A view of Miyama, Kayabuki No Sato with moss covered roofs

The Japanese countryside holds many gems that most international tourists don?t even know exist. This is understandable, because Japan holds such a sheer wealth of outstanding sites that many outside of the main centers manage to remain in the shadows. For me, stumbling across some of these places has been the highlights of my Japanese experiences. It often strikes me as somehow miraculous that so many of these places exist and are not more famous outside of the country. Miyama is one of those places.

Miyama offers a window into Japanese rural of yesteryear. Specifically, the area is famous for having a greater concentration of traditional Japanese homes with Kayabuki roofs than any other place in Japan. 
What is a Kayabuki roof

A Kayabuki roof nestled in the autumnal mountain trees 

Kayabuki refers to a traditional Japanese style thatched roof. Kaya  is a generic term for grasses, commonly Japanese Pampas Grass, or reeds and buki means roof. 

Kayabuki roofs really are grandly, majestic constructions to behold. They look like they have a tremendous weight and density to them. They are packed so taught that they are able to be molded into various shapes, as if the materials being used were some kind of soft putty as opposed to thousands upon thousands of intricately slender pieces of grass. They often taper down into pleasing curves at the sides, as if some giant h...