Japan - Kanazawa

Saturday, September 20, 2025

Rode the bus back to Tokyo. 

We went to the Tokyo train station. It is a mixture of old and new.

We bought lunch for the train at the station. Rode the bullet train to Kanazawa. Ate our lunch on the train. Tim had a speed app on the phone and clocked the train at 160 mph. It may have gone faster through the tunnels. Almost half the trip is through tunnels. Japan has many mountains. The population centers are located in the flat areas and are very crowded. We had a large room, with an angled view towards the street behind the hotel.

We walked to a department store in Kanazawa to each at a restaurant in the basement. Good sushi. Good sushi. We shared more of our personal history with Remi and Dick. Remi had the initial impression that Tim was still a juggler. She learned more of Tim's history at the dinner.

The group went to an ice cream stand after dinner and then headed back to the hotel. We stayed behind to buy some dried mango. By the time we left, it was late. The escalators had stopped. We went out a stairway, but it was on the wrong side of the building. We went back into the basement and found the correct stairs and exit. The store was closing. We got drenched on the walk back to the hotel. We watched the world track championship and sumo on the TV.

Sunday, September 21, 2025

Kanazawa is known for its Kenrokuen Garden. Remi explained that it harmoniously combines six ideal attributes of a perfect landscape: spaciousness, seclusion, artifice, antiquity, watercourses, and panoramas.

It has large, ancient trees; trees that have been manipulated to like a crane; an island that has added features that make it resemble a turtle. 

There are wide open spaces with broad views.

A path that looks like flying geese and a path that is closed. A stone in the middle of a path means path close. No need for ugly barricades and warnings.

A radio tower that was used to house radio speakers so people could gather and hear the news, before personal radios were possible.

Quiet locations with water features.

They prop trees with poles so the snow does not overburden them in the winter.

A maple tree, a tree supported by cables and a self-pressured fountain.

A memorial for fallen soldiers and for a feudal lord.

The group met a couple who were celebrating there marriage. They wanted to be in a group photo with us.

We walked across a bridge over a roadway to the Kanazawa Castle. The walls are original, but the grounds have been redesigned. 
The inside of the wall had slots for shooting arrows. The inner showed how the wall was constructed. The door was very sturdy.

The edges of the rooves had symbols of the emperor and guards had quarters next to the gate.

The walls and moat were impressive.

The grounds have changed over time. Until 1995, it was the main campus for Kanazawa University. Now it is a park and buildings are being restored to their original location and style.

On the way out of the castle, a couple was coming in with an infant. The couple was vary glad to see us and wanted a photo. The child was very happy until the Dad gave the child to Tim, at which point the child began to bawl. Photo taken just after giving child back to Dad.

Afterwards, we were dropped at the Omicho Market to buy snacks to be shared by all. We broke into groups and wandered through the stalls looking for something to eat that we could share. Our group bought cookies and chocolate. We stood at a table outside the market and shared our discoveries.

We walked along a river and over a bridge towards the tea house (geisha) district. The district is a block of buildings with a few streets within. It still has geisha houses. Along the way, we passed a house with a tanuki figurine (raccoon dog) outside the door for good fortune.

Some have shows for tourists and some are private and do not have any advertising for the public. 

Places that sell sake will hang a cedar ball to indicate that a fresh batch of sake is ready. Other stores hand fried corn to fend off evil spirits and indicate a prosperous business.

Other shops sell items for tourists. We looked at a pottery shop and bought a big cookie with bean paste from a baker.

For lunch, we dined at a restaurant that used to be a bank. The wine cellar is the old vault. We had grilled salmon and miso soup. Green tea jelly was for dessert.

We went to the gold leaf place and made postcards. The entrance displayed gold leaf armor. A worker was pounding and pounding a pounding a sheaf of gold leave. Another worked peeled the leaf from the sheaf.

Tim had several emergency trips to the WC. Either the cookie or the lunch didn't agree with him. He left his postcard in the WC. Bobbi still has her postcard. We weren't confident that we would enjoy the bus ride home. 

Dinner was on our own. The rest of the group went for pasta and pizza with Remi. We opted to try a gluten free restaurant close to the hotel. 

It was recommended to make reservations, but we just walked over. It was 5 minutes from the hotel. The door was locked, but people were inside eating. 

The chef came to the door and communicated "how many" and we indicated ourselves. He let us in. 

There were 5 tables and maybe two stools at a counter. The kitchen was on the other side of the counter. The entire restaurant was less then 200 square feet. We ordered tofu and vegetables.

At some point, the Japanese toilets have to be explained. Years ago, a Japanese toilet meant that you squatted. Now, a Japanese toilet means you are pampered. Almost every toilet in Japan is a bidet for front and back. We are behind the times in the USA.

Monday, September 22

Drove to Gokayama, a UNESCO World Heritage site. The village was isolated and developed its own housing style. The area has a lot of snowfall every year.

We had an overview of the entire village after a short walk up a hill.

We walked around the city. It only had two streets. We bought some rice cakes for a snack at a little store on the main street. We walked by an ancient cemetery and passed the shrine for the protection of the city, Jinushi. Even the manhole covers were fancy.

We left Gokayama and went to the Washi no Sato center, housed in a former elementary school.

First, we learned to make mochi. It requires a lot of beating with a mallet. We all had a turn to wear a happy coat and pound the mochi. Afterward, we ate the mochi.

Second, we learned to make washi paper. This is the paper that you see in Japanese paper walls.

Lunch was in a small restaurant with groups of four at each table. Our "table" was a counter that wrapped around a wall. We ate with Frank and Donna. Donna and Tim couldn't see each other.

The cars in Japan are smaller than our smallest cars.

Next stop was a 300 year old house.

The inside had tatami rooms. One room had a fire pit.

Outside was a koi pond and forested area.

Inside, we were treated to a ceremony consisting of a song, dance and traditional instrument.

Afterwards, we had a tour of the house, up into the second and third floors. The third floor gave us qualms as we walked across it.

The house had interesting and ancient wood carvings.

The house had a small gift shop where we bought some tea towels for gifts. We almost left them behind. Donna saved the day. She found them in the restroom, just as we were to leave on the bus.

That night was dinner on our own. Remi invited a group of us to her favorite sushi restaurant for omekase, chef's choice. We sat at the bar. The chef wiped the counter and placed our dishes there. Many courses: flounder, amago (sea eel), roe, local fish, ribbed something and a few more. Delicious. We ordered an extra eel. Miso soup and green tea. All for about $45.

Tuesday, September 23, Morning

Home hosted visit today. Small groups went to different houses. We went by ourselves by taxi to our hosts house. We sat in the living room and exchanged gifts. We brought some snacks from Lawsons, they gave us lovely chopsticks. They showed us a map of Japan and the places we had visited. They showed us a map of US and we pinpointed our location.

Very compact, pull-out drawers. 

Four section refrigerator, with two freezers. One freezer for quick freezing. The lowest section was for vegetables.

They brought us to the tatami room. It has there in-house shrine and some memorabilia, and it is where he does calligraphy, as meditation. 

The host taught us how to draw Wa (peace). We could sense that the process was very meaningful to him. He prepares the ink by smoothing it for 10-15 minutes to start. Next, he grabs the brush very precisely and makes strokes with deliberation. We tried, but we were not as skilled. The hostess gave us encouragement.

We kept our calligraphy when we were done. Remi told us that the home hosts like do this so they have a chance to practice English.

Taxi to train station. We ate lunch in the train station. Very busy lunch room, but we had reserved tables. There was a long walk to the restrooms.