern Kyoto, famous for its wooden stage, built without nails, jutting out over the valley, with views ov…
Comments
No comments yet.