We arrived in Kanazawa by train early in the morning. We're only staying here for one night before heading back to Tokyo. Upon our arrival we went for lunch before heading to see some sights. The first place was this ancient Japanese castle. Its around 600 years old. It use to be the house of this rich samuri. He also have this huge garden garden. We were only able to walk through half of it before heading back to hotel to rest. After dinner I had a few drinks with my cousin. She never had Guiness so we went to this bar that served. We had a few just shooting the shit. Turns out she really likes surfing. I sort of planted the idea for her to come to the states and being a surf bum over the summer. I told her Cali has good surf and that ill come out for the summer too since I want to improve my surfing.

Kanazawa, my first stop, was probably the trip I enjoyed the most for its quaint, old town feeling. It had some 300k people, a far cry from the 12 million-odd residents in Tokyo. I arrived at the bus terminal that departed from Shinjuku, at an outrageous 7am, and decided to cab it straight to the Kenrokuen, as numerous references to it as the star attraction of Kanazawa granted it top priority, and the buses did not run until 8.30am. I also had no interest in freezing my poorly-clad ass off at the terminal where most people would mistake me for a bag lady, with my backpack and shabby outfit.

So Kenrokuen it was - the name literally means "Garden of the Six Sublimities", referring to spaciousness, seclusion, artificiality, antiquity, abundant water and broad views, six attributes that make up a perfect garden according to a Chinese theory - delightfully quiet in the wee hours of the morning, where I took some shots, and went to the Saison kaku villa close by, a traditional house built by a Maeda lord for his mother. The rest of the day was a crusade to visit all nearby attractions, which ultimately culiminated in my walking round in circles in various vain attempts to find the loop bus which i had purchased an all day pass for. By the end of each day trip, my legs were killing me (considering the travesty of a stopover at bangkok where i had to run .5km to reach the transit flight gate, in 20 mins, just days before) and the public sento at my Ryokan was a welcome reprieve that soaked away the aches and made me eat the words I once uttered "hot baths are for ninnies!"

For those who dont like gardens, Kanazawa's next best attraction is its Geisha and Samurai districts. It also has a Teramachi district, which sadly, is not covered by the local "Furrato" bus -- the community loop bus, and hence is a giant pain in the ass to get to and back. The Geisha districts though, are lovely, and they have an air of antiquity and peacefulness, untainted by modern society. I took a trip down on the first night, and had the luxury of walking along the streets, alone. (Hardly anybody ventures out after 8 or 9pm). Strolling alone the stone pavements, taking in the cool crisp air, and hearing faint laughter of, perhaps a geisha in one of the teahouses was surreal. The Nagamachi districts though, were a little of a letdown, altho the famed "long streets" as it is named, do look quaint. The Nomura Samurai house, like the Shima Geisha house, was tiny, and offered an appetizer to the stylistic beauty of the houses in the days of tatami mats and wooden sliding doors. Dont be deceived by the pictures though, these districts are more like tiny satellites that cover less than the area of your average football stadium.

All in all, Kanazawa was like a tasty treat, not quite a full on immersion program like kyoto is, but it had some plus points with the Garden and Geisha districts which are not swamped with gaijin tourists, unlike kyoto and tokyo, possibly because of the time it takes to bus over to kanazawa and the cost of shinkansening it is hefty (2x the cost of a bus). If you do decide to visit this quaint town, best to stay in a ryokan (murataya at katamachi is gd value, clean comfortable and has a nice sento bath). I missed out on the ninja shrine and other attractions at Teramachi, which is probably worth a visit, the former requiring advanced reservations, and I didnt feel much inclination to visit all the museums either as not all of them were worth the time and money. The 21st Century Museum, supposedly too, is worth a visit, altho i didnt venture into it and simply admired it from a distance.

