We opted to pay for the breakfast at the Ryokan this morning
Kanazawa was a regional hub for the area in the time of the daimyo. This meant an elaborate castle and gardens was the center attraction. We walked the grounds. It was kinda quiet, which I liked, but it would be nice to see it in full bloom. I should say that we came to Japan about 2 weeks before the cherry blossom season. It is beautiful then, as well as in the color changes of November, but it is also ridiculously crowded. I always opt for less crowds at the expense of visual spectacles.
After our brief tour we boarded a bus to the remote village of Shirakawa Go.
It is full of thatched roofs and I guess a glimpse of Japan hundreds of years ago. After about a 2 hour bus ride we were dropped off at the village. We gained about 4 or 5 thousand feet of elevation so snow was on the ground but the temps were actually not that bad.
We wandered the streets a bit trying to get our bearings. Eventually we found the homestay we reserved. I thought it would be nice to buy a bottle of wine for the family. As it turns out it wasn’t exactly a homestay per say, more of 5 room B & B. So I did not feel the bottle of wine was appropriate, meaning we drank it outside of our place as we watched the sunset. Before that we had walked the town and even took a shuttle up to a view point of the area.
We went back inside to wait for the dinner bell. In these places they often do not put out the beds till after dinner. So we basically just sat on the floor for an hour in our fancy clothes
A couple more shots of our sunset spot right outside.
We heard the knock and headed of to dinner in the main room. There is a narrow hall with 3 paper-walled bedrooms on each side. Each couple emerged and headed to the main room.
We enjoyed our quiet meal. It was kinda odd as none of the couple spoke to one and other. Except for a guy telling Amy to relax as she had not mastered the art of sitting cross-legged and not giving people across a free show. I only mastered it because I was unconcerned about the spectacle I was presenting.
We slept well.
The next day we walked a bit more on our way to the bus for our trip to Takayama
Takayama was a stop on our way back to Tokyo. It is famous for its semiannual festivals where they wheel out these elaborate floats. We were not lucky enough to hit that, but we were there for the Sake festival. And we also had a great experience at our ryokan/hotel
We dropped our bags off and hit the morning market
A portion of the Old World area was amazing. All the businesses were all wood exteriors and just a simple presentation.
Now we got into the Sake factories. They had a deal going that you pay something like 500 Yen and you get a ceramic cup to try any of their Sake. I was all for it. It would have been taken advantage of in the US but here people did not overconsume. I helped to balance the average by overconsuming.
We headed back to lodging. I forget to mention 2 things. When we were in the pouring rain in Kanazawa a lady handed us her umbrella before getting on a bus. And similarly, on the subway a 10 year old boy got up and gave me his seat. Amy said he was just being respectful to an old person, but these acts of kindness really stood out. It was pretty funny cause as the boy left the subway he turned and bowed to us. How could you not love this place?!
More Sake factories!
One the way back we stopped at some government building. We thought it was a sake factory at first, so we had to do with just cultural experiences without the libations.
some torture devices
Throughout the city, they store the floats used for festivals.
After a bath, our place, which was a cross between a ryokan and a hotel, gave us some traditional outerware. First off, I was skeptical that this place was so large, but they really did a great job of making it feel small and personal. No one else was wearing the clothes offered but we had some sake in us so why not!
They even brought a lady up to help Amy put the kimono on. They even went out with us to take pictures.
We then walked the city on a photoshoot
We stumbled into a bar and talked up the bartender/owner. He did a good job of not laughing at our getup
We went back to the ryokan and changed into our regular clothes for dinner. Kinda funny that we ran into an English couple on the street that saw us earlier in our Japanese outfits and did not recognize us.
We got kicked out of a couple restaurants because they said they were full, but probably just because we were Americans and did not want to deal with the translation, which I was ok with. We eventually found a decent spot
The next day we headed back to Tokyo and our original hotel. Here is a shot of Mt Fuji on the way back
We spent the day seeing the palace grounds
As well as hitting the local buffet
I thought it was disgusting but Amy seems to think it is good food for some reason.
We had an early night again. We had plans to get out and enjoy the nightlife as we were staying right in the red light district. We were also right next to the Golden Gai district where a bunch of shady bars are crammed together where people drink heavily till 8am, but we always crash early. The next day we saw the aftermath of people passed out in alleys and stumbling around
This is the famous robot restaurant. The thrill is lost on me
Our final morning we headed back to the Noodle shop were it all began for us on day one. Amy was disappointed cause they did not recognize us
The fish market was completely different from how we say it on day one in the dark at 5 am. It was slammed with tourists and I could not get out of there fast enough
We walked a park and even caught a ferry to some beach oasis village.
We finally used our pass to take the speed shuttle to the airport. And the smartest thing we ever did on the trip? Paying for private shower/bathrooms at airport before our 12 hour flight. What a difference a shower makes before a long flight. It was a pretty quick and were back on US soil and after only 2 hours at immigration and customs we were back in the D.
What a trip. Not only did we get to see the real side of Japan through the Ryokans and restaurants but we did not kill each other. A success that should not be understated. As you know I am normally a solo traveler and Amy has not done long trips with significant others so it was nice to know that we were good travel companions. Both appreciating the simpler side of experiencing a local culture and not getting too bent out of shape by the delays and issues that come up with such a demanding itinerary that I create!
Until next Time,
Darren
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