Camera: Fujifilm XT5.

A morning walk around Hida village, a collection of traditional wood and thatch-roofed houses, all around 200-ish years old.

The buildings were amazing, with their thick (foot and a half?) roof thatching, solid carpentry, polished floors, and central hearths.

I was deep in imagining how people actually spent their lives in these houses, all rustic & rugged, & fricking cold in winter and being thoroughly infused with woodfire smoke and sharing your space the forrest spirits and ancestor spirits..….when the whole village ambience was shattered by some sort of Japanese Elvis wanna-be singing pop songs in one of the buildings. Volume 11.

Is this some sort of renegade busker? Or is it part of the tourist village entertainment package? Or some attempt to keep the bears away? Is this a Taylor Swift medley?

The Forrest spirits fled.

And I’m so confused.