Friends will definitely be curious, when did you go to Nagoya? Hahaha, I went to Nagoya in a hurry the weekend before going to Chile. After I came back, I worked for a few days and then took a non-stop vacation to go to Chile.
Unexpectedly, in just half a year, I would come to Japan again. In Nagoya, I joined a local group and went to Shirakawa-go and Takayama City near Nagoya for a day. The Japan I imagined was all about shrines, temples, and exquisite gardens. I rarely heard of places where you can win with natural scenery. But what I saw that day was still a little different from the Japan I imagined. The details are as follows:
1) Although Nagoya is the central city in Japan's third largest economic circle, it is a bit boring as a tourist destination, so Takayama City and Shirakawa-go around Nagoya have become important links on the Nagoya tourist route.
2) It was also this time that I roughly understood what cities and prefectures in Japan are like. Japan has 47 first-level administrative units. The "first city" is Tokyo, the "first city" is Hokkaido, the "second government" is Osaka Prefecture and Kyoto Prefecture, and there are 43 prefectures, all of which are at the same level. There are cities below a prefecture. Japanese prefectures are similar to our provinces, so I understand why Nagoya City is the capital of Aichi Prefecture.
3) Takayama City and Shirakawa-go both belong to Gifu Prefecture, which is a central inland county adjacent to Aichi Prefecture. I don’t know what the topography of Gifu Prefecture is like. We walked through high mountains all the way from Nagoya to Shirakawa and Takayama. The winding mountain road winds between the mountains and ridges, and the dense green forests cover the land. I didn’t expect that there are still many places in Japan. There is such a magnificent and beautiful natural landscape, which is completely different from my impression of Japan. The city of Gaoshan where we stayed that night, just like its name, is surrounded by mountains, rich in vegetation, and the air is very fresh.
1) Shirakawago was listed as a World Cultural Heritage in 1995, and it seems that the tourism industry has gradually developed since then.
2) In the mountainous areas of central Japan, villages are mostly located on small flats between rolling peaks, and Hakusango is one of them. 96% of the land here is covered by forests, so all we see are high mountains and dense forests. Because it is surrounded by forests and mountains, it has different landscapes in all seasons. In summer, showers pass by, and the sky and earth are vast and green; in autumn, the forests are dyed with colors; in winter, this is a famous snowfall area in Japan, and the snow-covered huts are like a fairy tale.
3) One of the characteristics of Shirakawago is the houses here, which are said to be called Gassho Style Houses. This kind of house is characterized by a steep roof and thick thatch. The shape of the entire roof is a bit like the shape of people's palms folded when praying, or the shape of a book lying open on the table. This kind of steep triangular roof is to reduce the snow cover in winter so as not to collapse the house. As for why it is covered with thick thatch, I guess it is to keep warm. Then all the houses face one direction, which takes into account the local wind direction and reduces the impact of wind on the houses. The indoor space formed by the roof part is isolated and used by local people as a workshop for raising silkworms, which allows ventilation and light. The people here once made a living by raising silkworms and weaving.
Takayama Jinya is a bit like our county government office.
I got up early and took a walk around Gaoshan City. The entire city is very small, just like our county seat. There are a few horizontal and vertical streets that are basically all the blocks in this city. You will encounter mountains at the end of the road. This is a city embraced by mountains. The roaring train brought people and information from outside the mountains, and then the train roared away again, taking away the isolation and expectations in the mountains. Whether it is a big city or a small village, this place, like all places in Japan, is clean, tidy, quiet and orderly, with no noise, no chaos, and not many people.
It is said that this is the bridge or the filming location in "Your Name". I have not seen this movie.
