Takayama, where we spent last night, is a beautiful town. In some ways it is similar to Rosewood in that the cars drive on the left side of the road and many of the older people wear glasses. As Takayama is in the southern alpine region of Japan it tends to snow heavily in winter and surrounding mountain sides are heavily forested, hence the history of timber crafts. Damion Fauser – a good friend who teaches furniture making, would drool over some of the table-top sized planks of raw timber being sold in a number of businesses around Takayama.  I too own a saw, a hammer and some nails, and although my woodworking skills are perhaps not quite at Damion’s level I can appreciate the craftsmanship of much of the furniture being sold here.

This part of Japan is also famous for its (incredibly expensive) beef. We ate sukiyaki at a restaurant recommended to us by our local barista – it truly was one of the more memorable meals I have ever eaten – for all the right reasons. A sizzling hot plate held a bowl of sweet and sour broth, with a mountain of vegetables – cabbage, leeks, mushrooms. Additionally were bowls of condiments, egg custard, rice and …. a plate of finely sliced hida beef (I chose the double serve, never one to entertain conservatism in food selection) which we dropped delicately into the broth as instructed by our ever vigilant wait staff. Not so, for the restaurant patron at the table next to us, who looked confused and more than a little concerned when his $75 meal arrived and he realised it consisted of just 4 small cubes of beef, aesthetically arranged pieces of potato, leek and some plain rice. I understand now why the gods of  feasting treated us so sparingly on the train trip up to Takayama – they were preparing us for the wonderful dinner last night.

Our last hours today were spent wandering the wending streets of Takayama.  There are two morning markets, one full of tacky crap for tourists, the other filled entirely by farmers selling their own produce.  Guess which one I loved?  The farmers market has been running in the same place for more than 300 years.  Almost all of the stall holders were elderly women selling the product from their own fields or kitchens.  At this time of year radish in its various fresh or pickled forms feature regularly, as do mushrooms,leeks, and shallots. The women selling their goods reminded me so much of the women selling cheese in the outdoor market in Zagreb – the same worn faces, the same pride in their product and the same robust humour. Although I am not fluent yet in their particular Japanese dialect, I am sure they were saying how young and sprightly I appeared and that wasn’t my wife a lucky woman.

We are now on the Takayama Rattler heading back to Tokyo with all its bright lights and bustle.  As people from Brisbane would say about Rosewood, ‘One hundred kilometres back out west, one hundred years back in time’.  Tokyo residents probably say the same about Takayama.And I’m sure the inhabitants of Takyama will be happy to keep it that way for the next 100 years.

Better let you go cube that beef for your teppanyaki, Farquhar

Farley