A rollicking dinner with the Mayor of Takayama

Dinner with the mayor of Takayama and his colleagues

Denver's sister city in Japan is Takayama, set in a valley of the Japanese Alps.  As we did the last time we visited Takayama, we invited the mayor to have dinner with our group at our ryokan.  Today's mayor was the vice mayor when we visited 7 years ago, so we had already met him.  While his predecessor was reserved and formal, this mayor likes a good time, is very jovial and a lot of fun.

view of Japanese Alps from castle above Takayama

 We all dressed up in yukata--Japanese kimonos which, luckily for us, the ryokan maids put on us as we stood still, stupefied by the array of required moves and pieces essential to properly wearing a kimono.  They cinched us in tightly, reminding me of Scarlett O'Hara's complaints when she had to wear a corset to a party (so she wouldn't eat too much).  We were all somewhat breathless by the time the job was finished, but looked sensational when we greeted the mayor! Even though we could only take mincing little steps as our legs were rather tightly bound in place by the kimono.

We hosted dinner, so the mayor bought the drinks.  Takayama is a major sake producer, so he poured their finest for us.  When we asked him to tell us about the sake, he leaped up, ordered 2 more bottles of different kinds of sake (one unfiltered and milky white and the other a lesser distillation), and proceeded to fill our sake glasses while regaling us with the details of making each kind of sake.  We all drank everything he poured while he simply tasted, with the expected results.



welcoming song, compliments of our Japanese guestrs

Next up was a welcoming song for us, which the mayor and his 2 colleagues sang, kneeling on the floor in front of our table.  They wanted us to sing a song in return, so, since our guide, Akira Sato (one of the best guides we've had anywhere in the world and guiding us for a second time), sings country and western at a local bar in Kyoto, his home, he led us in a rambling rendition of "Oh Susannah" before moving on to "Home on the Range". 


our guide, Aki, leading us in "Oh Susannah"

The mayor eats dinner out every night, with some group or another.  He obviously enjoys himself with other people.  I asked what his wife did and he said she stayed home and ate whatever she liked.  Not sure that sounds so great, but it's not unusual for Japanese wives.