If you like trains, you get lots of it. Now on the 12:12 pm Thunderbird No. 22 Ltd Express from Kanazawa headed for Osaka but we are stopping over in Kyoto for two nights. There is no Shinkansen for this route. If you want to ride the bullet train you have to travel to Miabara on a limited express and then take a short 19 minute ride on the Shinkansen to Kyoto. The time works out to be about the same. The JR Thunderbird is also covered by our JR Hokuriku Arch Pass. Not cheap mind you, 6,700 yen (about RM250) for a reserved seat on this 145 minute trip.
You get to see a lot of the countryside with lovely Japanese style houses when ride the trains.
Kanazawa itself may be a hit-or-miss for some tourists. I had suggested abandoning this stop when we checked for hotel rates and were horrified that most quoted more than a thousand ringgit a night. Then we found the cheap AirBnB apartment which turned out to be supersized tiny. So, be aware when the rates are cheap. Nevertheless, the apartment was clean (though cramped) and very accessible to various attractions. We even walked to the train station this morning (20 minutes) with four luggages rattling happily along. I think that before long some Japanese towns might ban tourists from pulling these noise-makers on their streets, especially late at night.
The apartment owner had given us the GPS location and advised us to take bus No. 11, 12 or 16 and then walk 2 minutes from the nearest bus stop. We couldn’t figure out where to take the bus from the Kanazawa Station and sought advice from Tourist Information. We ended up on the bus stopping at the Omicho Market (with intention to have lunch, but didn’t because we couldn't decide which shop to go into) and then proceeded to walk another 10 minutes to the apartment (without lunch).
With the pocket WiFi at the apartment we looked for the nearest eat. My (repeated) mistake was not checking the opening times. Yes, some shops close for a short break between lunch and dinner. Our intended soba shop was closed so we ended up at a cafe which sort of brought down (unfairly) our view of local food.
By the time we finished our food, it was close to 4 pm, too late for the famous Kenrokeun Garden so we decided to head for the Higashiyama Chaya District which is just across the river from the apartment. We were not impressed with this heritage district. It felt like empty shells. What you do get is many girls dressed up in kimono brightening up the dull sky. The trick is to be fast when you point-and-shoot to get them into your frame without having to put in a lot of effort. They are posing all the time for selfies anyway and would be happy if you let them a hand.
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| Dressing up in kimono has become very popular for locals and foreign tourists. |
From Higashiyama we walked to Meitetsu shopping complex where the owner of the apartment had recommended some cheap and good eats in the basement. We didn’t like what we saw but bought some snacks and then headed outside to look for a restaurant.
Ah, now we had learned our lesson and made sure the restaurant we were headed for was still open. We looked under “cheap and good”. We walked along what looked like a pedestrianised street but with very few people. We located the restaurant and stood outside a little dumbfounded. There was a signboard which looked like it was placed in front of the sliding door to indicate that it is closed. Ah, the problem with not being able to read Japanese (we didn't know what the sign said). Jillian gently pushed the sliding door and peeked inside. Oh, yes it is still open. It's very cold this time of year so keeping the closed is essential.
And then began a few rounds of loud laughter. First from a very old lady with golden teeth (yup, definitely very old). And we joined in the laughter just to show we were not offended. But we had no idea what she was laughing about. The old lady was a customer and seemed to be having fun. She went over to help an even older lady (with a walking stick) who was trying to bring us four cups of water. She came over with the water, starting speaking Japanese and became hilarious all over.
We asked for English menu. They looked at us, puzzled. And then the old lady said “Ah, menu” and pointed outside as she started to walk out. Ah, then it dawn on us that there is a window display with those fake bowls or plates of food seen in most Japanese restaurant. With the middle-aged daughter (or in-law?) of the very old lady following we all proceeded outside to make our order.
My guess is they don’t get many foreign tourists popping in. It was old but clean (unlike the one in Yudanaka) probably because it is run by ladies (the one in Yunadaka had two very old men working in the kitchen and a very very old lady who sat watching the TV and did not turn to look at us the whole time we had our dinner). The food here was not bad.
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| The lady customer with the golden teeth who laughed a lot. |
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| Matching out to see the menu on display outside the shop |
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| Ordering from the menu |
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| There's the very old lady and younger daughter (or in-law), quite pleased to chat with my wife. |
After dinner, it was still very early but we had no idea where to go - it was too early to go back to the cramped apartment. We headed for the Kanazawa Station to while away the time. And to warm up from the chilling cold.
So, apart from laughing a lot at dinner, Kanazawa did not make a big impression on our first day.
We resolved to start the next day early to enjoy the cold sunshine at the famed Kenrokeun Garden, rated among the top 3 Japanese Garden (in Japan?). Kenrokeun did not disappoint us with the sun shining bright and remnants of fall colours still hanging on the maple trees.
{1:42 pm on the Limited Express to Kyoto- The middle-aged man behind me just spoke loudly telling off a couple of ladies who we chatting and laughing too loudly. The two ladies obediently quietened down speaking in whispers. The Japanese are quite fastidious about keeping the quiet on trains. They seems to have developed a low tolerance for noise on trains.}
The garden was beautiful despite the grass having turned a little brown or yellow.
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| Kenrokeun |
After about 2 hours of leisurely stroll in the park, we headed out to hunt for lunch. This time we just walked the streets outside the garden, looking for prospects. We spotted a shop from across the street which looked promising. It turned out to be a good choice (I would say good feng shui), another one of those family run businesses (there’s always an old lady involved, with a daughter also around but we don’t see who’s cooking in the back). This one because of its proximity to a major tourist attraction was prepared for foreign customers and had pictures of food items displayed throughout the restaurant. The food was good. And cheap.
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| Kenrokeun has abundance of pine trees (neagari matsu) which are supported by ropes to prevent the branches from snapping during heavy snowfall. |
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| The grass turned brown - winter is coming |
After lunch, we headed for the opposite side of Kenrokeun which is the Kanazawa Castle Park. Firstly, there is no castle. It was burnt down years ago. But the park is huge and free (Kenrokeun entrance is only 310 yen) and has some nice spots for photographs. This was followed by very good hand-drip coffee just outside the park with some nice cakes.
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| Beautiful colours in the park at the castle grounds |
After coffee, we were energised for another long walk, this time to the samurai district which is quite lovely. Randomly walking down the narrow streets we ended up at a shopping complex which seemed to be along a main shopping street. The previous night, we could not figure out where to go but here we are smack in the shopping area, which also had a higher number of food outlets.
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| We take coffee breaks every afternoon to reenergise. |
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| High Ball ... |
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| ... at the yakitori shop. |
This morning we woke up early, had some bread and coffee and walked to the Omicho Market (about 8 minutes away) heading for seafood. Based on googlemap recommendation, we selected the MoriMori Sushi Bar (rated 4.1). And we were suitably impressed. Damn good sushi.
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| The sushi was so ... |
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| ... good! |
So, there you have it, what to do in Kanazawa in 2 nights. It seems that it is only one of the cities in Japan which still has a samurai district. We met a few ancient looking people and had lots of laughs but no one waving a long sword.
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| Japan has a very high number of very old people. Samurai District. |
Will I come back again? Probably not. Not like what keeps us going back to Kyoto.
[Near Takashima, 2:07 pm, another 30 minutes to Kyoto]
Published at the apartment with the Kyoto Imperial Palace as a neightbour. This one is maybe three times the size of the Kanazawa apartment and cost only slightly more. I think the Kanazawa apartment owner should be forthright is declaring it size and setting the limit to two persons.
More photos on googlealbum Kanazawa 2017
Main Page Japan 5.0
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