After leaving the castle we take a stroll through the downtown area arriving at the former outer moat of the castle, now a river mostly encircling the downtown area. We try to imagine how it must have looked during medieval times, it is a bit difficult with all the high rises now surrounding the former moat.
We continue on a shopping street that likely lies where the former wall once stood. It looks like a more traditional quarter however unfortunately most stores are closed so we decide to return back to the castle area and visit the city museum nearby.
On the way however we cannot resist entering a roadside shrine which is again full of lazy pigeons just sitting on the ground.
And we are also hungry so when we find an open fast food joint we buy what it sells without knowing what it is but the food is quite good and filling. Really yummy.
The museum has an interesting contraption outside that we identify as an umbrella holder where a coin is held as guarantee that you will return to get your umbrella. As we were hauling our umbrella through the city this was welcome and we leave it here while visiting the museum.
The museum is small but interesting showing how the people lived in the area across the centuries and also has some traditional artwork.
The highlights of the museum are the straw horse, our name, and an interesting boat that seems to us to be Viking more than Japanese.
And then it is time to return to the car, again admiring the phenomenon of women being dressed traditionally in kimonos. We are not sure if it is for the day or every day but still interesting to us.
Our next destination is Takayama our stop for the night. On the way however we decide to stop at a roadside area that catches our eye due to the large bridge next to it with nice views of the mountains and the hills.
There is also nature here of course to explore, no snow monkeys but huge grasshoppers and tomatillos that we recognize from our Namibia trip.
The rest area itself is like a farmers market and also has a gift shop so we buy some milk and a few souvenirs before continuing on, it is time for Takayama, a relatively famous tourist town in Japan.
