Today we had a short drive from Takayama to Nagoya via Gero which was going to take us through the Gifu prefectures. I was hoping for a chance to spot some of Japan’s famed autumn colours and it turns out we were in luck. Children crossing warning signs here are slightly more fun than at home: “Be careful; jumping out!!”

Ujo Park in Gero…

I thought this would be the highlight of the autumn colours today.

One of the things I have noticed here on Japan’s roadways is the total lack of ‘lookout’ points. In Australia there are spaces on highways and roads to pull over and see nice scenery all over the place – they are quite often marked on maps as scenic or photo-worthy stops. Here, there is rarely anything like that, even though the scenery is quite often spectacular.

This was us, and several others, all stopped in a long and somewhat precarious row on a stretch of highway that followed this gorge… it really needs a handful of places where people can stop and take in the view of the beautiful trees, the still river and the mountain as. The autumn colours were simply stunning against the deep blue/green of this lake/river.

The sun is shining, the birds are singing… how’s the serenity*?*if we ignore the fact that I’m standing on the side of a highway and cars are flying past us at breakneck speed.

Just beautiful…

Made it safely to Nagoya without any navigation mishaps. Checked into our hotel, did some prep for work stuff, and went for a quick grill/sushi dinner that turned out to be quite the most ordinary meal we have had since we got here.

On the way back after dinner we stopped in briefly at ‘Liquor Mountain’… I sent these pics to the Whisky Wankers group at home. Just to taunt everyone with the selection and the prices – omg the prices! Australians really are getting reamed on island tax, and WET tax. :/