gassho village 合掌造の村 (shirakawago, japan)

Posted by timothy sullivan (Tokyo, Japan) on 11 February 2009 in Architecture.

Whenever I travel, I try to avoid using the "a" word (you know--"adventure") because every time that I happen to say that word, I have just that.
Apparently my fate isn't connected to merely utterance of the word, but thought of it was well: I had been thinking, "Y'know? This looks like the perfect place to have an adventure of some sort."
And so, as I followed signs for the observatory (a platform set high on one of the surrounding hills--from which you can see the entire village lit up below) I suddenly found myself walking away from the crowds. And, in Japan, this is a decidedly bad thing when sightseeing (Crowds here always move together to the popular areas--though you do have to be careful at times, as crowds can congregate and around a handful of friends who had stopped, or a line can form, and then other people join in just because there's a line. Fascinating, really.). Although a warning bell did ring within my head, I was certain that, as I was following the street signs to the observation point, I would not only get there--but perhaps even be taking a shortcut that everyone else had been missing. (Akin in my mind to people queuing up at a mall to go through the open door, when all anyone would have to do is open any of the five others and walk through. Like me. Daring to be different.)
Unfortunately, as I had indeed dared to be different, I found myself walking up the side of the same hill--and..the..streetlights...started to get further......and further.........apart.

[continued tomorrow]

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