Matsumoto other pics from Judy's camera

On the journey down from Takayama 

and on the Kiso walk

Kamikochi pics from Judy's camera

She likes reflections

and other things, of course.

Matsumoto 3 ...

... or rather Kamicochi, a mecca for hikers and mountaineers.  At 1500m altitude people come from all over Japan to enjoy the scenery,

and if you don't want to climb a mountain (we didn't!) there are miles of paths along the river valley.  We were even joined by a troop of monkeys for a few hundred metres.  

Just brilliant, we'll let the photos speak for themselves...

... although this is a photo of a photo!

Rounded the day off with a Nepalese curry, and why not?!!

Back to Tokyo tomorrow, then last day in Japan.

Matsumoto 2

We took a train down the Kiso valley to walk from Yabuhara to Narai along a bit of the old Edo period road from Tokyo (then called Edo) to Kyoto.  The train went through the hill but we had to walk over, 

but it was mostly through woods so very pleasant.  

And Narai was a big surprise, a whole street about a kilometre long lined with original houses - this was a staging post on the way.

Another grand day out.

Matsumoto 1

It's the beginning of the end of our Japan trip, up here on the edge of the Japan Alps.  First stop was a visit to the very helpful tourist office who advised us what to do and how to do it.  

So, Friday afternoon to the castle, not far from our hotel.  

Very impressive and a bit lighter than Matsue, smaller pillars and more openings.

Even a shrine to their saving grace in the roof.

Takayama, more pics

Mostly from the old administration building 

Takayama, Judy's camera

Coffee break 

and a rickshaw 

and temple bits

Takayama

Our "Rough Guide" described Takayama as a "must see" destination, and rightly so in our opinion.  It has one of the largest areas of old houses untouched by war, fire or earthquake.  

Plus a great set of temples 

and a unique old regional administration building, including a huge rice store as the peasants paid their taxes in rice at 30%!

But needless to say, lots of tourists as well, most of them Japanese.  Must be very crowded here in the summer and at weekends.

More photos in other posts.

The train journey here passed through quite mountainous terrain, and we'll be going back through it again tomorrow on our way to our final stop, Matsumoto.

Nara 3, Judy's camera

There were deer everywhere.

And a fierce temple guardian.

And peaceful gardens.

Nara 2, Todai-ji

The temple building is massive and all wood.  

The Buddha statue is also huge, apparently the largest bronze statue in Japan and the largest bronze Buddha in the world.  The original has had a rough time with earthquakes and fires so there are lots of replacement bits, but who cares.

Walking around, the temple dwarfs the people in it.

It was a great way to finish the day.

There are more pics from Judy's camera.

Nara 1

People (lots of them!) come to Nara for the 8th century temples and statues. Most of the temples have had to be rebuilt a few times as, being wooden, they burn well.  But the replacements are still great

and much of the statuary is original although photos are not allowed.  

We happened to be here on the last day of the Nara Food Festival, and it was packed.

We ate our picnic in some lovely gardens

before heading for the highlight, Todai-ji, reputedly the largest wooden building in the world, which houses a huge Buddha statue.  Even the gatehouse was huge.

More pics and comments in the next post.

Matsue...

...has one of the twelve original castles left in Japan, although it was extensively restored in the 1950's.  Because it's a wooden building, they effectively took it apart, threw away the bad bits and rebuilt in the traditional way.  Anyway, at five stories high

and all wood

it's very impressive, as lots of Japanese tourists who were there today could tell you.  Hardly any foreigners here, though.

It is also the adopted home of Lafcadio Hearn, an Anglo-Irish-Greek who came here in the 1890's as a journalist but decided to teach English instead.  He wrote several books about Japan and is allegedly much revered by the Japanese.  Tourism here revolves around him a lot.

We ambled past several temples and shrines including one full of foxes, 

mostly alongside canals as Matsue is on the coast and at the mouth of two rivers.  All very lovely.

Have decided to miss Kyoto, which was the capital before Tokyo, and go instead to Nara, the capital before Kyoto!

Kibij and Kurashiki pics 1

From C's camera