Day 16 – Kanazawa

Our visit to Kanazawa started with a visit to the Kenrokuen garden.  Kenrokuen has the reputation of being one of the finest gardens in Japan, and it didn’t disappoint.  It was absolutely fantastic.  It is relatively large, at about 28 acres.  And it is very well cared for. Each new corner brought more beauty.  Don’t miss this garden.

Next, we went to the crafts center, which was simply fantastic.  Many beautiful items, some of which were for sale.  They had a special exhibit of monsters from a Japanese TV Series of the sixties, all done in glass or pottery.  Very interesting.

We also visited the Sosoan villa, built for the local leader’s mother. It was quite interesting; unfortunately, they made me put my camera in a locker and didn’t allow photographs.

Next, we had lunch at a little place that had a great view of the castle.  We never did get a chance to visit the castle.  After Hemeji, every other castle paled in comparison.

After lunch, we visited the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art in Kanazawa.  We didn’t really go inside, as it was expensive and the exhibits didn’t look that interesting.  However, we loved this color walk through sculpture (?) in front of the museum.  It used see through plastic in primary colors, and as you moved through it, you could see how the primary colors mixed to produce secondary colors.  How clever!

We then went back to the room for a nap, then out to the old district of Kanazawa, the Higashi Chaya district, where we visited the most famous Geisha house, Shima, It was not only interesting for its depiction of the life of the Geishas, but also for the wonderful tearoom inside.  Both Ann and I had tea there.

Next, we visited one of the many stores specializing in gold foil.  They had an entire room covered with gold foil.

That evening, we tried to eat at a restaurant called Kona, which is a okonomiyaki place, Unfortunately, without reservations, they didn’t have room.  We had a lovely meal at the hotel.