Moving further north in Takayama, Howard and I found ourselves in 8ft of snow. No seriously we did. There was even a snowman.

Jumping off the bus I was instantly relieved once again that I had bought those emergency wellies. I couldn’t believe how cold it was either, good job I had bought layers as that was all we wore for the last two days in northern Takayama.

If you look behind me you can see the big mound of snow by the bus!

One of the highlights of our trip was our visit to the Shinhotaka Ropeway, which, if you get chance to go, GO!

Being crammed into a cable car full of people was actually quite unnerving as I was half expecting the cable to snap at any moment and plummet us all down the mountain. Howard and I were the only English people there, but everyone was extremely friendly (as were all the Japanese we met) and a couple even ‘adopted’ us during the trip. Telling us the best places to stand and asking us to pose for photos with them so they could show their children once they had returned home.

The lovely lady who took a shine to Howard and I

More Japanese friends!

I wasn’t joking when I said 8ft of snow

Of course, after another busy day, it was only right that we each had an onsen to recover. This time the pools were much bigger and there were even outside areas so you could bathe whilst looking out at the mountains. It was beautiful.

Outside onsen