This New Year holiday, I went to Ishikawa and Gifu with my husband and parents-in-law. Unlike Tokyo, these places were deep in snow. We went to a beautiful town called Takayama with traditional architecture. We also ate dango: mochi on a skewer, dipped in soy sauce and then grilled to a crisp. It tasted amazing.We also went to Shirakawago, a village in Gifu. There were many big wooden houses with thatched roofs. We could walk inside a house and visit the attic, although we had to take our shoes off. Unfortunately, there were no slippers and my feet were freezing! The house was very atmospheric and had an amazing smell of wood and pine. On that trip, I spoke a lot more Japanese than I do in Tokyo. One day, we drank Nihonshu, not from a glass but a square wooden cup (masu-style). On the corner of the cup, we put a little salt and then drank the sake. It tasted amazing, and after a few drinks my Japanese definitely improved! 銀座校インストラクター きゃTEA
