4th The train ride to Takayama was good. Plenty of nice scenery, especially when we climbed higher into the alps. Still lots of snow/ice on the ground. We arrive into Takayama around 3pm and made our way to the hotel, which was a 5 minute walk. The weather is really nice so we get straight back out and walk the streets till dark. The old streets in Takayama are really cool, with some business dating back over 250 years, and still going strong. Mainly selling Sak...

2rd July Today is a glorious day. Beautiful blue skies, and not a drop of rain in sight. Managed to dry out our shoes from the torrential downpour yesterday. Caught the slow train to Nara, about 100ks from Kyoto. Nara is a quiet town with a lot of history, and plenty of temples. The town also has about 1200 tame deer wandering the parks. The deer will bow their head to you if you feed them. Over time they have been conditioned to bow in order to receive food. P...