Round The World and other travels
A frequent flyer's collection of trip diaries
This is: Japan 2014
Geishas and Gardens
It had dawned another beautifully sunny and warm day. In what initially appeared to be a repeat of the previous day, we began by taking breakfast at Starbucks and then catching one of the quirky little 'Right Loop' tourist buses, referred to in the tourist guide as 'bonnet buses'. This time, however, we were bound for Stop No 5, serving the Higashi Chaya district, noted for its traditional buildings and geisha traditions.
Kazuemachi Chaya District
Before exploring Higashi Chaya, we walked across the bridge over the Asano River to have a quick look at another of Kanazawa's historic areas, the compact Kazuemachi Chaya district, home to a thriving restaurant trade.
 |
RIGHT:
A brief look around the Kazue- machi Chaya district |
 |
 |
 |
| ABOVE: Mock-vintage bus on the 'Right Loop' tourist service. |
Higashi Chaya District
Once back across the river in Higashi, we began by climbing up to what looked like some kind of viewpoint, marked with flags. It turned out to be a combined shrine and cemetery, offering excellent views of Kanazawa. (One assumes that these were intended for visitors, rather than residents!) After returning to ground level, we strolled through the narrow streets and visited a number of temples. The area wasn't really as pretty as it could have been: many of the streets had a rather untidy appearance and the various shrines seemed disappointingly similar, as though the product of some kind of 'temple template'! On a more positive note, the rain that had unexpectedly been threatened never really happened, producing only the odd spits and spots.
 |
 |
 |
 |
LEFT: We climbed up to a shrine / cemetery, which also served as a viewpoint across the city. |
 |
 |
 |
 |
RIGHT: These views are typical of the main part of the district, which was rather less photogenic than we had hoped for. |
 |
Kenrokuen Garden
We
caught another 'Right Loop' bus, complete with retro protruding
engine, to the same stop as the previous day, between the Castle and
Kenrokuen Garden. After a bit of a search, we succeeded in finding
an excellent lunch venue where we were able to enjoy a tasty,
satisfying and beautifully presented light meal based on cold
noodles, with tempura shrimp and vegetables. It was yet another
memorable Japanese meal!
Strolling through the highly picturesque Kenrokuen Garden, mostly in bright sunshine, proved to be a perfect postprandial activity. The park was maintained to an exceptionally high standard and wasn't as large as we had thought, based on looking at the map. It turned out that there was more evidence of geishas here than in the district that we had explored before lunch.
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| ABOVE: Uh-oh ... Sapporo weather report! |
We eventually took a Kenrokuen Shuttle bus back to the station and our hotel. During the customary 'chill time' around 5pm, we saw some disconcerting images on TV showing flooding in Sapporo, the capital of Hokkaido, following torrential downpours. Yikes - we could only hope that the aftermath would be cleared up in the next 24 hours! After checking out a possible alterative, we decided to return to the excellent Vol de Nuit bar at the Nikko Hotel for cocktails, and on the fourth visit to our favourite food court - why change a winning formula? - we had a nice Chinese dinner on this occasion.