Day 3 & 4: Kanazawa （金沢）

After meeting Chika & gang in Kyoto, my little research (chiefly Lonely Planet and Frommer's) brought me to Kanazawa, the capital city of Ishikawa Prefecture. I stayed for two nights (24, 25 March).


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Arrival: 24 March, 18:00
Departure: 26 March, 14:40

Weather (High/Low):
12/10, 晴れ (24th March)
17/4, 晴れ (25th March)

A little introduction from japan-guide:
During the Edo Period, Kanazawa was the seat of the Maeda clan, the second most powerful clan after the Tokugawa in terms of rice production and fief size. Accordingly, Kanazawa grew to become a town of great cultural achievements, rivaling Kyoto and Edo (Tokyo).

In World War Two, Kanazawa was Japan's second largest city (after Kyoto) to escape destruction by air raids. Consequently, parts of the old castle town, such as samurai, temple and pleasure districts, have survived in pretty good condition.


Some last shots of Kyoto before I leave on the 3 hour bus ride to Kanazawa.






Free hot tea dispensed at rest stops along the highway


The Sea of Japan (or so I think it's called)


Kanazawa at last (formed by cute mini water fountains)


Ultra-modern glassy JR Kanazawa station...


...with a Japanese touch of course


Scramble intersection in the city (Katamachi)


Pretty good gyoza teishoku for dinner at 餃子の王将




The cute loop bus that goes around the major sites in Kanazawa


Omicho Market, selling Kanazawans fresh seafood since the Edo Period




Lunch at Omicho Market - could hardly finish it as good as it was




Kanazawa Castle Park






One of the three best gardens in Japan - Kenrokuen






















Most people just hope to pass their exams




Kanazawa's Myoryuji Temple or ninja dera (ninja temple) is a fascinating amalgamation of traditional temple architecture, hidden doors, passageways, and hidden escape routes. Although the temple is often referred to as ninja dera, it is in fact not connected with ninjas at all (this does not stop local tour operators and shops from selling ninja trinkets). Local legend has it that the temple, with its hidden doors and passageways, was intended as a secret refuge for the local rulers in the case of an external threat.





Pictures weren't allowed, but there was an English guidebook that explained all the traps for the enemy should they attack the temple. See the paper lined steps in the picture above? They would alert the people within the temple and give them chances to stab the enemy (in the foot?) should they be climbing those stairs.
There were also quite a few more cool sliding doors and trapdoors within the 5 storey high temple, which was made to LOOK like it was only 3 storeys high (as decreed by the shogun or something).


Love Japan and its rivers! We need more in Singapore so that we can laze by the side of one should we ever feel the need to.



Nagamachi "Samurai" District, where houses of former samurai are preserved. The place is really clean and pristine, with small streams running through the fronts of the houses. I'd like a stream to run through the front of my house next time!






Some of the houses are now chic boutiques


We all know Shibuya 109 - here's Korinbo 109





Stopped by a teahouse for anmitsu (which I still crave for in Tokyo now!)


Had a late dinner back at Omicho market for fresh sushi which was closing (it was only 7.45pm)


One of my faves - amaebi


In short, Kanazawa is an amazing city where the brand new coexists (brand new shopping complexes - Forus, 109) with the traditional (Kenrokuen, Nagamachi and geisha districts) - and was actually cleaner (however possible that could be) than the other cities I'd visit later. It could just be the spanking modern station and shopping streets that impressed me, but I liked Kanazawa for what it is. The weather then was pretty good too (significantly colder than in Kyoto) but it would get unexpectedly much colder as my trip went on.

No internet so using a shared PC at the minshuku front, just to say Im fine in Takayama! Freezing temperatures though... Been having Hida beef (area speciality) and chewy rice dango.

Shoutouts replied!

Just replied to all of you (hopefully I didn't miss anyone out), scroll through to find yours!

Funny TV at night - some random things I saw and remembered:

Japanese celebrities struggling with their English (half couldn't spell "bird" - they spelled "bard" and "berd" instead) may seem expected but it was still hilarious!

Kimura Takuya in new back-to-back "I will give you Gatsby" adverts where he dances and sprays himself with hair spray.

Hongwei!! They're showing "Proposal Daisakusen" too! Last episode I think it was.

