Our time in Japan is quickly dwindling down... boohoo. So this week, the Martyniaks loaded up the Honda Capa and headed west.... northwest that is.... to Fukui. It was about a 6 hour drive. We chose this starting location because it had a castle, a temple and was a short drive to the Fukui Dinosaur Museum (which is considered to be among the top 3 such museums in the world).
Unfortunately this whole trip did not quite go as I had planned it. I'll elaborate on this further as the story continues.
We arrived the first day with enough time to check out Maruoka Castle. It was leveled by an earthquake in 1948 but was rebuilt with 80% of the original materials in 1955. It has 3 stories that you can climb up using very steep steps and a rope.
The next day we woke up to rain, and thought, no problem, because we are headed to the Dinosaur Musuem. But first we visited Eiheiji Temple, for a stamp, of course. It is a huge complex of over 70 buildings.
Here's the not quite as I planned part, when we arrived at the museum it was closed (down side to living in a foreign country and not reading the language). We made a quick decision to move on to our next stop, Shirakawa-go. Little did we know that the journey would take us through 4 different weather patterns in an hour. We drove through rain, sleet, hail, and snow. As we are driving through the mountains in the snow, we were told at a gas stop that the road we were on was closed further up the way. We had to backtrack and go all the way around. It was crazy and I was a nervous wreck. Luckily, Neal kept calm and did a great job driving the whole trip.
Back to Shirakawa... It is a village in the mountains that still uses thatch roofed farmhouses called "gassho-zukuri" (translates to praying hands because the steep thatched roofs look like the monk's hands in prayer). The roof uses no nails and usually lasts about 30-40 years. The houses traditionally used the attics for raising silk worms. Even in the rain, it was interesting to walk around and see the houses.
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| at the hearth |
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| headed into the tunnel |
Finally we needed to get to Takayama (another town isolated in the mountains). It was another crazy drive in the snow but this time we found a toll road to get there faster.
That night we arrived at Minshuku Kuwataniya in Takayama. We settled into our tatami room and futons. I had my first onsen experience. Lucky for me no one else was in the bath at the same time as me. Even Quinn and Scarlett enjoyed a good soak.
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| yukata on & ready for the onsen |
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| enjoying tea in our room |
The next day was raining and nasty so we decided to drive the 2 hours back to the dinosaur museum. This time we thought it best to hop on the toll road to get there faster... but we were stopped at the entrance of the toll and told our tires were not good enough for the snow. Neal wouldn't take no for an answer and the toll workers did not speak English and didn't want to deal with us and let us go. It was another harrowing ride through tunnels and snow, hail, and sleet to get to the museum. But it was open! It was well worth the ride too. The displays were fantastic, especially the life like animated dinosaurs. After an initial fear , the kids got used to the displays and even agreed to pictures with them.
Our last day and night was spent in Takayama seeing the sights and geocaching. They are famous for Hida beef, which is supposed to be better than Kobe beef. We all ate our share of Hida beef, even Scarlett, and we declare it to be oiishii! You can even get roast beef sushi here (check out the picture).
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| The whole village was decorated for Christmas. |
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| sarubobo-good luck charm |
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| Biggest Ginko tree I have ever seen. |
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| geocaching success |
It was a beautiful day and a great drive home through the mountains.
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These electronic signs are in the rest stops on the toll roads.
Japan loves bathroom technology. |
The next day we woke up to rain, and thought, no problem, because we are headed to the Dinosaur Musuem. But first we visited Eiheiji Temple, for a stamp, of course. It is a huge complex of over 70 buildings. 
Back to Shirakawa... It is a village in the mountains that still uses thatch roofed farmhouses called "gassho-zukuri" (translates to praying hands because the steep thatched roofs look like the monk's hands in prayer). The roof uses no nails and usually lasts about 30-40 years. The houses traditionally used the attics for raising silk worms. Even in the rain, it was interesting to walk around and see the houses.
