Kanazawa… Much bigger than I thought it would be. In the end, it turned out to be just another big city. Before I came here, I thought it was going to be a quiet area, what with the historical Geisha districts, Samurai districts, Kanazawa Castle, and Kenroku-en Garden, Kanazawa’s most famous attraction and one of Japan’s top three gardens, but like I said, it turned out to be another metropolitan.
My first stop was the garden. It was a nice stroll, but it’s hard to appreciate the sheer beauty of it when you can hear the traffic of city not too far off, and one of the views includes a view of the city itself. I was a little disappointed considering this is supposed to be Kanazawa’s most famous attraction. I spent most of time in the garden people-watching from a sheltered area overlooking the Kasumigaike Pond, and that was enjoyable for the time it lasted. The sun was shining, the weather was hot, and the workers were busy maintaining the lush gardens. The workers were something to watch. Several Japanese women donning the same attire, each crouched to the ground and carefully picking out weeds from the grass with nothing more but their hands and small sickles.
Next on the list was Kanazawa Castle… a big disappointment. The Castle was under construction, and therefore completely covered by tarps. Not much to see from the outside, and I didn’t feel like paying for another ticket to go see the inside. It was starting to get cloudy, so I wanted to see the outdoors stuff before (if) it started raining. In Kanazawa, there’s a saying that goes “even if you forget your lunchbox, don’t forget your umbrella”. You can’t count on the weather here; it changes without warning from good to bad in no time. Luckily, however, that wasn’t the case today.
I walked across the city over to the Geisha districts. The history was nice, but all I saw it as was a street full of tourists. No Geishas. They usually DO come out at night though, so maybe I’ll head back there tonight for some tea and dessert or something and maybe catch a show. I was going to go visit the Samurai district afterward, but only one house is open, and I imagine it wouldn’t be much different than the Geisha district.
On my way back to my Ryokan, I walked through the markets. The fish market smelled like fish. I mean, it REALLY smelled like fish. Squid, crab, tuna, etc. Most of it full sized, un-filleted, and smelly. Then I made my way through the shopping mall where I found plenty of delicious looking foods and it’s probably where I’m going to head for dinner tonight.
Maybe I’m just not visiting the right places, maybe it’s the hot sticky weather, maybe I’m tired, maybe it’s the fact that I’m doing this alone, but these sights aren’t doing it for me right now. Don’t get me wrong, Japan is an amazing country with amazing people, but I need something more. I am following an itinerary that was given out on www.japan-guide.com for Japan, and maybe that’s the problem. It’s not tailored to exactly what I want to do. China, Vietnam, Thailand, Nepal, and India were all planned by yours truly, so maybe the experience will be better. More hiking, more mountains, more rural areas, more culture. That’s what I’m after! A cultural challenge, a mental challenge, a physical challenge. It’s what I want and it’s what I hope to get from the remainder of this trip.
Anyways, short day today. I’m off to Kyoto tomorrow morning.
Ja!
-LL
P.S. To answer Matt’s question, the water turns clockwise in Japan (at least here anyways). =P
Journey of Discovery 