Kanazawa Part III

I think the thing that stands out about Kanazawa is the fact that there wasn't one or two main attractions that draw all the tourist crowds - the city is chock full of many little things that make it unique and fun to visit around.

One perfect example - Oyama Jinja. It was very serene temple, very nature-y, not a lot of noise but I saw many businessmen stop by to say a quick prayer on their way to work on Monday morning. The bell tower entrance made the entrance to the temple a very unique one.

Next was Nishi Chaya, the western side of Kanazawa city. Teramachi Temple area was a basically a whole area where all the streets were lined with temples (dozens of them!) and although none of them stood out as incredibly special, it made for a very interesting walk. The walk near the canal along Saigawa River was also nice, again, nothing stood out, but it was very pretty, especially with the leaves all changing colors.

Last stop was the Higashi Chaya District, a well preserved town of wooden tea houses that is very reminiscent of a Hokusai painting. Very cool. All in all great little town, awesome trip.

Kanazawa Part II -> Shirakawa-go!!

Part two of the Kanazawa post is actually going to focus on Shirakawa-go, a little little town on the UNESCO World Heritage List that is an easy day trip to make from Kanazawa. 

The hour and a half bus ride in and of itself was extremely scenic through the lush mountains. Shirakawa-go is nestled at the foot of a range of hills. There was a long suspension bridge between the parking area and the village which was like the wardrobe to Narnia. Everything changed back into the 1800's as soon as you got over the little river.

The houses all looked like those picturesque tour brochures with the steeped slope to help the snow slide down. I learned that there are actually one or two floors underneath the roof, much like an attic, which is an ingeniously Japanese way of using your space wisely. Being so old, they are extremely weary of fire damage, so idle smoking is not allowed and there are antiquated fire hose reels on every other building. I even got a picture of the the town's little fire engine which was absolutely adorable!

Definitely worth the trip. It was really cool. I can't imagine that it is a very fun place to live with hordes of tourists (I mean seriously there were at least 20 tourists buses when I went!) gazing at your houses and taking tons of pictures, but I suppose they are used to it at this point. Nevertheless I am glad that they do let intrusive tourists in though, because it was a very nice trip. I'll let the pictures say the rest. :)

Kanazawa Part I

Apologies for the slight delay in this post. A three day weekend made me forget what day it was! 

An awesome city combined with decent planning and lots of luck really made Kanazawa the coolest sightseeing trip I've ever been on in Japan. It's not a common tourist destination, even when I mentioned it to my Japanese coworkers they were asking what there was to do there. But there is plenty to do there, and it is a very historical, old school city with a lot of modern extravagances to boot so it was definitely worth the weekend trip.


First stop was Kanazawa Castle. Very nice -  more like a palace and fortress than the standard Japanese castle. Lots of different paths to walk around the grounds. The changing leaves made it all the more picturesque.

Kenrokuen is the most famous attraction in Kanazawa. It's a really large garden and park situated right across from the castle. I was skeptical of how nice it was going to be after all the gushing reviews online, but I think it was definitely worth the hype. Easy to get lost in the zig-zagging maze of pathways and shortcuts so I don't think I actually walked around the whole thing, but the parts I saw were very nice.

After walking the grounds, I went to go find some museums. There is a little cloister of about eight museums along the same street near Kenrokuen. My first choice, the History Museum, was unfortunately closed for reconstruction so I decided instead on checking out the Art Gallery, which was actually quite cool. I skipped the 21st Century Art Museum but I did check out the Noh Museum. Unfortunately it was near closing and so I rushed through the small exhibit. Maybe not worth the entrance fee, but the information was pretty cool. 

21st Century Art Museum

Ishikawa Prefecutral Art Gallery

As I was walking down this "Museum Street" I just happened upon the Ishikawa Literature Museum an old brick building which sticks out pretty clearly along the roadside. Though I didn't venture inside to try my luck with the Japanese exhibits, it was definitely my favorite for another reason. Adjoining the museum was an little tea garden and open plaza, much like one you would see in the city center of an older European city. There were lots of trees and benches and the occasional literary statue, just inviting people to come take a sit-down and enjoy a little bit of crisp fresh air. So I spent a lovely hour sitting on a park bench under a nice orange tree, reading my mother's old copy of Macbeth and eating some Japanese sweets. Couldn't have asked for a better ending to my day.

Osaka Part II!

Short one for this week, kind of skimped out and made a two-parter out of a trip that probably could have been done in one. Hope it's worth the wait, back to Osaka.


After Dotonbori, I jumped back on the subway to find Shitennoji Temple, the oldest Buddhist temple in Japan. Though the temple is not very far from Tennoji subway station, it's importance is dwarfed by the trendy Tennoji Park and Zoo which is where most of the subways exit out to and all the street maps guide you to. Nevertheless, it was found and I'm glad I found it. As I've mentioned a few hundred times before I love the colors of the religious architecture in Japan and the beauty of this one was only augmented by the fact that all the structures were in stained deep red wood. Everything was very old and rustic, you can just imagine all the centuries of history this complex houses.

Like many temples I've visited, Shitennoji was located very near a busy intersection in Osaka. This one was a bit less enclosed by woodlands or large gates, so you could still hear the city nearby.  I wonder if the monks who laid the foundation stones for this temple could have even whimsically guessed that 1500 years later it would be surrounding by loud steel petrol monsters twirling about, transporting busy people from place to place.

After Shitennoji, I headed back to the station. Proclaimed online as a tourist attract in and of itself, Osaka City Station has the pomp and excitement of the usual large JR hub multiplied by two. Lots of shopping and gardens and walking paths and overpasses to see and occupy yourself while waiting for your next connection. Highlight was probably the rooftop garden that had a straw scarecrow keeping guard. Cool city. Though there are many more things that could have taken a longer stay in Osaka, I was quite satisfied with my very busy day trip.

Umeda Sky Building - Osaka's Tokyo Sky Tree