We are in Takayama, in the north of Gifu Prefecture surrounded by peaky Japanese mountains. Our minds have begun turning toward home and the new adventures / challenges / opportunities that await us.
One of the indicators of beginning to think of home is our culinary appetite ... we begin to look for more familiar food. We had cake and coffee in a great little cafe yesterday where I tried a ginger latte (OK, that really is thoroughly Japanese), but last night we lashed out and had a meal featuring Hida beef, one of the things this place is famous for. At the end of the day, expensive steak and vegies tackled with a knife and fork. Words fail me for how good it was. Spectacularly wonderful if you are into eating meet. Ironically and paradoxically, while wandering the streets on the way we were discussing the possibilities of steps toward ethical meet consumption / vegetarianism. hmmm.
We also came across a 1200 year old tree yesterday in the grounds of a Buddhist temple ... mind boggling really.
