Round The World and other travels
A frequent flyer's collection of trip diaries
This is: Japan 2014
Kanazawa: getting to know you
Lying in a little later than usual - despite having lots on the agenda, there was no great need to do otherwise - we began the day with breakfast at Starbucks, right next to the bus terminal. It was then an easy matter to catch a 'Right Loop' tourist bus which, in this clockwise direction only, was operated by diminutive, mock-vintage vehicles. Our objective was the area known as Kenrokumachi, and in particular the road separating Kenrokuen Garden (which we planned to visit on Thursday) and Kanazawa Castle (which took pride of place on today's list).
Kanazawa Castle
 |
| ABOVE: Plan showing how the main road divides the castle grounds (west) and Kenrokuen Garden (east) |
The original Kanazawa Castle was built in the sixteenth century, but it subsequently underwent several cycles of destruction by fire or earthquake, followed by reconstruction. The current reconstruction, dating from as recently as 2001, aimed to reinstate the 1809 rebuild as faithfully as possible, complete with complex, interlocking wooden beams. The buildings included an impressive gate, a couple of imposing watchtowers and a substantial wooden hall. We had to remove our shoes when visiting the hall, where some steep internal staircases proved awkward to negotiate in socks!
The present-day castle has substantial grounds, around half of which were unfortunately closed for improvement works. Some fine views over the city were available both from the buildings themselves and from the grounds.
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
| ABOVE: Impressions of Kanazawa Castle | |||||
Omicho Market
Around noon, we took a Kenrokuen Shuttle bus to Omicho Market, Kanazawa's historic main covered market, specialising in fish. Looking around this proved to be an enjoyable experience and yielded plenty of photos.
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| ABOVE and LEFT: Exploring Omicho market, while on the lookout for a possible lunch venue. Somebody was keen to get started! | |
We found a truly excellent sushi restaurant for lunch. Not unusually, it had pre-prepared dishes circulating in front of diners on a carousel. In addition, however, customers could order freshly prepared dishes using tablet computers. Everything that we tried was both delicious and beautifully presented. At the end, the computer screen had an option to request the bill. A staff member ran a scanner up the side of our stack of differently coloured plates and the bill was instantly worked out - amazing! All in all, a truly memorable lunch!
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Oyama Jinja Shrine
After our excellent lunch, we walked the short distance southwards to the Oyama Jinja Shrine, a Shinto shrine dating (at this location) from the 19th century. This peaceful and impressive oasis in the Kanazawa cityscape is famous for the incorporation of elements of Chinese and European architecture into its otherwise traditional Japanese design. The best known such feature is probably the use of Dutch stained glass windows in the main gate to the complex.
| RIGHT: Oyama Jinja Shrine, just a short walk from the market, provided an oasis of calm in the middle of the city |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Nagamachi Buke Yashiki District
 |
 |
A further short walk, westwards this time, brought us to this former Samurai residential district, which featured narrow lanes and traditional buildings. The area was vaguely reminiscent of the Hanok villages that we had seen in Seoul in November 2012, but we both agreed that the Korean districts had been considerably more visually attractive.
Sake tasting
We eventually made our way towards the nearest stop for the 'Left Loop' tourist bus and rode back to the station. Feeling that we still had a bit of time on our hands, we decided to look round a large and very upmarket department store that was directly attached to the railway station. Delightfully, it not only sold Sake, but operated a Sake Bar offering tasting experiences. Clearly this simply had to be done! Things took an unexpected turn when our host for the event turned out to be a friendly young German man whose wife, we discovered, was from Kanazawa.
 |
 |
LEFT: Sake tasting with our friendly German host |
 |
 |
 |
| RIGHT:
Upmarket shopping at the station |
After a period of relaxation back in the room, we decided to go for pre-dinner cocktails in the wonderful Vol de Nuit bar in the nearby Nikko Hotel. This featured comfortable leather armchairs, soft music, sensitive lighting and panoramic views across the city - a complete contrast to the Crowne Plaza and absolutely fabulous! We then returned once again to our favourite food court and, for a change, opted for an Indian dinner featuring a very nice (but probably not authentic) pork curry. As Bruce had already mentioned, Asian food courts generally bear little resemblance to their somewhat dodgy Western counterparts.
What an interesting, varied and enjoyable day!