Updates Part 4

In Kanazawa we took a tour to a town called Gokayama. It is a little village in the mountains that really hasn't been accessible before the road was built there about 50 years ago, due to the extreme snow that they get. It is not uncommon for the village to see upwards of 9 feet of wet, wet, wet snow.


They have thatch on the roof that is something like three feet thick. They have to re roof them about every 30 years which is amazing.







There was also this little paper factory, they mix the tree pulp with very cold water, and some very slimy stuff they get from a plant and make wonderful paper.


The man mixes the paper by feel and then just puts the screen down picks it up and gives it a shake and lays out a piece of paper. When he gets a good amount he will put it in a press for the night to get the water out and then then next day .......


This woman will peel a piece of paper off the stack and puts in on the hot plate to dry it! They use to use the paper for money many years ago but now they use them for umbrellas and pictures.