Where is Hida Takayama City?

This is a ceramic cat (picture above). The name is “Maneki Neko”, maybe “cat’s invitation” in English.

 Traditionally, here in Japan, shop owners tend to place this ceramic cat inside their shops. We Japanese believe this cat has some power, like a charm, and it will attract many customers to the shop. Therefore the business would be profitable.

Of course, the cat has its left paw up in the air, by which the cat is inviting people to enter. And the cat holds a golden coin in its right paw. The coin was used in Japanese feudal times.

I don’t know much about this “Maneki Neko” history, but probably an old custom. By the way, the design of this cat is almost the same all around Japan.

Finally, about the cat in the picture - it belongs to a friend of mine. I took this picture at his shop.

While I was watching “Lawrence of Arabia”, I realized why the Arabs have mustaches. It’s because the shortage of water in their environment forces the Arabs to save water by not shaving frequently.

 You may know that we Japanese traditionally wore wooden sandals in the monsoon weather. But we stopped wearing such traditional sandals during the 19th century. After that, there has been an increase in patients who suffer from athlete’s foot.

Takayama city is in Japan.  According to statistics, the official number of visitors in Hida Takayama is about three million a year.  But I don’t see many crowds on the Takayama down town streets, so the number might have been exaggerated by someone for propaganda. Anyway, you may know that the typical Japanese sight-seeing spot is Kyoto, very famous for its historical temples and shrines.

Unfortunately, Takayama is a very remote city, but we in Hida Takayama have “hospitality and die-hardism”.