Having just missed one bus, we thought the next one that pulled up might be able to deliver us to downtown Takayama, and it turned out that it was the next bus back to the station. There was one minor technicality. It wouldn’t be setting out on that route for another twenty minutes, since it had to complete a different loop around the town’s attractions.
The driver, thankfully, decided that although we were going to be heading back in twenty minutes, we might as well board the bus now, rather than stand around for the intervening period.
Which is what we did.
Once we’d returned to the station precinct it was still too early to book in to the hotel, so we took a stroll to Takayama Jinya, the central government official’s residence and administrative centre from the Edo period, and a very interesting place it turned out to be, although there wasn’t a great deal of information available in English and the English-speaking guide was unavailable that day.
We wandered through the buildings at the same time as a group of Japanese visitors with an own-language guide. Judging by the audience reaction, if the English-speaker is half as good as the Japanese counterpart, his guests would be in for an entertaining time.
From Takayama Jinya we headed across the river to the Sanmachi Traditional Buildings Preservation area, and the old private houses. Unfortunately, straight after we arrived, the camera decided it had had enough for the moment, prompting us to use the current visit as a preliminary reconnaissance and to wander back in the morning with a recharged camera for a few photographic memories.
Back at the hotel we took it easy until dinner time, when we faced a minor dilemma. Takayama is famous for Hida beef, and we decided that was the preferred option for the evening meal. The only problem was deciding which particular venue to opt for.
We took a preliminary wander around the area just west of the hotel, where there were a couple of interesting possibilities, and eventually chose Yamatake-Shōten, the one closest to home.
Although it didn’t seem like it straight away, it turned out to be an inspired choice.