KANAZAWA: Days 12 & 13

KANAZAWA

Kanazawa is a great example of one of the best-preserved major Edo-period cities in Japan. It maintains areas that display the history of Samurai, merchants, geisha, and ruling lords. There is even a “ninja temple” here. Kanazawa is part of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network as a city of Crafts and Folk Art. As a coastal town the local cuisine is also famous for its fresh seafood.

One generally enters the city from Kanazawa Station and is greeted by a wonderful glass and steel entranceway fronted by a modern version of a welcoming torii gate.

There is also a circular bus system, which will carry one to the major attractions of the city. On our first night here we wandered the back streets and alleyways around the station and found a great little stall where a woman was preparing takoyaki, a kind of dumpling cooked into a round ball containing seafood and dressed in a brown sauce, green onion, and mayonnaise. I photographed the following collection: "One Small Street" on one night with my wide angle lens. As the title suggests, it depicts several interesting shop fronts at night in one small alley.

Making takoyaki

ONE SMALL STREET

The next day we took the bus to the well-preserved geisha district of Higashi-Chaya. It was lovely to walk around and explore the area of wooden teahouses, and original geisha houses, many of which have been converted into shops selling a variety of well-made crafts and gourmet items.

We stopped at one of the less traditional teahouses for a more informal green powdered macha tea and a sweet.

Walking through the city was more relaxed than the big city of Tokyo. We made our way to the Omi-cho market, a lively covered market with seafood, fruits, and vegetables predominating. We found some snack foods of dried sweet mangoes and some delightful crackers. 

That night we chanced upon a wonderful sushi restaurant and were the only customers, thus receiving closely focused service. The variety of raw fish was great to try.

On our second day we visited the 21^st Century Museum of Art, a stunning circular glass structure. There was a major change of exhibits happening which meant that half of the museum was closed down. We were able to see an exhibit of the ways that architects responded to recent earthquake and tsunami disasters in trying to build community, rebuild homes and honor those who had experienced the devastation. The museum is also famous for its Leandro Erlich “Swimming Pool 2004.”

Nearby is one of the greatest gardens in Japan and one of the highlights of Kanazawa – the Kenroku-en Gardens. It spread over 25 acres and includes an ancient teahouse, small waterfalls, a view of the city, and a villa. There is also a monument to the great Haiku poet Basho. 

One of my favorite Basho haikus:

The temple bell stops,

But the sound still resounds

Out of the flowers

The name Kenroku-en literally means “Garden of the Six Sublimities,” referring to spaciousness, seclusion, artificiality, abundant water, and broad views, which according to Chinese landscape theory are the six essential attributes that make up a perfect garden.

Close to the gardens is the regional Arts and Crafts Museum which gave us a great overview of some of the work of local artisans including gold leaf, lacquering, wood-turning, silk and textile making, pottery, and paper making.

Heading toward home we came across the Oyama-jinja shrine. We were happy to explore a quiet temple complex built on a serene pond. This soothed our souls and refreshed us in preparation for our walk home.

That evening we once again chanced upon a restaurant, which served us a great eclectic meal including a raw salmon salad and a pasta seafood dish. Oh!...and tea and dessert, of course.