As our bus commences its climb through the Hida Highlands in Gifu Prefecture to the quiet mountain village of Shirakawa-go, I cannot help wondering what the samurai of bygone days would have made of the smooth road and tunnels cut through the mountains.
Probably not much, as the modern infrastructure would certainly have made it easier for the authorities of the time to capture the Samurai runaways who sought refuge in this mountainous terrain more than two centuries ago.
Soon we have left the pine trees and our eyes are treated to green and fertile rice fields then, as the bus turns another sharp bend, the exquisite "gassho style" houses of Shirakawa-go come into view.
Perfectly adapted to their environment, the the Shogawa River Valley villages of Shirakawa-go and neighbouring Gokayama named a Unesco World Heritage Site in 1995.