A race around Japan

[CaptainCurtis]

Day 14 - Kanazawa

I'll start by saying the weather today was truly dreadful. Rain was on and off all day, ranging from a light drizzle to torrential downpours. Breakfast was at Tea Room Castle, a 2 minute walk from the hotel. If you're tossing up whether to include breakfast as part of your accommodation in Kanazawa, don't. This place offers a hybrid Western/Asian breakfast for just ¥500. Yes you read that right, ¥500. There is only one option - tea or coffee. Beyond that, the breakfast is 100% standardised.



A short walk to Omicho Market. It wasn't particularly memorable, although the colours were vibrant.

 

[CaptainCurtis]

Ozaki Shrine was just around the corner.



Then a short walk to Oyama Shrine, passing by the modern architecture of the Kanazawa Chamber of Commerce & Industry building on the way. Oyama Shrine was built in 1599, dedicated to the first lord of Kaga, the powerful Maeda Toshiie. The gate was designed by a Dutch architect, explaining the European style and stained glass windows on the third tier.

 

[CaptainCurtis]

Then it was through Nezumita-mon Gate to get to Gyokusen Inmaru Garden, a beautifully laid out garden featuring pine trees, a river and a number of bridges.




Kanazawa Castle was originally built in 1580, housing the ruling Maeda for 14 generations. The castle was destroyed by a fire in 1881, but was rebuilt in 2001.

 

[CaptainCurtis]

To escape the rain, I went inside the castle, which cost ¥500 for a combined ticket with Kenrokuen Gardens. There wasn't much too see inside, although it provided great views.

 

[CaptainCurtis]

Finally Kenrokuen Gardens, ranked in the top 3 gardens in Japan, which I guess means its ranked third, otherwise it would be top 2? I digress. It was beginning to piss down, so I walked through relatively quickly.

 

[drron]

Then it was through Nezumita-mon Gate to get to Gyokusen Inmaru Garden, a beautifully laid out garden featuring pine trees, a river and a number of bridges.

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Kanazawa Castle was originally built in 1580, housing the ruling Maeda for 14 generations. The castle was destroyed by a fire in 1881, but was rebuilt in 2001.

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I was very lucky the day I visited this garden. A lovely day but a bit warm. Sat down in the shade next to an older Japanese fellow who spoke very good English. He asked me what I thought of the garden and I gave a very positive answer describing the features I liked best. That was fortunate as it turned about that his last job was head gardener here.

 

[CaptainCurtis]

Needing to get out of the rain, I went across the road to the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art. It turns out hundreds of others had the same idea, and it was just too busy. I instead walked down to the D.T. Suzuki Museum, commemorating the Kanazawa-born Buddhist philosopher D. T. Suzuki. This place had SO much potential, but was bitterly disappointing. It was superficial, glancing over his biography and his works. The only saving grace was the water garden outside. Don't waste your time visiting this place. How it has a 4.4 star rating on Google defies belief.



My shoes and socks were totally saturated by now, so I jumped on the bus back towards the hotel, stopping back at Omicho market for lunch. No reaction to the food this time, which does make me think it was a scombroid reaction last time. Just ¥650 for this sashimi set.

 

[CaptainCurtis]

Dinner was at Fuwari, and is a contender for best meal of the holiday. It's hard to explain this place, but felt like the equivalent of what we'd call 'Modern Australian' at home. An upscale, modern izakaya perhaps. Price came to about ¥5,000 with a beer, which I thought was very reasonable given the quality of the meal.

Otoshi to get started



Grilled chicken neck and potato with soy butter sauce - don't worry, it was cooked (the lighting is bad)



Beef filet mignon with Japanese herbs and ponzu sauce



Grilled rice ball in fish broth



Croquette stuffed with ground beef and onion



Pear sorbet

 

[CaptainCurtis]

I was very lucky the day I visited this garden. A lovely day but a bit warm. Sat down in the shade next to an older Japanese fellow who spoke very good English. He asked me what I thought of the garden and I gave a very positive answer describing the features I liked best. That was fortunate as it turned about that his last job was head gardener here.

The gardeners there are a committed bunch. They were out in force looking after the gardens today despite the rain.

 

[drron]

The gardeners there are a committed bunch. They were out in force looking after the gardens today despite the rain.

Yes it is amazing to see their dedication to get things perfect.
We love the Kenrokuen gardens not least because being over 60 we get in free. We have been in cherry blossom time, summer and autumn. In December we will see it in winter.
By the way you have put together a great journey seeing classic sites but also a lot of the "real" Japan.

