Central Japan Day 4 - Hirayu Ohtaki

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03 June 2008

The days were passing really quick. Before we knew it, it was the fourth day of our trip. Now, we were leaving Takayama for a ramen factory before having lunch and visiting Hirayu Ohtaki (Great Waterfall).

Last look at one of those Buddhist temples


Heading out of Takayama, a European looking house


At the ramen factory, sheets of dough are progressively thinned


From dough to packs of ramen


Time for some samples


Although they picked up ramen from China, the Japanese make very good ramen with great texture


After leaving the ramen factory, we arrived at another location for a huge lunch


The soba's meant for the pot


Some rice with ginger wrapped up neatly in a leaf


Back on the mountain road


Finally arriving at Hirayu Ohtaki, there's supposed to be a hot spring here that we can dip our feet in


Pool for feet


Unfortunately, it's all dried up!


Nevertheless, we took a short walk up the hill towards the waterfall


It's mainly different shades of green in summer


First peek at the waterfall


The story of Hirayu Onsen, they say the hot spring was found in about 1550 CE by some soldiers after they followed an old white monkey that appeared from behind the waterfall


The best part is the fresh air



This is about as close we can get to it

The short walk to the waterfall after lunch was indeed a relaxing experience. Next up we will be visiting a local winery for some wine tasting before moving on to the scenic Daiō Wasabi Farm (大王わさび農場, Daiō Wasabi Nōjō). ``Don't expect too much of the wine, it will be good in 50 years", cautioned our guide as we left.

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