Japan.It's Bloomin marvellous.

[drron]

We agree with Kanazawa.Both of us felt of all the ports this was the top of the list for a repeat visit.Easy to get to by shinkansen,Crowne Plaza at the station which is central to everything,plenty of restaurants and the Kenroku-en garden to top it all.

So to the Higashi Geisha district.Narrow streets but turned out to be very interesting.Unfortunately no geisha shows on the night we were there.

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This little fellow had just been relieved from nesting duties-

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[drron]

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Now that downpipe wouldn't last 24 hours in Australia.

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I don't think I would risk the economy zone and probably not the PE cabin aka B-zone.
Now you should be drinking teas from here to look beautiful-

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My little friend decided to show off as we were walking back to the bus.

 

[drron]

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So Fuji in gold leaf.just a tad expensive.I did see something for JohnK though-

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Poor little crabs.But I did fork out for a gold icecream for mrsdrron-

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Back to the ship for lunch then the afternoon at Kenroku-en Garden.We missed peak blossom time but some later blooming cherries were looking good.

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[drron]

Back to blossoms-

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One of the features of the garden is this fountain powered just by water pressure.The oldest in Japan built in the 1800s.

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[drron]

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[drron]

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[junbugging]

Apologies to drron for having "hijacked" his thread. I have been warned offlist, kindly by one, not so kindly by another, neither of whom was drron.

That said, I'd feel rude not replying to Karen, so please allow me to do that here.

Kanazawa itself is so beautifully walkable. If sufficiently mobile I would just suggest heading off in the general direction of your first destination, and seeing how things pan out. The day-to-day life that goes on around the more sought out sites is just as interesting in many ways. And you never know where interactions will lead you...

As drron mentioned, the new bullet train improves access to some degree from Tokyo. But from Osaka and surrounding areas rail access has always been good and is also quite scenic.

Then we have the Noto peninsula to the north(ish). Some stunning natural beauty, fisherman-run accommodation where you can stay for under AUD100 and eat some (lots!) of the most ridiculously fresh seafood, a "commune" approach to arts that respects both traditional culture and innovators, and just some of the most fascinating people it's been my privilege to meet.

I have a long list of restaurant/bar recommendations, but perhaps the two I'd start with are Fuwari (scroll down on this long list, which includes some other nice places):

Places To Eat In Kanazawa - Inside Kyoto

and Kajitsu Baru, which doesn't have an English menu and seems a little cold for announcing that at the front door, but is a very nice place to start an evening:

ãƒãƒ« カジツ （kajitu） - 金沢/ãƒãƒ«ãƒ»ãƒãƒ¼ãƒ« [食¹ãƒ­ã‚°]

 

[junbugging]

And one last thing I should mention is that Kenrokuen is also extremely beautiful in winter, when the tree branches are tied for support against the snow.

 

[drron]

Junbugging I have no problem with you having input to this thread.One of my reasons for doing trip reports is to inform and I am happy for anyone to add to that.
And Karen that was a good question as now I get some more info on what to do when we return.
Anyone else with questions please ask.

 

[karen blancfield]

I know so little about Japan but our 12 days there at Easter have really whet our appetite. I have 3 weeks holiday in June/ July and trying to decide which place in the world I feel like going to ... How good a problem is that! Might be too soon to revisit Japan but obviously a remarkable place and so much to see. Or maybe back to see a bit more of Oregon and a driving holiday. That's why your comment about an absolute favourite struck a chord with me .... unfortunately I'm stuck with high season fares because of my job but life is short so we just go anyway ...

 

[junbugging]

I know so little about Japan but our 12 days there at Easter have really whet our appetite. I have 3 weeks holiday in June/ July and trying to decide which place in the world I feel like going to ... How good a problem is that! Might be too soon to revisit Japan but obviously a remarkable place and so much to see. Or maybe back to see a bit more of Oregon and a driving holiday. That's why your comment about an absolute favourite struck a chord with me .... unfortunately I'm stuck with high season fares because of my job but life is short so we just go anyway ...

I think you mentioned somewhere that you live in a desert... Another option to keep in mind at some stage is the far southern Japanese islands of Miyakojima, Ishigakijima, Iriomotejima among others. Japan, and yet not quite Japan... Okinawa is unfortunately the poorest prefecture in Japan, but is very rich in culture and just stunningly beautiful.

 

[drron]

Back to Kenroku-en.

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A dogwood-

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[drron]

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[drron]

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And a very old pine that I couldn't fit in an ordinary shot-

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[drron]

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Some early iris-

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[drron]

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And one of the features of the garden-the flying geese bridge.

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[drron]

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One of the teahouses-

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Another of the icons,Kotoji-toro.A stone lantern with 2 legs.The positioning means great shots from all directions-

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[drron]

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This ladies 2 friends wanted their photo taken too.I obliged-

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A little further on a professional photographer was working-

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But he had a lot more work to do-

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