beenalready: Kanazawa, Japan (2)

Kanazawa, Japan (2)

DAY 12

SITES: Higashi Chaya-Gai, Omi-cho Market, Samurai District, Ninjadera

2018-08-12, 20:25, JASON

BUDGET, Stay: Friends House in Tokyo

Today's forecast in Kanzawa is a lot of snow.

On our way to the Higashi Chaya-Gai which we went to last night, it started snowing heavily. The benefit was that the weather wasn't as cold as it was, and given tha it wasn't rain, you wouldn't soak through. It was nice to enjoy the snow as well.

Getting my camera out so I can document the weather.

Back to the same alley where the car dropped someone off last night.

As the downpour reached blizzard levels, we ducked into one of these geisha houses converted to a tea house to have a bit of green tea. A lady greeted us kindly and served us the green tea with a small Japanese snack with some goldflakes sprinkled on. In Kanazawa, another specialty craft is gold-leaf platting. In the summer, you can see 80 or 90 year olds who keep the tradition alive still finely hammering out gold sheets to plaster over various things: clothes, food, etc. During the winter we didn't see any, but there were several shops that were selling gold-plated whatever-you-name-its.

Japanese snack on the left, green tea on right. Might be some matcha variation.

Eat every last crumb, this stuff is expensive.

Across the river and diagnoal to the Higashi Chaya-gai is another smaller geisha district. We walk around it a bit but there isn't much going on -- seems it's been mostly turned into residential housing at this point. Oh well, onward to lunch, while the weather is still nice.

If you read the previous day's post, you'll know that at the end of the day, we went to a noodle shop where the man recommended us to some places. Of these places, he recommended us go to Omi-cho Market, one of the central fish markets in Kanazawa. The man had said that each season, Kanazawa is known for something famous, and during the winter, it is seafood. He told us to go to Omi-cho to try one of the "fish bowls", in which they take the catch of the day -- various pieces of fresh fish -- and put it on top of rice. Since he adamantly recommended it, we took him up on this offer and headed toward Omi-Cho.

The Japanese take their markets and fish seriously. By 11:00 this place was already in full swing and all the vendors were hawkering to get their fish bought. The displays of the catch of the day were so intricate and well-placed. Seafood I'd never seen before being put on display, freshly preseved by the cold ambient air. The thing that surprised me the most, however, was that it wasn't old people running the stalls. Yes, there were a few uncles throughout, but most of the stalls were manned by young men in their 20s. Young adults were shuttling around produce on pushcarts and hawkering to get their goods sold. Very few women were in sight behind the selling counters. Some of them were pretty hot, too. So, word of advice, if you're looking for a Japanese man, go to Kanazawa's Omi-Cho Market. You won't find that in TripAdvisor. We stopped in at one of the recommended places for lunch and, as expected based on the foretelling of the old Japanese man at the ramen restaurant, it was delicious.

Hottie-in-apprenticeship. Give him 15 years and he'll grow up to be a hottie. I actually wonder if many of these stalls are family businesses. This kid was taking orders, packing the fish, and helping out with what I suspect was his father.

Hottie # 3, more daddy-type. Look at that seafood!

Lunch. Sashimi pieces over rice.. so damn good.

After we had our bellies (and eyes) filled up, we continued onto view some shrines.

On the way to the shrine, after about three hours of decent weather, it starts snowing again. But, by now, we're well-prepared for it. We trudge through onto a temple/shrine that we have no idea what the name of is, but go see it anyway.

Another thing Kanazawa is known for is its ninja houses. One of the most famous temples here is the Ninjadera (Myoryuji Temple), one of the famous houses in the samurai district which has nothing to do with ninjas. Hm.. anyway. Much like how there is a geisha district, there is also a samurai district just slightly south of the Sai River where this Myoryuji temple is located. We didn't go in, but around the area you could see a different style of beige housing which was the samurai district. Pretty cool; off the beaten path and just simply signposted and descriptive.

Ready to assume my full potential as a samurai.

Unsure about his skills as a future samurai.

When we make it to Ninjadera, we just take a few pictures outside then head back through to the Omi-Cho Market. We walk, which takes about 2 hours. We had to get another dose of cute guys.

Ninjadera. Never went in. Just appreciated the woody exterior..

So, onwards back to Omi-cho from the Ninja area. Since Kanazawa is known for its seafood this season, we decided to shell out the money and have another meal here.

We finish up the sushi and head back to the Train Station. The last thing Kanazawa is known for is its futuristic train station design. We never noticed it on the way out of the station, but on the way back as we approached it, we could appreciate its architectural value. There seems to be a lot of tourism growing here; glad to have come when we did. No doubt that in a few years more people will come to appreciate Kanazawa for its geisha, samurai, and garden culture. Such a gem, and really glad that our friend recommended us to come. Always take a Japanese person's recommendation on places to go in Japan if you're looking for something fresh. Peace Kanazawa, back to Tokyo to roll in the new year.

Back to our city ways. Gym again tomorrow. We eat a bowl of mixed veggies for dinner, with a side of rice and miso soup. The velvety texture of the fish in Kanazawa seem so far away..