Around the Noto in One Day

We awoke the next morning feeling a little worse for wear, but ready to tackle a long day of driving. The Noto Peninsula juts out of the north western side of Japan and is known for its scenic but rural nature. Kanazawa is the cultural heart of Ishikawa prefecture, so there was never much reason to seek out the more rural areas. My lack of friends with cars also made it harder to explore. Japan Rail service stops at Nanao, and I had never made it north of there.

My primary goal for the day was a stop at the Senmaida, or 1,000 rice fields. Its a series of small rice paddies stairstepping down a steep slope towards the sea. Its a very famous place, especially around Ishikawa, and I had always wanted to see it myself. The day was a little greyer than I may have liked, as it often is in Japan. However, the view was still amazing.

 

My current home in Gunma is one of the more landlocked areas in Japan, so it was nice to get a view of the ocean, in this case the Japan Sea. Travis and I were stopped by a pair of Japanese tourists who wanted to get photos taken with us. This isnt actually as uncommon as you might think. There can still be a touch of "Holy Moses a Foreigner!" in daily life here, especailly in the more boondocky areas.

Our next stop was totally unplanned. We happened to be traveling on Childrens Day, which is celebrated with giant carp streamers. We passed by a small town that had a huge display up, with dancers and food vendors to round out the flying fish. It wasnt much, but it was a nice stop to break up our long drive.

Lunch was at the Nihonkai Microbrewery. Micro brewing is slowly gaining in popularity in Japan, but it still hasn't caught on with the fervor it has in America. There are a few excellent smaller brewers though, and Nihonkai is one of them. Not only is the beer pretty good, but their brew pub is a perfectly American take on pairing good food and good beer in one place. One very scenic place I might add, on a hill overlooking the Japan Sea. They even have an epic slide to take you down to the beach, though you may want to limit your beer intake before you ride it. For lunch I got a big plate of kebab meat, a huge naan bread and enough salad to make me feel like it might be healthy. It was a bit of a culture clash, but still plenty delicious.

We finished the day back in Kanazawa in the Kagadaiko yakitori restaurant. I always say that it is my favorite bar in the world, and that hasn't changed. Excellent yakitori, large cold draft Asahi, hilarious staff and good friends all on offer. It doesn't get much better than that.

Ishikawa Dreamin

Over Golden Week I returned to my old stomping grounds in Ishikawa for a few days to visit old friends and see a few sights I missed when I lived there. The lead event was the Dekayama festival in the city of Nanao. Festivals are always a great time, and this one was no exception.

My tour guide this trip was Travis, one of my oldest and best friends. The festival itself was filled with giant floats, good food, plenty of beer and some great company that all made for a great start to the week.

The floats are the centerpiece of this particular festival, and after an opening dance and blessing they are pulled through the streets by a large team of men. Having helped carry the much smaller portable mikoshi shrines, I can't imagine the massive weight of these huge floats.

That could be why the actual pulling didn't last too long, the floats are more for admiring then moving.

Once the festivities wound down, our large group migrated inside. An old acquaintance had offered up his house for crash space to anybody who needed it. We hung out for a while, playing games, joking and drinking. One of the girls who lived nearby actually knew somebody I know here in Gunma. It really is a small world and the world of us English teachers is even smaller.

A new view of Kanazawa

Our final stop on the Great Golden Week Road Trip was Kanazawa. The drive was long enough that we opted for the toll road expressway, but in the end we probably shouldn't have bothered. The road narrowed from two lanes to one then went back to two then went back to one again several times, causing a huge traffic jam. We were stuck in stop and go traffic for over two hours. That sort of jam isn't fun in the best of times, but with four people in a small, hot car it's even worse!

Once we made it past the jam things opened up and we made great time barreling south along the Japan Sea coast.  In Kanazawa, it was roundly agreed that a trip to my favorite yakitori restaurant, and  a few of the one liter Asahi draft beers you can get there, would be the perfect thing to wash away the unpleasant car trip. It was interesting walking around the downtown area that night, as it was so much more lively and 'happening' than downtown Maebashi. The economic contrast between the two cities was made starkly, depressingly clear.

The next day I played tour guide, and took my friends on a walking tour of all the great spots in the city. The displays outside the 21st Century Art Museum were a hit, especially the new 'color wheel' that they put out on the front lawn. As always Kenrokuen was the must see stop, and as always it was gorgeous. Though like anywhere else, it was jammed with sightseers and large tour groups.

Across from the garden is Kanazawa Castle. Much of the castle is a reconstruction, including a brand new gate that was recently opened. The only original structure that remains is the Ishikawa-mon entrance that faces the garden. Much to my surprise the gate was open to the public, and we could go inside for a look around, something I had never had the chance to do before.

While we didn't really have enough time to really see all that Kanazawa has to offer, everybody enjoyed their trip through 'little Kyoto.' I of course can't get enough of that city, and all the friends I still have there.

