Time to say goodbye to our Minshuku Ginmatsu! Lynda thought, when we had planned the trip, that 3 nights of historical sleeping were enough and we'd be ready for some luxury, so she booked us into the Hotel Nikko right at Kanazawa Station.
Other side of Kanazawa Station
Foyer of Hotel Nikko
We dropped off our bags there and headed to the station to grab some coffee before boarding a bus to Wajima, a coastal town 2 hours by bus from Kanazawa. We had planned to eat some sushi at a good restaurant there, explore some and then take the last bus back. But coffee first! Which better place to go than the German Bakery? We finally thought we needed to get to know our pastry nemesis up close and personal. "I want a pastry filled with red bean paste" said no German ever, but we let it slide, because it was actually quite tasty. If you can't beat 'em, join 'em!
The bus took us along the coastline which wasn't quite as clean as everything else in Japan.
In Wajima, we went to the tourist info to get some insider information on what to see. The nice young lady got out a tourist map (no street names) and circled some things for us. We asked about a good sushi restaurant and she circled that for us too, saying there are lots of Japanese restaurants around that area. They close at 1:30 and by then it was 12:45, so we had to hurry up and go eat first, but we didn't leave before buying a bus ticket to the Senmaida rice fields, which I read are a big attraction. The tourist info lady told us exactly where to go to find the restaurant, so off we went.
It soon became clear that there was one major problem: we couldn't identify the restaurant. Or any restaurant for that matter. If there is no English name on the building, or a menu outside, it is hard to know which business it houses if you can't see inside. A lot of the older houses have small sliding doors and slats, so you can't peek. The map had the English spelling, so we couldn't compare Kanji. After running around town and discovering that it really isn't that pretty, we settled for the only thing that was still open and looked inviting--a coffee shop which was also an art studio. Wajima is lacquerware central and there are lots of shops making and selling it.
Some of the buildings along the way. No idea what the Greek style building is.
Now we had to make a decision: take the bus to the rice fields, take the bus back and then wait another 2 hours in a dead town for the bus back to Kanazawa or cut our losses (meaning the $4.50 for the rice field bus) and take the early bus back to Kanazawa. Lynda suggested bussing to the rice fields and then taking a taxi back to Wajima Station in time to catch the big bus to Kanazawa, but I was wondering if there would be any taxis. Lynda said there of course would be taxis, because they're everywhere. Yeah--like that time in the back streets. When we were lost. And taking a cab was Plan B. Except there were no cabs. So we pulled up a picture of the rice fields on our cell phones (yes, the café had WiFi), took a good look and called it good!
We did want to visit the public foot bath house in town, but didn't have any towels. That problem was solved by taking the wet towelettes we got at the café (you get those in every restaurant when you order something), and scoring some paper towels in their bathroom. It was very relaxing sitting among the town folk there for the 10 minutes we had time, soaking our feet in the hot spring water and having my hair stroked by an ancient little eccentric lady who has obviously never seen blue hair before.
The foot bath house even has a little foot bath for pets.
Back in Kanazawa, we checked into our new, fancy sleeping place: Hotel Nikko. The room is very large for Japanese standards with a bit of luxury and a great view of Kanazawa. No toilet slippers necessary!
Tonight was the night to explore an izakaya, also known as a Japanese pub. Those are interesting, because you can get lots of different smaller portions of food for sharing. Cheap too, so you can go for it and eat until the doctor comes.
The one we went to was a busy, bustling place with people of all ages and walks of life--suit clad business men, young people out for a drink, old couples and 2 white ladies. There was a bell at the table one could ring for service, after which a waitress yelled something, after which a waiter came flying to take your order.
We had tempura (Tom: battered veg!), sushi, and fried tofu with crab. Anything that had eyes or resembled fish eggs or consisted of octopus arms, I ate. Everything else Lynda was game for. Too much food, some sake/beer and jetlag and bedtime sounded really good!
Other side of Kanazawa Station
Foyer of Hotel Nikko
We dropped off our bags there and headed to the station to grab some coffee before boarding a bus to Wajima, a coastal town 2 hours by bus from Kanazawa. We had planned to eat some sushi at a good restaurant there, explore some and then take the last bus back. But coffee first! Which better place to go than the German Bakery? We finally thought we needed to get to know our pastry nemesis up close and personal. "I want a pastry filled with red bean paste" said no German ever, but we let it slide, because it was actually quite tasty. If you can't beat 'em, join 'em!
The bus took us along the coastline which wasn't quite as clean as everything else in Japan.
In Wajima, we went to the tourist info to get some insider information on what to see. The nice young lady got out a tourist map (no street names) and circled some things for us. We asked about a good sushi restaurant and she circled that for us too, saying there are lots of Japanese restaurants around that area. They close at 1:30 and by then it was 12:45, so we had to hurry up and go eat first, but we didn't leave before buying a bus ticket to the Senmaida rice fields, which I read are a big attraction. The tourist info lady told us exactly where to go to find the restaurant, so off we went.
It soon became clear that there was one major problem: we couldn't identify the restaurant. Or any restaurant for that matter. If there is no English name on the building, or a menu outside, it is hard to know which business it houses if you can't see inside. A lot of the older houses have small sliding doors and slats, so you can't peek. The map had the English spelling, so we couldn't compare Kanji. After running around town and discovering that it really isn't that pretty, we settled for the only thing that was still open and looked inviting--a coffee shop which was also an art studio. Wajima is lacquerware central and there are lots of shops making and selling it.
Some of the buildings along the way. No idea what the Greek style building is.
Now we had to make a decision: take the bus to the rice fields, take the bus back and then wait another 2 hours in a dead town for the bus back to Kanazawa or cut our losses (meaning the $4.50 for the rice field bus) and take the early bus back to Kanazawa. Lynda suggested bussing to the rice fields and then taking a taxi back to Wajima Station in time to catch the big bus to Kanazawa, but I was wondering if there would be any taxis. Lynda said there of course would be taxis, because they're everywhere. Yeah--like that time in the back streets. When we were lost. And taking a cab was Plan B. Except there were no cabs. So we pulled up a picture of the rice fields on our cell phones (yes, the café had WiFi), took a good look and called it good!
We did want to visit the public foot bath house in town, but didn't have any towels. That problem was solved by taking the wet towelettes we got at the café (you get those in every restaurant when you order something), and scoring some paper towels in their bathroom. It was very relaxing sitting among the town folk there for the 10 minutes we had time, soaking our feet in the hot spring water and having my hair stroked by an ancient little eccentric lady who has obviously never seen blue hair before.
The foot bath house even has a little foot bath for pets.
Back in Kanazawa, we checked into our new, fancy sleeping place: Hotel Nikko. The room is very large for Japanese standards with a bit of luxury and a great view of Kanazawa. No toilet slippers necessary!
Tonight was the night to explore an izakaya, also known as a Japanese pub. Those are interesting, because you can get lots of different smaller portions of food for sharing. Cheap too, so you can go for it and eat until the doctor comes.
The one we went to was a busy, bustling place with people of all ages and walks of life--suit clad business men, young people out for a drink, old couples and 2 white ladies. There was a bell at the table one could ring for service, after which a waitress yelled something, after which a waiter came flying to take your order.
We had tempura (Tom: battered veg!), sushi, and fried tofu with crab. Anything that had eyes or resembled fish eggs or consisted of octopus arms, I ate. Everything else Lynda was game for. Too much food, some sake/beer and jetlag and bedtime sounded really good!
All the food look too good!
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