The last stop on my tour took me to Kanazawa on the west coast, in Ishikawa Province.
Through the Alps
From Osaka, I first took the Thunderbird Special Express to Tsuruga, then the extension of the Hokoriku Shinkansen line to Kanazawa, which was brand new. In total, the journey took just over two hours. I planned a little more time in Tsuruga, though, to have a quick lunch there. The station in Tsuruga is also new, functional, and boring, but there was a konbini where I was able to get a bento box.
The journey then led through the foothills of the Japanese Alps, and the landscape became increasingly snowy.
A beautiful afternoon at Kenroku-en
From Kanazawa main station I went straight to the hotel, this time by bus. Theoretically, you could have walked from the train station, but it was snowing badly. I had upgraded from the capsule hotel and booked a night at the UAN Kanazawa. That turned out to be a real stroke of luck. An extremely spacious room with a large bathroom with a whirlpool bath, which I used almost immediately. As always, an extremely friendly and helpful reception, even though I would have been lost without Google Translate. And the price was reasonable for one night!
I quickly unpacked and slept for half an hour. Then I headed to the magnificent Kenroku-en, the Japanese Garden par excellence. Even more amazing than the Shinjuku Gyoen! It was a short walk of maybe 10 minutes from the hotel. I congratulated myself on my smart choice of accommodation.
Art Museum and Oyama Jinja Shrine
21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art
After the park, I made a short detour to the Museum of Contemporary Art of the 21st Century, located near the park. I was particularly interested in the installations, such as the “Swimming Pool” by Leandro Erlich, or “Blue Planet Sky” by James Turrell. Unfortunately, the severe earthquake in the region had affected the museum badly. In total, you could visit maybe a quarter of the museum. The Turrell room was open, but practically all other installations were closed. A virtual digital exhibition, which had probably been scheduled before the disaster, was now the focus. That was also not uninteresting, but it all seemed very improvised.
A little tip: Getting lost in the house is normal, and not finding the entrance right away as well 😉
Oyama Jinja Shrine
Now I was hungry and headed for the city center – but not without paying a quick visit to the Oyama Jinja Shrine on the way back. A relatively small shrine, with a beautiful main gate with colorful glass windows, and a small water feature. The whole thing was more reminiscent of a park – probably not entirely by chance, because the shrine was dedicated to the Maeda family, who also created the Kenroku-en.
The winter evening atmosphere gave the complex a very special charm. A temple cat stared at me intently, but unfortunately had no desire to interact.
Dinner at Hanano
From there I went straight into town because I was hungry and cold. As always, the problem of eating without a reservation. But I was lucky – more by chance than anything else, I stumbled upon a small but lovely restaurant, Hanano, in a side street. The menu was entirely in Japanese and the prices were also quite high, but I hadn’t used up my travel budget yet. So treat yourself!
Apart from me, there were only two older ladies in the restaurant, and I could get some inspiration from their orders during the evening. Always trust the locals 😉
The waiter immediately bustled around me and looked after me the whole evening. I simply trusted his recommendations. I started with a selection of sashimi, then a few conger eel dumplings, and then grilled fava beans. Plus a local sake. We chatted the whole time, in English, Japanese, and Google. He was very interested in Germany and asked me questions (politely!) and it was a really nice experience overall. As a foreigner, it’s not usually easy to strike up a conversation with the service staff. I was able to watch the chef at work, which I found fascinating.
Chilling at the hotel
I stayed at Hanano much longer than I had planned and spent a lot more yen there than I had planned. But I was in a really good mood, though still a little peckish. Fortunately, I could still get delicious soba at the hotel. So I quickly scurried to my room, threw on the yukata (if you’re going to do it, do it right!), and devoured a large bowl of delicious soup. A little more down-to-earth than in the restaurant, but just as good.
There was also the opportunity to try a few regional sakes, which I gladly took, as I wasn’t tired yet and I wanted to buy some sake the next day. That was (luckily!) a little less intense than in the Fushimi Sake Village. Only three very good regional sakes, plus a few small snacks – the ideal evening program before heading to the room for the last night away from home.