Precious Memories: Kanazawa, Japan

July 31, 2015 -- Kanazawa, Japan (7:00AM~5:00PM)

Kanazawa, a castle town on the west coast of Honshu Island. It is also nicknamed "Japan's Seattle" for its rain. Castle, samurai, geisha, and gardens make this a stop worthwhile for many tourists. Our day here was kind of short so we did not get to see everything we wanted.

Our ship docked at the Ohama Wharf at 7:00, when we barely woke up. We quickly got ready and went to the buffet for a quick breakfast then met everyone around 8:30 to get off the ship. Many people were already off and on their way to town.

We were not in such a hurry to skip our photo opportunities with these beautiful ladies though.

This port had the most volunteers out when we arrived and departed that day.

As usual, we went to the information desk and got maps and directions before taking the 30-minute shuttle ride to the train station.

Passing through a bridge on our way to the train station.

Unlike most of the cities we stopped at, Kanazawa is a huge, modern, and active city. We saw tall buildings, big malls, and shopping centers lined the streets that we passed by.

After the shuttle dropped us off at the JR Station, we walked the whole length of the building towards the tourist information office which is at the other end of the station.

The tourist information office on the left before the exiting the station.

Then we were instructed to purchase our all-day bus tickets from this desk (500Y Adults; 250Y Children). The ticket was like a scratch-off ticket and it's only good for the day scratched. That was why it took a little bit of time because she had to scratch off the tickets.

To this day I am still confused about the buses here. They have the left loop bus, the right loop bus, and the Kenrokuen Shuttle. We were told to pick up the bus at stop 6 outside the train station by the lady who sold us the tickets. But, when we got in line, the gentleman there kept telling us to go to stop 7. We were so confused that we did not get on the first bus that came to stop 6. Instead we waited to see what everybody else was doing. Then I figured, what the heck, just get on the next bus and see where it will take us.

That's the gentleman who tried to get us to stop 7. He probably had a reason which we never find out. Sorry, we didn't listen to you!

I watched carefully at all the bus stops that we passed through to see if they match the map in my hand and we finally came to the correct stop at Kenrokuen Garden, Kanazawa Castle Park. Then we crossed the street to go up the street to Kenrokuen Garden. When I turned around to see where everybody was, I saw FIL on the ground. He took a fall while stepping off the curb, scared me to death. Fortunately, he only had a scraped knee which ChC was able to put some Neosporin and a bandaid over until we got back to the ship.

Kenrokuen Garden

It's a little hike up to the garden from the bus stop.

FIL decided to just sit here at the bench and wait for us because he was still a little shook up from the fall.

Katsurazaka Entrance of the Garden

Admission: 310Y for Adults and 100Y for Children and Seniors

No body ever checked our tickets though.

Kenrokuen Garden is a huge typical landscape garden of the Edo era located on the slope facing the castle. It will take some time to really enjoy every corners of this garden. We spent about two hours here but only saw the main sights. I am only able to pick out just a few of the many photos taken there that day.

The Kotojitoro Lantern at Kasumigaike Pond.

Kasumigaike Pond

We could see parts of the city from the panoramic viewpoint.

Seisonkaku Villa

Visitors can go in for additional fees.

Funanoochin Arbor, a ship-shaped shady spot for a short rest.

We also went up the Shishiiwa Rock area to check out the view.

Nice!

Tea House

This garden is truly beautiful and it's worth it to spend your time here.

Kanazawa Castle

After the garden, we were ready to cross the street to the Kanazawa Castle.

Ishikawamon Gate. This is actually the back gate of the castle.

crossing the Ishikawabashi Bridge

under the bridge

The shiny white roof is supposedly covered with lead tiles.

We asked if they had a Mandarin-speaking guide after seeing the 'free tour guide' sign. Sure enough, this gentleman happened to be there that day and he gave us a lot of information about the castle. He studied Mandarin in Beijing when he was in his 60's and now works as a volunteer at the castle on his free days.

According to the map, we could just walk from the castle to the Omi-Cho Market which was our next stop.

Omi-Cho Market

After missing a couple of turns, we found the Omi-cho Market. It looks small from this entrance at the back but it is actually a colorful bazaar of 200 shops and stalls selling everything from seafood, clothing, to other miscellaneous items for your home. We only had time for the fresh food market on the ground floor though.

This market dates back 300 years and is Kanazawa's largest fresh food market.

Unfortunately we were not able to try out any restaurants here because they had long lines. We just went around the stalls and picked up a few things to try. Like these sea urchins (uni) for 250Y each.

Some good sushi

After eating our simple lunch, we walked around the market a little bit more and decided it was time for us to head back to the port. We picked up the bus from the stop across the street of the market back to the train station.

JR Train Station

Fountain and digital clock in front of the train station. Yes, it was only 2pm. Seemed a little early to go back but I am the kind who hate to be late for anything. Missing the ship in port is not my idea of having a good time. We have seen people being left at port before. Once in Ketchikan, Alaska and once in Naples, Italy. Samurai district and Geisha district will have to wait. Also, with FIL's injuries, I didn't think he would want to walk any more.

Train Station

We walked through the train station again back to the shuttle stop. By now, there was a line of people waiting to get on the bus back to port.

Aww.... nice!

There were vendors selling different wares at port. We bought a few things here, and the prices were very good. I bought a few pairs of kids 'tatami' slippers for 300Y each, which I saw selling for 1400Y at another stop. MOR bought some packages of coffee with gold leaf as gifts.

After a bowl of ramen and an icy lemonade at the buffet, we came back to our balcony and saw this. The Kanazawa people put on a lovely show before our departure from the wharf.