The first stop of the day was at the Sakurayama Hachiman Shrine and the Takayama float festival exhibit. Takayama is noted for both a spring and fall festivals. The festival started 350 years ago as a simple village ceremony and now is a competition among neighborhoods. There are usually 11 to 12 floats in each parade with some dating back to the 17th century.

We moved on to visit Takayama’s Old Town to view the originally constructed wooden houses and see the Morning Market. Water constantly runs down the side of the streets to act as an available fire extinguishing source.

Moving further along to Shirakawago, we crossed over a snow-covered mountain range and through several tunnels – one was over 6 miles long. The town is noted for its traditionally thatched houses (Gassho-zukuri).

Finally, the Omicho Market is a spacious, indoor complex with stalls selling produce, seafood, meat, and specialty dishes. It has been around since 1603.