I went to Kanazawa with four friends of mine. Kanazawa is a city on the Japanese west cost, towards the Sea of Japan. It is capital of Ishikawa Prefecture and the home of half a million people, but that's not why we went there. No, the highlights of Kanazawa and its surroundings are history, traditional culture and nature.

Protected by the surrounding mountains, Kanazawa could prosper even during times of war and chaos. It became the stronghold of the Ikko sect when they were driven our of Kyoto. Later the Maeda clan came in control, and under their rule Kanazawa became a major cultural center outside Kyoto and Edo. They had a great influence on the city, and the Maeda symbol can still be seen everywhere.

Kanazawa is not on any of the major train lines, but there are express trains. We choose to go by overnight highway bus instead, which quite convenient and much cheaper. I had bought a Japanese guidebook about Kanazawa. It is very cute and has everything you need to know to be a proper Japanese tourist: Top-10 sightseeing spots, omiyage (souvenir) tips, hundreds of restaurants and stores for local sweets and a pre-made plan to see everything in one day.

Our first stop was Myōryu-ji, or as it's commonly called, the Ninja Temple. This Buddhist temple was constructed to be a military lookout and defense post as much as a place of worship. It has a large number of tricks to fool the unsuspecting enemy who tries to enter. Everything from three meter deep trap-holes in the floor, many hidden rooms and stairs to a place to hide under the stairs and stab whoever passes by in the feet. In the middle of the temple, easily reachable from almost any room is a well. According to legend there is a secret tunnel from the well to Kanazawa castle. I don't know if the temple ever stopped any enemies, but the builders must have had a fun time!

Perhaps the most famous place in Kanazawa is Kenroku-en, a traditional Japanese garden and commonly held as one of the three most beautiful. Now,when we went there it was raining slightly and the garden was already full of Japanese tour groups. I think the garden has lost a lot of its ancient charm as the narrow walking paths have been widened to adapt to its popularity. Still, it has many good qualities. If I ever get a chance to come back to Kanazawa, I would like to go alone to Kenroku-en in very early morning. Perhaps a sunny winter morning. The change of seasons is very important in Japanese gardens, and I have not yet visited one in snow.

To be continued...

Feb.11th 2006

rain day in Kanasawa , another tiny trip,i go visiting my teacher who living in Japan

in Japan..they have the same pronunciation between road , unknown and future

yeap...this is the way you chose so there should be no trouble for  you

by the way, the coffee here really tested terrible ....nmmm.... like blackbean tea ..Eeeeeeewwwwwww!!!!!

Today I went to Fushimi and Osu Kannon with a friend.
It didn't start out well because I fell down a few steps in the station and sprained my ankle (which I didn't realise until later). But all was good.

We had a look at all the little shops which were SO COOL. If you've ever been to Camden Market in London then you'll understand when I say that it's the Camden of Japan. There were second hand shops and vintage shops and a shop selling designer good for knock down prices (Tiffany Rings for 5,000!!). We had Takoyaki (fried octopus dumplings) which were SOOO good too.
We almost didn't see the massive Osu Kannon Temple; we were trying to find some purikura place and went down a road that we hadn't seen before then BAM there was this massive beautiful temple.

What you do in temples like this is; you put money in the the box, then use the big rope to bang on the drum thing ahead 3 times, then put your hands together and pray for something. I wished that my mum would get better because she has a horrible horrible smoking related ilness.

You can also go 'wash' yourself in the incense smoke or light a candle. Outside there were statues with babies' bibs on them. These are gifts from mothers who have either had miscarriages or have lost babies, so that the spirit of the baby is looked after in heaven. It always makes me cry when I see these.

Located in the central distict of Katamachi-Korimbo, The Apa Hotel Kanazawa Katamachi is a very convenient base for travelling within the area. Whether your visit to Kanazawa is for business purposes or for vacation, Apa Hotel Kanazawa Katamachi is a good choice. All rooms are equipped with a Japanese-style bidet, modular jacks, and free Satelite TV. The Apa Hotel offers decent accomodation at a budget price