Japan - Kanazawa: Gold Leaf, Confectionery, and Lacquer Capital

Kenrokuen Gardens

A two hour train ride from Kyoto took us to Kanazawa, a charming yet modern, walkable small city on the west coast of Japan.  This castle town was built by the Maeda family of the Kaga Clan in the late 16th century.  The Maeda family promoted the city’s development by arranging samurai and townspeople’s residential areas and the temple districts around Kanazawa Castle.  Cool to know there was some form of city planning back then!  Kanazawa then grew to become Japan’s largest castle town, ruled by a feudal lord who invested heavily in culture and education as opposed to military force, in an attempt to create a sophisticated, traditional culture. 

Modern-day Kanazawa retains many original streetscapes and cultural nuances from its early days due to the fact that the city has escaped damage caused by war or other major disasters for over 400 years. It also has several preserved, traditional Japanese wood-house residential neighborhoods that have been continually populated over the years.  Many of the structures are now boutiques selling gold leaf products and lacquer ware/porcelain products produced by local artisans (pure torture for me- I wanted to buy everything I saw, but the prices were prohibitive).  We did enjoy gold leaf ice cream.  No difference in taste, and Nathan can now brag he bought me something gold on the trip!

As it was raining they day we arrived, we paid a visit to the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art (one of the very few rainy days we had on the entire trip).  While the building itself was interesting, the exhibits were a bit too “modern” for our liking. 

Aside from the castle, Kanazawa is known for the Kenrokuen Gardens- one of the top Japanese gardens in the country.  This was absolutely the highlight of our visit!  Every turn was a Kodak moment!  Ponds with pagodas, delicate arched bridges, resting pagodas, tea houses, koi fish ponds, gentle waterfalls, well pruned trees, moss-covered lawns, and purple irises blooming (can only imagine the brilliance during cherry blossom season) along meandering streams.  This garden is more than 300 years old, and one of the three most famous gardens in Japan.

Just across the road is the Kanazawa Castle, constructed over 400 years ago by the Maeda family.  Most of the buildings were burned down during repeated fires (notice a trend here????), but the gate and storehouse still stand.  The private castle garden (beautiful) was restored in 2015 with attention to historical accuracy.  The pond itself precedes the Kenrokuen Garden by 120 years.

The  Kanazawa Castle was absolutely huge!

The Oyama Jinja Shrine, on the approach to the castle, is a shrine dedicated to the Kaga family's first lord, and includes a three-tiered gate with stained glass.

front of shrine

inside

...and of course, the gardens

Other notable sights in Kanazawa include:

Omi-Cho Fish Market, selling fresh fish and seafood to local residents.  The crabs were humongous, as were the beautiful large scallops and sea urchins.

Teahouse Districts, including Higashi Chaya, Kazue-machi Chaya, and Nishi Chaya Districts, all of which were formerly Geisha Districts and include historical streetscapes with many original wood tea houses.

walking to the Nishi Chaya District, got a glimpse of the snow-covered mountains

Kanazawa is also famous for its confectionery sweets (it is also known as the home of Japanese confections as many were created here) made from jelly, red bean paste, and sticky rice.  No English on the beautifully designed shop displays or boxes, and no English spoken, so we were guessing as to what each artistically designed sweet contained.

Kanazawa Railway station, where right at the entrance is the Motenashi Dome, which represents an umbrella welcoming visitors to Kanazawa, and also includes a digital water fountain clock. The entire station was constructed under an open-air structure that brought natural light throughout the entire station.

Motenashi Dome

Digital Water Fountain Clock

Food update- some great meals were had here in Kanazawa.  Another conveyor belt sushi establishment (excellent), and a very local restaurant where everyone sat around the counter that contained built-in grills along its length (we were really hungry and most restaurants were closed on Sunday) where not a word of English was spoken.  No menus with pictures- only a blackboard in Japanese listing the menu.  Pointed to what some other clientele were eating that looked good...ended up with Okonomiyaki (see Kyoto blog for explanation) and stir fried noodles.  Sooo yummy!  One of the more memorable meals during our trip due to the experience itself as well as the taste of the food.

Hole-in-the-wall restaurant: No English spoken, but one of best meals ever!

Noodles and Okonomiyaki!!

Another amazing Ramen

There was much more to see and do in Kanazawa and we certainly could have stayed longer (also a recurring trend on our trip....), but it was time to move on to Tokyo and visit our last foreign city before we end this six-month adventure.  From Tokyo, it’s a week in Maui to rest and see a bit of Hawaii before we return to Denver (visit Arik and Charlotte), then back to New Jersey (visit Eitan), then on to our new home in Tulum, Mexico.  We bought a penthouse condo there, supposed to be completed in December, so a few more months living temporary until we can move in.  Hey, we're used to that by now!  Wonder how we will feel not having our home in Glen Rock when we return ......