The Village

Ok, Takayama's a very pleasant town. More pleasant I suspect than most Japanese cities of comparable size. I believe I've mentioned this before, but it's often referred to as "Little Kyoto" for it's abundance of historic buildings in a much smaller footprint. But like many other aspects of Japan, there's a certain regimentation or method, to daily life. This extends to how the time of day is marked. Every evening at the stroke of 5, a little ditty is piped through the town's (extensive) PA system. Kind of like, I suppose, the siren that announces the end of the workday in a company town.... and the company is Japan. Click here to hear the song.

You have to admit though, it's a much more pleasant evening message than "It's 10 o'clock, do you know where your children are?"



On the other hand, sometimes I feel like I'm living in the Village from the Prisoner.