Kyoto Day 1

On the 4-hour-20-min JR bus ride to Kanazawa as I make my first overdue entry. My nose held up surprisingly well (so far) in the cold weather, so I’m hoping it stays that way. My lips and skin are all succumbing to the dry weather though. A sign along the highway shows the temperature at a chilly 11 degrees (at 3pm). Bare trees line the roads – a sign that winter had yet to end. Hills and mountains rise up over towns everywhere I pass, while farms and rivers cross the pristine landscape. Just stopped at a rest point along the highway where I sampled some beef-flavoured crackers (?!) and free green tea... So I'm doing fine - hope all of you are well too!

Thank you for all the chatterbox shoutouts! I'll reply as soon as I can. (You can't imagine how long I'm taking to upload and arrange and attach photos to the blog. If anyone knows of a better and faster way please let me know!) I'd also like to upload more photos if there's an easier way...

Anyway, this is for sort of for my own record too, so if you’re not into the ranting and unnecessary details, just skip to the photos =)

Day 1: Kyoto (24 March 2008)

Temp: 19 deg/6, Fair

(Map) Kansai Airport->Kyoto Station (113 km, 1 hour 45 mins)

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Arigatou again to all who sent me off at the airport!

The flight left on time and felt surprisingly less cramped and more spacious than the previous flights that I had taken to Japan (probably because of the 2-3-2 configuration on the Osaka flight compared to the 3-4-3 one to Tokyo).

At the airport, the first thing to hit me was the fresh, cold air! And also that I had to stand on the right on escalators (an Osaka thing). Got through immigrations quicker than I expected (less than ten minutes – including the now-compulsory fingerprinting) and went straight to buy my bus ticket to Kyoto Station (2300yen), dumping my luggage in a queue of luggage that had already formed before checking out the unexciting arrival area a bit.

The bus left at 8:00 on the dot (as do all buses and trains here) but I arrived half an hour late at Kyoto due to heavy traffic. Thank god for Chika who surprised me by waiting at the alighting area, beacuse I was to find out for myself that I probably wouldn’t have made it to the hotel on my own – Kyoto Station is a huge underground maze! We waited for Miya at in front of the JR entrance before proceeding to leave my luggage at my hotel (3 min away on foot).

Okay based on my previous visit, I didn't expect Kyoto to be so CROWDED - it was not unlike Orchard Road during Christmas! Weekend sightseeing crowd?

We headed straight for Ginkakuji (500yen admission), which was unfortunately undergoing “maintenance and repair works” (all we saw of the silver pavilion was it being covered in construction work) so we strolled around the garden area (with the Zen raked gardens) and the other smaller shrines. We passed the Path of Philosophy, which would look a lot prettier if the cherry blossoms had bloomed.

senbei shop along the way. yummy.

Sho met us at the Hankyu station before we went for an obanzai lunch (880 yen), which I’d say is similar to our cai fan – choose three dishes to go with rice, pickles and miso soup. It was good, filling and healthy.

Walking past rows of shops selling souvenirs and food (tsukemono – pickles, high-end umeboshi, etc.) and entering some for free samples, we made our way to Asaka-jinja and Chion-in, before taking the bus back to Kyoto station to check out the denshijisho (electric dictionary) available at Bic Camera. The cooler and more expensive ones (40,000yen~) allowed you to watch TV and write kanji with a stylus, but I decided on getting one online (if I were to get one) instead as it’d be cheaper (at the advice of Meiping and Miya).

Asaka-jinja

Only ONE tree*seemed*to have blossomed...

Kamo-gawa that runs through the heart of Kyoto

Strolled through Gion for the atmosphere, then it was off for a short karaoke session (1.5 hour, 1150yen/pax, unlimited drinks)! Where the three of them displayed their vocal prowess with songs by Utada Hikaru, Boa, Otsuka Ai and Avril Lavigne. Their song catalogue is amazing, judging by the number of English songs available and some were really quite new (Maroon 5’s “Won’t Go Home Without You” anyone?). Chika, Miya and Sho were really good – must have been in part due to the loads of practice too!

Unexpected - loads of English songs!

We had a late dinner opposite the karaoke joint – Sho was craving for kaisen-don (which initially I wasn’t in the mood for because it’s just raw seafood on rice), but it turned out to be really delicious and satisfying! I had minced tuna, sweet shrimp and salmon on hot rice (760 yen), which was so good (topped with wasabi-laced shoyu) that I think couldn’t stop smiling while eating. 本当においしかった！The others had more exquisite uni and scallop (from 980 yen).

After getting back to the hotel I tried my best to lay my futon by picking and choosing from various mattresses inside the oshiire (closet). Hope I did it right wahaha. We walked A LOT today so it wasn't hard for me to fall right asleep...

Day 2 updates when I can!