June 21 - Monday


We've agreed to meet on the second floor in the lovely lounge area, in the morning and slowly we all make our appearances. There are two morning markets and we are planning to explore them both, grazing as we go. There are samples everywhere we look and so many interesting things to try - unknown vegetables, mushrooms, Hida beef on a stick and a golden cube which is made of egg whites and honey and sake and has the consistency of a marshmallow! And is just as good! There are also sesame candies that are to die for! We nibble and shop up and back and head for the second one.

It isn't as large, but it is adjacent to a building that intrigued us yesterday. There is a small admission fee and it includes an English-speaking guide. The building looks to the uninitiated, like us, like another temple; but in fact, it was a government building and residence for the governor who represented the shogun. The tour is interesting and one of the high points is the way they locked the doors by flipping down a piece of wood, similar to the way we secure sliding-glass doors. Ginger is put on the spot and has to unlock a window, which is more complicated, and she comes through with flying colors!

Our next objective is the Hida Folk Village which can be reached by a bus that goes every half hour. The village is actually a collection of houses from different parts of the area that have been moved here and if you take off your shoes you can go inside. One of the more interesting ones displays "sericulture" or the growing of silk worms. What a laborious process! No wonder silk is so expensive!

Along the way we meet an English speaking guide who chats with us and compliments Andy on his Japanese! We run into her a couple of times during our exploration. There is a bell where we learn to bow twice, clap twice, ring the bell and pray during the echo, then bow one last time. The reverberations last nearly a minute!