 

[trendwhore]

Quick review of Hotel Wood Takayama before moving on. I originally booked this place at close to $200 per night. I was randomly checking all of my accommodation about a month before leaving, and noticed I could re-book at just below $100 per night, which I was pretty happy with given its great location.

My room, a standard single, was generously sized. The mattress was incredibly hard, with the hotels website promoting:

Each room contains bedding fully constructed of Japanese “airweave” material beloved by athletes around the world. They will ensure you get a good-night’s sleep.

I'm not so sure about that. Way too hard for my liking. Otherwise the room was perfectly decent.

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There was an expansive lobby area, offering free drinks from 5PM until 10. Sake, beer, coffee, tea, juice, soft drinks etc. A really nice area to relax and unwind.

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Looks like a sweet hotel! I remember going to Shirakawa a few years ago in middle of winter.. let me tell you don't hire a car without snow tyres haha.

Looks way different in the summer, and quite nice!

 

[CaptainCurtis]

By the way you have put together a great journey seeing classic sites but also a lot of the "real" Japan.

I'm pretty chuffed with the itinerary, if I may say so myself. I spent a lot of time researching, far more than I normally would. The number of options were pretty overwhelming, but I feel with Japan, you have to be ruthless in your choices. Don't like big cities? Skip Tokyo, or spend less time there. There hasn't been anywhere so far where I've thought, gee I would have liked more/less time there. We're coming to the tail end though, with Kyoto, Osaka and Hiroshima remaining. Already thinking about where to go next!

 

[CaptainCurtis]

Day 15 - Kanazawa

Breakfast this morning was at Curio Cafe, an American inspired breakfast/brunch spot. I had a vegetable and hummus sandwich, which was incredibly tasty, along with an iced latte. The place was incredibly busy, mostly with tourists, although there were a few locals, so make sure to get there early or be prepared for a ~20 minute wait.



Then a walk up towards the Higashi Chaya District, stopping at Higashi Betsuin temple.




A few nice houses along the way.

 

[CaptainCurtis]

First stop was Kazuemachi Chaya District, but there was next to nothing happening in the area. Nice spot to take a few photographs though. As you can see, a much nicer day today.

 

[CaptainCurtis]

Then across the bridge for the Higashi Chaya District. I don't know if I'm missing something, but I found the area pretty superficial. I would have loved to learn more about the history, practices and traditions of the Geisha, but I left wanting more. I don't know if it's due to the language barrier and lack of translation, but it has been somewhat of a recurring theme throughout my time here.

 

[CaptainCurtis]

Stopped at Shima Geisha House, a preserved tea house used for entertaining. Admission was ¥500.



Spent a bit of time afterwards wandering through the boutiques and cafes, although didn't go into the Kaikaro house. Kanazawa is known for its production of gold leaf, with ~99% of Japan's total production coming from Kanazawa. There are a number of stores in the area showcasing gold leaf products, as well as ice creameries selling overpriced gold leaf ice cream.

 

[CaptainCurtis]

On my walk, I had come across the Kanazawa Phonograph Museum. It only opened at 10, so made sure to track backwards after I had finished in the Geisha districts. Photos weren't allowed, but I managed to sneak a few in. They have a comprehensive catalogue of LPs that you can listen to - the Otis Redding album I chose was great. I would have loved to sneak a few of these albums home. The museum runs 3 phonograph listening sessions a day, the first of which coincided perfectly with my visit. We got to listen to around 10 different phonographs, with the guide explaining their history in Japanese. An English guidebook was made available. Highly recommend this place for any audiophiles.

 

[lakeman]

Stopped at Shima Geisha House, a preserved tea house used for entertaining. Admission was ¥500.

Happy 1000th post !
Am enjoying your trip and photos

 

[CaptainCurtis]

Jumped on the Kanazawa Loop Bus to get to the Naga-machi District, a preserved samurai area that survived a number of fires and WW2. Again, I found it lacking material substance despite the great opportunity the well preserved area offers. Unfortunately the Maeda Shiryokan Museum was closed while changing displays, so the first stop was the Shinise Kinenkan Museum, a restored pharmac_ displaying the lives of the merchant class, first established in 1579. ¥100 admission fee.

 

[CaptainCurtis]

Next up was the Nomura Samurai House, the family of which were high-ranking officials under the ruling Maeda family.