October is undoubtedly going to be a month full of goodbyes and farewell parties.
Before my departure, the 3 ladies in my department at work wanted to take more on one last road trip to show me traditional Japan. This weekend we took a 2.5 hour drive to Takayama "The Town That Time Forgot".
We left Nagoya bright and early in order to go shopping at the Jinya-mae Morning Market.
Shimizu purchased some fresh pears.
There were all sorts of new regional seasonal fruits and vegetables that we've never even heard of before.
I made the mistake of asking what was in these giant pods, and then of course, we had to taste for ourselves!
We never did get the name of this fruit, but it looks like a caterpillar inside a cocoon.
You dig out the slimy seeds with your finger, put them in your mouth, and then swallow.
We were under strict instructions not to "taste" it or bite into the black seeds.
Surprisingly, it wasn't too bad.
This old medicine woman said you eat them for good stomach health. (In Japanese, of course!)
Check out the guys wading down the river doing a trash clean-up. Now that is dedication. I thought they were crazy for sweeping their public sidewalks each morning, but this is even more impressive!!
Statue on the Kajibasi Bridge. One side has long arms...
...and the other side long legs.
We are heading to those white tents for more shopping.
Mari, Ema, and Kerri at the Miyagawa Morning Market.
This area is also called Hida and is known for their cows.
I ate the crazy new fruit, but I declined a bottle of fresh Hida milk.
Shimizu and Ema kept telling me it was "sweet and delicious", but I prefer my milk cold and refreshing. When they were done chugging the milk, they returned the glass bottles, and I noticed the white chunky film coating the bottle. This assured me that I made the right decision!!
KG browsing the market.
We all know fruits and veggies aren't really my thing, especially not ones I can't easily recognize!!
Eventually we went shopping in real stores :)
Here's the historical streets of Takayama.
As I mentioned, it's known as "The Town That Time Forgot" because it has remained largely unchanged from it's creation in the 16th century. It's high in the mountains and is snowed in for much of the winter, so no ruling empires really bothered them for 500 years.
Even the vending machines are covered so they can blend in with the historical surroundings.
Takayama is also known for making sake (Japanese rice liquor).
I look like a really enjoyed those jumbo bottles in this pic!
The grass balls hanging outside the shops indicate how fresh the sake is. Bright green means a new batch has just been complete. This ball is dried and brown, so I'm guessing it's been around for a while.
Mari, Kerri, & Ema in front of a shop with a huge brown grass ball. Again, the sake is not so fresh today.
Shimizu explains to KG how sake is made.
Thank goodness Hida area (Takayama) is known for beef, and not some kind of river fish.
This means I get to have a yummy, meaty lunch!
The menu explains that all Hida beef can be traced back to this one cow "Yasufukugo".
He was a prized bull that sired more than 27,000 calves.
There is also a diagram of a numbered cow, so you can determine the area that your cut of meat is coming from.
Cuts of beef were priced as high as $250 on the menu, but we decided on the hamburg steak lunch set for $22. It was moist and delicious!
Kerri, Shimizu, and Mari heading out of town via the Nakabasi Bridge. 
We have one more stop to make on our day of historical Japan fun!
