| Essence of Japan 4 | |
| Takayama | |
| 高山 | |
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| Early morning in Takayama: Main Torii (left); preparing for business (right) - PHOTOs Malcolm McCrow | |
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| Takayama is high in the Japan Alps and snow was visible on the trees behind the houses by the River Miyagawa - PHOTOs Malcolm McCrow | |
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| School uniform is taken seriously in Japan and the School Shop in Takayama caters for both junior and senior pupils - PHOTOs Malcolm McCrow | |
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| Boys wear military style jackets based on a French navy design and the girls wear sailor tops; the yellow caps and hats are worn by pupils in junior school - PHOTOs [taken with permission of Terada School Shop] Malcolm McCrow | |
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| Advertisements in English for school uniforms made by Kuri-Ori. Tartan trousers and skirts are common and some schools stipulate British style blazers - PHOTOs Malcolm McCrow | |
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| Hint of a British style phonebox (left); covered walkways (right) reminiscent of early 20th Century East Africa - PHOTOs Malcolm McCrow | |
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| Buddhist Temple Bell and American style fire hydrant - PHOTOs Malcolm McCrow | |
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| English looking filling station in Takayama - PHOTOs Malcolm McCrow | |
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| Shops opening on to the street by the Morning Street Market on the bank of the River Miyagawa - PHOTOs Malcolm McCrow | |
![maneki-neko, [lucky cat] Takayama, Japan](6Takayama/Cat2.jpg) |
![maneki-neko, [lucky cat] Takayama, Japan](6Takayama/Taka12.jpg) |
| Lucky cats (maneki-neko) by the River (left) and outside an antique shop (right) - PHOTOs Malcolm McCrow | |
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| Bridges on the River Miyagawa - PHOTOs Malcolm McCrow | |
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| Old houses (left); traditional hearth in preserved Merchant House (right) - PHOTOs Malcolm McCrow | |
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| Samurai sculpture (above) near Takayama Jinya or Takayama Samurai House (right) - PHOTOs Malcolm McCrow | |
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| Courtroom of the Samurai House where the prisoner having been brought to the court in a cage was obliged to kneel on wooden slats - PHOTOs Malcolm McCrow | |
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| Bagpipe Inn, Takayama - PHOTOs Malcolm McCrow | |
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| Traditional ice cream parlour, Takayama - PHOTOs Malcolm McCrow | |
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| Rickshaw in one of the old narrow streets (left); one of several saki outlets (right) - PHOTOs Malcolm McCrow | |
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| Inside a saki shop - PHOTOs Malcolm McCrow | |
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| Gasshō-zukuri houses in the Hida Folk Village - an open-air museum near Takayama. Gasshō-zukuri means preying hands and refers to the steep pitch of the roof which is said to resemble hands clasped for prayer - PHOTOs Malcolm McCrow | |
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| Traditional houses in the open air Hida Folk Village near Takayama - PHOTOs Malcolm McCrow | |
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| Torii and ornamental paddy field, Hida Village, Takayama - PHOTOs Malcolm McCrow | |
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| After leaving Takayama we continue our journey through the Japan Alps where the last snows of winter are still apparent in early April - PHOTOs Malcolm McCrow | |
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| Shirakawa-go's largest village is Ogimachi and is a World Heritage Site between Takayama and Kanazawa - PHOTOs Malcolm McCrow | |
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| Reflections in the paddy fields of Ogimachi which is a preserved Japanese traditional village in the Shirakawa District - PHOTOs Malcolm McCrow | |
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| Like in Hida, which is a museum, Gasshō-zukuri houses are also much in evidence in the working village of Ogimachi - PHOTOs Malcolm McCrow | |
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| A woman at work in an Ogimachi field - PHOTOs Malcolm McCrow | |
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| A thatcher at work on the roof of a Gasshō-zukuri house - PHOTOs Malcolm McCrow | |