Murakami Gasshozukuri Mingeikan (村上合掌造り民芸館) & Kurofune train

After our late soba lunch, we went back to the hotel for a quick swim.

There were only 3 other people in the pool when we were there. Most of the people who were there were just chilling on the chairs, reading a book. As it was the end of summer, the water was cold!

Nevertheless, I was super happy that I was able to swim in it for a while as I haven't swam in a long time.

As we had a super late lunch, we didn't just had some light snacks in the hotel room, such as chips, ramen and bread. This Shizuka green tea was interesting. Lol....not cola but it still makes for a nice fizzy soft drink.

I spotted with other chestnut bean bread at the local supermarket and had to get it. I wonder if chestnuts are popular in the area because this and the bread that I had the night before also had chestnut in it. 

Breakfast at the hotel the next morning.

Today, we got a nice window seat.

After breakfast, we walked down the steep hill to visit the Murakami Gasshozukuri Mingeikan (村上合掌造り民芸館).

Highly recommend this Murakami Gasshozukuri Mingeikan (村上合掌造り民芸館). The first and last gasshozukuri to be brought out of Hida.

Website: http://www.gasshou.com/

This place is run by an elderly couple who were super friendly.

Had an amazing experience here, learning about the gasshozukuri here.

As they are very old, the mingeikan might be closed even on weekdays, so make sure you call beforehand to confirm that they are operating before visiting.

I really enjoyed talking with the elderly couple despite how smoky the room was.

The ojisan wasn't feeling well when we were there. Hence, we was pretty quiet and we were shown around by the obasan. According to his wife, when he was genki, he would talk about the history and culture of gasshozukuri to as many as 100 people at a time.

We were super surprised to find that he speaks good english as he spent about 5 years studying in the states and has travelled around Europe on his way back to Japan.

The experience was very educational and homey as they were just so warm and welcoming. When we left, the obasan gave us an extra caramel each, maybe because I commented on how delicious it was.

You will be served some simmered fukki, home-made caramel which the obasan learned from her mother-in-law and houjicha. The fukki were from the garden.

We did have to pay 600 yen per person for visiting but we gained so much more!! I think they could charge double as we were served tea and snacks. They even had to climb up 5 floors to show us around the entire structure. Plus, it's like having a personal guide to explain about this history to you.

You can tell that it's really hard to maintain such a huge structure just by themselves. And I think more funds are required to maintain it. After all, it is a beautiful part of the culture.

They have accumulated so many 'gifts' from others over the years that it's like a small museum on it's own. There were so many old artifacts from back in the days, that you can no longer see now. According to the obasan, they just keep receiving 'donations' from various people, even though many of the objects received have no connection to Hida. Lol~

We were also given a tour up to the roof.

This is where they grew silk worms and made silk back in the days.

Of course, for them it's became an area to put more stuffs that they have collected or received from others over the years.

They even presented us with a free magazine which showcased their mingeikan and where the ojisan was interviewed.

From that magazine, we learned that the udon shop called 合掌, located right in front, was being operated by their relative. Unfortunately for us, it wasn't open when we were there.

I would definitely want to dine there next time!

After that, we checked out of the hotel and took the bus back to the station where we too the Kurofune or The Black Ship train back.

You can check the timetable for the Kurofune train here:

Website: http://kiha81.com/kurofune-train/

As you can see, this is a special train, which is why the passengers are taking pictures with it.

There weren't many people and we found a nice cozy corner for ourselves.

Had some local snacks that I bought from the souvenir shop near the train station. It's called milk mochi and I'm not a fan of both it's taste and texture.

We've been to Izu several times and most explored around the east side. Next time, I would like to explore the west side of Izu.