A recent rainy day reminded me of the best coffee I’ve ever had. In early April my brother and I were in Shirakawa-gō 白川郷 (the older village within Shirakawa 白川村) to see the gasshō-zukuri 合掌造り houses (farmhouses with steep, thatched roofs). Up in the mountains the air was nearly freezing, and by afternoon a steady rain punished us for not carrying umbrellas. We had two hours to kill before the bus back to Takayama 高山, and my enthusiasm for Shirakawa had already gone home.

Fortunately in Japan a coffee コーヒー shop is often around the corner.

The service may have been brusque from all the tourists, and the coffee overpriced for the same reason, but in that time and place, keeping dry from the rain, that cup of coffee was the best I’ve ever tasted. And the view ain’t too shabby.

Map of Shirakawago / Shirakawa-go:

Here’s a walking map of Hida-Takayama 飛騨高山, which is a nearby city that is a jumping-off point to Shirakawa-gō 白川郷.

Walking map of Hida-Takayama 飛騨高山のウォーキングマップ: