Covered a lot of territory with not really massive amounts to report.
Went
down for breakfast at 8. I will take my phone tomorrow and get some
shots. As we know Japanese food is to be enjoyed visually as well as
taste. This meal was no exception- two little fish (sardines?) on a
plate with a tiny wedge of lime and a single sprig of Nandina (Sacred
Bamboo), a perfectly cooked fried egg, multiple different pickles,rice,
tea and the most delicate miso soup- very reminiscent of the soup at
Shojoshin-in on Mount Koya- slight citrus tang and these little coloured
balls that were a feast for the eyes but not a lot of flavour. I will
definitely get a pic tomorrow.
Headed off to Kenrokuen and
wandered all over for about 3 hours. A truly extraordinary garden and
I'm sure there were parts i missed. The oldest fountain in Japan, trees
hundreds of years old and lots of people enjoying a perfect day.
Visited
the Seisonkaku Villa built in 1863 for the mother of the Lord Maeda
Noriyasu 13th daimyo of the Kaga Clan. Fascinating and a perfect example
of multipurpose space. The door/wall panels can be moved to create an
infinite number of possible room shapes and sizes. In one room there
were10 or 12 little glass panels with pictures of birds painted by a
Dutch artist set into the bottom of a sliding screen.
Then on
to Kanazawa Castle Park and I noticed that they offered free tours so I
took advantage and met a lovely volunteer guide Mr Noburo Orito. He had
visited Australia a few times including Tassie, Great Ocean Road and
Geelong for a friends 80th birthday. He knew about Aussie Rules and
barracks for, you guessed it, the Cats. He explained a lot about the
history of the Castle and its Lords. Especially interesting was the fact
that the wife of the first Lord offered herself as a hostage to the
Shogun in Tokyo (or Edo as it was then) after her husband had died to
ensure her family retained its power in Kanazawa. Also the power
struggle between Edo and Kanazawa- the Maedas were second only to the
Shoguns (Tokugawas) in power and wealth. Kanazawa was also spared
bombing during the war along with Kyoto and Nara. In fact it is known as
"Little Kyoto).
After touring the section of the Castle that
has been rebuilt in the last 15 years I headed for the Nagamachi area
which has the most insane concentration of samurai/merchant houses from
the last 100-200 years. In some ways areal time warp. Went through a
typical example belonging to the Nomura Family. So elegant and cultured-
every room a delight AND the gardens... words fail.
Then back to the Ryokan via Lawsons to buy dinner.
I have just eaten and now I'm going to have a bath and watch a bit of telly.
More Kanazawa tomorrow.
Lotsalove,
Tim
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