Panoramic Asia

Since photos like panoramas and HDRs take a bit longer to put together, I've saved up most of the panoramas for this post. As always with panoramas, I highly encourage clicking on the photo to view it in a larger size, much of the detail is lost when viewed on the main blog page. This first picture is Shinjuku, the hotel I stayed in is the large red building on the far left of the frame.



This is the Sai river in Kanazawa, facing towards downtown and my old apartment.



I took this picture while walking to the station from Travis's house in Kohoku.



From the top of Osaka Castle you have great views in every direction. Here is the view to the south, towards where Zach lives.



These two photos are right in central Osaka, the Glico Man is a famous sight in Osaka, and changes every few years.





Here we are facing back north towards Osaka Castle, taken from the top of Tsutenkaku Tower in the Shinsekai neighborhood. My favorite site in Osaka, Spa World, is right next to the tower. You can sit in the (bathing suit required) outdoor spas on the roof of Spa World and watch Tsutenkaku Tower light up as the sun sets.



The great wall is of course an excellent subject for panoramas, though I found when I got home I had only shot this one!



The Temple of Heaven in Beijing.



I shot three panoramic images of the sun rising over the Forbidden city, but the change in exposure across the breadth of the image was too much, and the other two just didn't come out.



The roof of Zach's apartment is open, so I traipsed up twice for a photo shoot. It is a fun and unique perspective, above the crowd but not too far above that all the detail on the buildings is lost.



So there we have it! I have a few HDR's to post, but that will likely come in a few weeks, as I am a bit behind in my processing still. However, I lucked out in Hawaii this trip, the weather was gorgeous and I'll start posting about that trip soon, as well as my preparations to return to Japan in a mere four weeks.

Kenrokuen Fall Light Up

A factor in the scheduling of my whole Asia trip was the dates of the Kenrokuen Fall Light up. Four times a year the famous Kenrokuen garden in Kanazawa is lit up for a weekend or two to showcase the season. Admission is free during the light up, and its a great way to see the garden in a new light, so to speak.



Of course, anything worth doing in Japan is worth doing by a whole lot of people, so be ready for crowds. I was far from the only person sporting a camera and tripod, and some of the prime spots had a bit of a line form for the photo. Though without a camera its nice to come and just see the lights and not worry about trying to get that perfect photo.



Every fall these rope supports are strung on some of the trees to protect them from the heavy, wet snow that blankets the area come December.



A musician and singer was playing in the boat house and being piped all over the gardens, lending a very peaceful and traditional feel to the proceedings. Despite the large numbers of people, once you got away from the entrance, the crowd really thinned out, giving room for just exploring the darkened garden on your own.



As you can see in some of the photos, by and large the weather was very clear, and the water was literally as still as glass. It did sprinkle a tiny bit for a few minutes, but it wasn't even enough rain for me to worry about my camera.



This was far from my first trip to Kenrokuen for a light up, but every time it seems so magical, it just never gets old.

Golden Marsh

In everyone's life there will be a few locations that will always be loved and remembered. Kanazawa is most certainly one of those places for me.



Returning was very interesting, the chance to see what had changed and what had not. Coming into downtown from the train station, I could see that the fish market had been totally redone, but much of Katamachi was as I had left it two years ago. All in all the soul of the city remained the same, many of the same great bars, the same great people, the same horrible weather.



Speaking of bars and people, one of the must stop places while I was in the area was The World's Greatest Yakitori Joint. Whenever anybody arrives or leaves, the owner (aka Master) shouts and bangs the drum. The theatricality doesn't take away from the excellent food and very large beers.



Once again I learned that despite the passage of time, your true friends will ALWAYS be your true friends. Seeing Travis, Mo, Liz, Yukie, Rie, Noboru and more for the first time in years was fantastic. Even catching up with people I had only known for a little while was wonderful.



Kanazawa may not be the largest or most exciting city in Japan, but no matter where I end up in life, it will always be close to my heart.

A Return

Since my plans for Sweden fell through I have been pondering my next move. One thing I decided was that I needed to keep up my unbroken streak of a trip a year. Another consideration in my decision to take a trip, any trip, is that I have a brand new passport that needs to be broken in.



While I did have a one way ticket to Copenhagen in my possession, in the end I decided to head back to Japan for a while. It is now over two years since I left, and I have a lot of friends and places that I miss.



I want to wander the streets of Shinjuku, drink draft Asahi with my mates, eat metric tons of Okonomiyaki, see Fushimi Inari, and so much more. I've missed the people, places and foods of Japan since I left, and I've decided it's time for another visit.



I do feel a little bad because I always try and visit new things when I go on vacation, so I'm trying to fit in a week or so in China while I'm in the area. This will both let me add a new city or two to my list and let me see another good friend who is now living in Shanghai. Though of course Japan, and Kanazawa, comes first.



I'll be gone from the 5th of November to the 5th of December, so I leave in exactly three weeks. It feels good to be excited again.