Kanazawa

 I’m not sure if Kanazawa is on most travel itineraries but it should be.  It’s compact enough you could walk between sites and it has plenty of history to keep you entertained.

Our day started with our new guide for our stay here.  Our day had a mixture of  art and history.  First the history.  Kanazawa was the home to the family Mazda which was the second most powerful family in Japan during the Edo period behind the Shogun.  Because of their fear of being invaded by the Shogun a large moat system was installed around their residence to keep the invaders out.  You can still see this even today although fires have destroyed many of the historic buildings.

We visited the area where the middle level samurai lived.  consisting of small narrow streets, the area is now a mixture of residential and retail but you do get a feeling for what life might have been like.  We visited gardens at a workshop where artisans are currently trained.  Japanese value moss more than flowers which was displayed here with a stone pathway installed to keep visitors from crushing the moss.  Their gardens are all very peaceful and organic.

We visited a house that would had been very much like one a samurai would have lived in.  Be forewarned if you ever visit Japan that you’ll be removing your shoes to visit most historic places.  The houses seem narrow from the front because this was how they were taxed but extended into the back to make them larger.  Most houses would have contained a shrine that the family would have used to talk to their relatives and remember them.  To this day these are being passed down from generation to generation.

Our next visit was to the large 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art.  The art starts with several installations on the lawns surrounding the building.  One of the first installations you encounter on entering is the most popular swimming pool in the city.  this is because it’s really a shallow pool with a glass bottom that makes it appear that there are people walking around on the bottom.  To enter the bottom you must purchase tickets the day of your visit.  The museum continues with this playful attitude with many different galleries.  One of the last rooms we visited was a square room with a big square opening in the center to the sky.  today was perfect because we had blue skies and big puffy clouds quickly moving by to give it almost a motion picture feel. One more installation before your exit was a row of rocking chairs looking out at a sculpture of a man with a measuring stick conceptually measuring the clouds.  Fun!

For lunch we visited a ramen restaurant that has locations throughout Japan and even in other countries.  You ordered using a iPad like tablet choosing between noodle styles, noodle doneness, toppings and spice level.  They also had gyoza that were small but very delicious.

After lunch we visited a very small traditional craft museum.  Kanazawa is known for its Kutani pottery which is brightly painted and glazed.  They have been making this for centuries here and the museum displays pieces from throughout history.  There was also a display of lacquered saddles from the Edo period.

Our final visit was the Geisha district.  There are 36 remaining geisha in Kanazawa although your chances of seeing one in the streets especially during the day are rare.  There’s a shop where you can rent kimonos the have you photo taken in this district.  Several long narrow streets make up the area where the tea houses where the geisha entertain and also house shops.  One of the more popular ones is an ice cream shop where gold leaf is applied to the ice cream as a novelty.  Almost all of the gold leaf in Japan is made here in Kanazawa because it is a humid region.  Almost half of the days have rain and the gold leaf is easier to produce if it’s not in a dry area.

We visited an example of a geisha house where you can walk through and see how the men are entertained with song and dances.  The rooms are small and meant for only a few guests at a time.  Tatami mats cover the floors where you would sit and be entertained along with food and sake.  

We capped off our day of touring with a tea tasting.  Our host explained the different teas we sampled going from a match to a tea that you only drink the first few drops.  It was interesting and makes you realize that the way Americans drink tea is a little crude.

With no big dinner plans I paid a visit to the large shopping mall adjacent to the train station.  A large Pokémon store was my ultimate destination to buy a few souvenirs for my grandson.  Another dinner of 7Eleven egg salad was enough to cap off my evening.

Tomorrow: Back out into the country