Japanese breakfast is clearly a motivation to drag one's self off of the futon, even if one woke up at 3:30 am, answered some Whatsapp messages and emails, then went back to sleep again about 2 hours later. In traditional Japanese inns you can usually choose between two breakfast times: 7:30 and 8:00. We decided to sleep in and make 8:00 our standard breakfast time. It's also a good time to think about what to do for the day, beginning with the most important thing: food! Speaking of which:
Breakfast room
Breakfast
The ABTS tour was next (Another Bloody Temple and Shrine). A bit nippy this morning, but that won't deter some serious tourists like us. A steep hill won't either, even though that walk was accompanied by some muttered curses on my side. We found some beautiful and peaceful areas on this walk. We also found one of the rarest sights in Japan: a piece of trash, carelessly tossed into the gutter. Japan is so unbelievably clean, that we stood in amazement at the side of the gutter, staring at the trash in disbelief, wondering how such an atrocious act could even have occurred. Then I took my phone out and photographed it from all sides, never knowing when we'd see such a rare sight again!
Trash!
Side of the mountain bolted in
Let the climb begin!
Lynda risked her life for this one-no sidewalks, narrow road & drivers coming around the curve at high speed
Next stop: Higashi Chaya District--the old geisha and tea house area of Kanazawa, bordering right on our minshuku. On the way down the hill from the temples and shrines we found a few restaurants off of the beaten path from which a distinct garlic odor emanated and filled the street. We knew where we were going to eat tonight!
Charging station for electric cars
Kanazawa is famous for its gold leaf and lacquerware, both of which were plentiful in Higashi Chaya. Lotion with gold leaf flakes, gold leaf eye masks, gold leaf chocolate, gold leaf trinkets, gold leaf everything. Yes, it's a tourist trap, but rightfully so; very beautiful old houses. We are going to take a guided tour there on Monday, so more about that then.
Time to do what we do best: eat! Found a nice restaurant by the river which had a menu with pictures displayed outside. Makes things easier when all you have to do is point, nod, and say thank you a few hundred times. We were told to take our shoes off in the foyer, then headed upstairs into a tatami room with 4 tables. They had two lunch options: the big portion and the small portion. We opted for the small portion, knowing we were going to stuff ourselves tonight at the garlic place. The small portion turned out to be not so small, it was very delicious and the people watching was perfect!
Next stop: castle park and a "casual" tea ceremony, provided by kimono-clad ladies at the tea house at Gyokusen-en Garden. We had originally booked a one-hour, English explained tea ceremony for Friday, but I had to cancel due to my delayed flight. We couldn't get an alternate date, because they need two days to prepare and we couldn't do it Sunday or Monday. The garden was so beautiful and peaceful that we stayed there for a while, just looking out the window.
The remnants of Kanazawa Castle
Tea house & view from the tea house
View of the mountains in the background
After exploring a few department stores (complete with cell phone charging stations), we boarded the so-called light bus for an evening tour through the city, featuring lit up buildings. There were lots of tourists on board, but only 3 gaijin (2 of those being us); everyone else was Japanese. We noticed that at all of the other attractions as well. Kanazawa is rather undiscovered by Western tourists.
Lit up entrance to the market
Outside & inside a department store at Kanazawa Station. The writing was at the German Bakery and is supposed to resemble German, but really makes no sense.
Finally, it was time to follow the garlic smell! We walked up the hill and into a teppanyaki restaurant. Not the kind where some goofy chef chef throws a steak into the air and catches it with his hat, but a real one.
After not understanding the hostess, her motioning to us to follow her, then us standing around, not knowing what to do and her finally motioning us to sit on a bench and wait, we did just that. A few guests left and we were seated at the counter, in front of a chef who was clearly less than thrilled to deal with a pair of gaijin chicks who obviously didn't know anything. After we made a menu choice he didn't approve of (we wanted Australian instead of the Japanese beef, because it was about half the price; c'mon man--gotta spend my money on expensive green tea, not on dead cow) and Lynda asking if tenderloin or sirloin was leaner, he turned to his colleagues, told them something, they all took a good look at us and communally snickered. Lynda wanted to leave, but I said it didn't matter. They could make fun of us, but in the end HE was the one cooking for US. And it's not like he could spit in our food or anything, because believe me, I was watching!
