Coming from a Hida Furukawa day tour, we decided to go back to our hotel—Mercure Hida Takayama—to freshen up before continuing to the famous Takayama Old Street. And while BG was busy inside the toilet and Kid A on the TV, I decided to pass the time watching the trains at the back of the hotel—our balcony directly overlooks the tracks.

SUNSET FROM OUR BALCONY IN MERCURE HIDA TAKAYAMA

I quickly forgot about the trains as I parted the drapes, the sun was lighting the town of Takayama and the nearby mountains with its majestic rays. I quickly grabbed my camera and snapped the most beautiful sunset we’ve had in Japan yet.