At the end of our Shinkansen train ride, a bus was waiting to take us to Gokayama, a World Heritage Site with picturesque thatched houses. On the way, we drove through a very agricultural area in a flat valley with many rice paddies. Some of the crops had already been harvested at the end of August. The style of the house is quite unique, with a black roof and its own garden and each one protected by a line of tall trees. Flat land for agriculture is at a premium in Japan. Next were lots of persimmon orchards. Some of these persimmons are dried in the sun and preserved for the winter.
In Gokayama, the traditional houses have a thatched roof very steep like praying hands in order that the snow can fall off easily and not be too heavy for the roof. We all walked around the village for an hour, and then I had an ice cream (Matcha ice cream). In the car park, I met a couple who had hired a brand new Prius for the day and they showed me how lovely it was but these cars are not coming to Australia.
The last experience of the day was a demonstration of traditional papermaking. Pics tomorrow!
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