Lynda ordered Japanese beer and I ordered sake, which made the chef a little nicer. Then he commented on how well we were using chopsticks. Then we became best friends. We asked him some questions about his food, and he asked questions about our trip and we told him how cool his town is. Mind you, this was not a conversation, but happened with the help of a translation app on his phone, him writing stuff down, summoning a waiter who knew a bit of English, hand gestures and a few words understood by both sides in both languages. In the end I don't think he regretted having to cook for two barbarians right before the end of his shift and we didn't regret having been the laughing stock for the chef clique. Especially since during our meal a few guys, who looked like members of a boy band, came in. One was wearing plush, tiger-striped MC Hammer pants with the matching hoodie and had wild hair. Nobody laughed at themguess they just weren't special enough.
Breakfast room
Breakfast
The ABTS tour was next (Another Bloody Temple and Shrine). A bit nippy this morning, but that won't deter some serious tourists like us. A steep hill won't either, even though that walk was accompanied by some muttered curses on my side. We found some beautiful and peaceful areas on this walk. We also found one of the rarest sights in Japan: a piece of trash, carelessly tossed into the gutter. Japan is so unbelievably clean, that we stood in amazement at the side of the gutter, staring at the trash in disbelief, wondering how such an atrocious act could even have occurred. Then I took my phone out and photographed it from all sides, never knowing when we'd see such a rare sight again!
Trash!
Side of the mountain bolted in
Let the climb begin!
Lynda risked her life for this one-no sidewalks, narrow road & drivers coming around the curve at high speed
Next stop: Higashi Chaya District--the old geisha and tea house area of Kanazawa, bordering right on our minshuku. On the way down the hill from the temples and shrines we found a few restaurants off of the beaten path from which a distinct garlic odor emanated and filled the street. We knew where we were going to eat tonight!
Charging station for electric cars
Kanazawa is famous for its gold leaf and lacquerware, both of which were plentiful in Higashi Chaya. Lotion with gold leaf flakes, gold leaf eye masks, gold leaf chocolate, gold leaf trinkets, gold leaf everything. Yes, it's a tourist trap, but rightfully so; very beautiful old houses. We are going to take a guided tour there on Monday, so more about that then.
Time to do what we do best: eat! Found a nice restaurant by the river which had a menu with pictures displayed outside. Makes things easier when all you have to do is point, nod, and say thank you a few hundred times. We were told to take our shoes off in the foyer, then headed upstairs into a tatami room with 4 tables. They had two lunch options: the big portion and the small portion. We opted for the small portion, knowing we were going to stuff ourselves tonight at the garlic place. The small portion turned out to be not so small, it was very delicious and the people watching was perfect!
Next stop: castle park and a "casual" tea ceremony, provided by kimono-clad ladies at the tea house at Gyokusen-en Garden. We had originally booked a one-hour, English explained tea ceremony for Friday, but I had to cancel due to my delayed flight. We couldn't get an alternate date, because they need two days to prepare and we couldn't do it Sunday or Monday. The garden was so beautiful and peaceful that we stayed there for a while, just looking out the window.
The remnants of Kanazawa Castle
Tea house & view from the tea house
View of the mountains in the background
After exploring a few department stores (complete with cell phone charging stations), we boarded the so-called light bus for an evening tour through the city, featuring lit up buildings. There were lots of tourists on board, but only 3 gaijin (2 of those being us); everyone else was Japanese. We noticed that at all of the other attractions as well. Kanazawa is rather undiscovered by Western tourists.
Lit up entrance to the market
Outside & inside a department store at Kanazawa Station. The writing was at the German Bakery and is supposed to resemble German, but really makes no sense.
Finally, it was time to follow the garlic smell! We walked up the hill and into a teppanyaki restaurant. Not the kind where some goofy chef chef throws a steak into the air and catches it with his hat, but a real one.
After not understanding the hostess, her motioning to us to follow her, then us standing around, not knowing what to do and her finally motioning us to sit on a bench and wait, we did just that. A few guests left and we were seated at the counter, in front of a chef who was clearly less than thrilled to deal with a pair of gaijin chicks who obviously didn't know anything. After we made a menu choice he didn't approve of (we wanted Australian instead of the Japanese beef, because it was about half the price; c'mon man--
Lynda ordered Japanese beer and I ordered sake, which made the chef a little nicer. Then he commented on how well we were using chopsticks. Then we became best friends. We asked him some questions about his food, and he asked questions about our trip and we told him how cool his town is. Mind you, this was not a conversation, but happened with the help of a translation app on his phone, him writing stuff down, summoning a waiter who knew a bit of English, hand gestures and a few words understood by both sides in both languages. In the end I don't think he regretted having to cook for two barbarians right before the end of his shift and we didn't regret having been the laughing stock for the chef clique. Especially since during our meal a few guys, who looked like members of a boy band, came in. One was wearing plush, tiger-striped MC Hammer pants with the matching hoodie and had wild hair. Nobody laughed at them
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