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.