Sake, sashimi and sakura in Kanazawa, Japan

It’s a 15-hour direct flight from Sydney, Australia to Vancouver. No thanks! Instead we broke up the journey with a stopover in Japan. We took the 3-1/2 hour Shinkansen (bullet train) from Narita Airport to Kanazawa on the west coast, overlooking the Sea of Japan. We’d never been and thought it would be less expensive and less crowded than Japan’s Golden Triangle of tourism – Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto. Wrong on both counts.

Kanazawa

When we scoped out hotel prices in Kanazawa it seemed very affordable. By the time we booked a few weeks later, prices had more than doubled. In the interim, the Japanese Meteorological Agency had released its cherry blossom forecast. Our dates coincided exactly with the days predicted for the peak bloom in Kanazawa. Everyone and their dog wanted to be in Kanazawa that week.

When we arrived the station was packed, both with locals and foreigners. We’ve been to Japan several times and visited many regions. This was the most foreign visitors we’ve ever seen. The post-Covid travel boom is everywhere.

Kanazawa Station is an attraction unto itself. We exited through the imposing Tsuzumimon Gate, built to symbolize Japanese drums. There are many more artworks around the station in addition to a shopping mall, hotel, garden and dozens of restaurants.

Exploring the streets

Our hotel was in the city centre, a short walk from all the major attractions. Our first chilly afternoon was spent strolling the grounds of the 16th century Kanazawa Castle and adjacent Kenrokuen Garden, rated as one of the three best gardens in Japan. The next day we joined the hordes of other tourists exploring the historic Nagamachi and Higashi Chaya Geisha districts.

The Nagamachi District was home to powerful samurais. Many of their homes remain intact. We wound our way into the narrow back streets to get away from the crowds. The Higashi Chaya district was one of three neighbourhoods in the city designated for geishas. The striking geisha houses remain but have now mainly been turned into teahouses and restaurants for tourists. We ditched the crowds and found a quiet spot to sample fruit daifuku (flawless, fresh juicy fruits wrapped in mochi) washed down with sparkling plum wine.

Oops

The 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art is noted for its architecture and impressive collection of Japanese contemporary art. We wandered its halls for half an hour, perplexed at why it seemed so devoid of art. We thought they were taking minimalism to the extreme. Finally one of the staff explained that although the building was open, all the exhibition halls were closed due to damage from the January 1st Noto earthquake.

The meteorologists nailed it – we were there for 満開 – the peak blossom days

Kenrokuen Garden is known for its spectacular cherry blossom display. Our first foray into the garden was a disappointment. Buds were barely breaking. We thought the meteorologists had miscalculated. The next day was better, but only slightly. We returned the third day along with throngs of Japanese. Overnight the cherries had burst into full bloom, on the very day predicted by the meteorologists.

Japanese celebrate cherry blossom season with religious fervour. They gather with friends and family to admire the blossoms, most often on blankets under the trees with snacks and the occasional large bottle of sake. Picnicking is not allowed in Kenrokuen so the city celebrated with a massive Sakura Festival in a nearby park. We had other plans for the day, but ditched them in favour of hanging out at the festival and re-visiting the garden grounds.

Getting away from the crowds (not!) in the mountain village of Shirakawa-go

Shirakawa-go is a fairytale village barely 60 kms from Kanazawa. It is located in a rugged river valley at the foot of Mount Hakusan, one of Japan’s three holy mountains. We thought it would be a nice getaway from the crowds in Kanazawa. The fact that all the buses were sold out should have been a clue we were mistaken.

We got the last seats on an early local bus for the 90 minute ride high up into the Japanese Alps.  Even though some cherry trees were starting to bloom there was still evidence of snowpiles from the winter. Ogi-machi, the UNESCO-protected traditional village, has only a handful of streets and less than 2,000 residents. We were lucky to get there early to enjoy the serenity. Within an hour tour buses were lined up entering town.

The traditional houses are “Gassho style”. They are built from solid wood beams supporting steeply sloped, thatched roofs – perfect for the heavy snowfall. Residents are proudly maintaining the traditional style. Many of them have set up little teashops or restaurants in the base of their homes.

The organized tour groups all stay together and march along the same route. That allowed us to wander off onto the few sidestreets and find some quiet shops to indulge in local snacks and tea. For lunch we hiked 500 m up a steep road to Hiiragi Kushikayi restaurant. It serves the region’s famous Hida Beef along with grilled trout from the creek behind the restaurant. Few tourists go there because it requires walking uphill (gasp!). We burned off some calories with another steep climb to the Ogimachi Castle observation point. There’s no castle anymore but the panoramic vistas over the village and across to the snow-capped mountains are stunning. Then there was just time for more tea and sweets before the bus to Kanazawa.

Eating our way through Kanazawa and Omicho Market

Kanazawa is famed for its food, especially its fresh fish. We were determined to make the most of it. Our hotel was connected to the city’s fish market – Omicho Market. Early the first morning we went into the market hoping to find coffee. There are no coffee shops, but there are hundreds of stalls selling fresh fish. Half the stalls are food vendors, offering fish, some cooked, most raw, or steaming bowls of Kanazawa Oden, a traditional soup. We dove right in with the locals. It wasn’t a traditional Canadian breakfast but it was a delicious start to the day.

That set the tone for the rest of our stay. Every neighbourhood seemed to have its own specialty. We tried them all. In Shirakawa we had one of its specialties, shiratama zenzai (red bean soup), for breakfast, then of course climbed to Hiiragi Kushikayi for its succulent Hida beef. One of the more curious specialties of Kanazawa is its soft ice cream with gold leaf.

Our final meal in Kanazawa was not at a restaurant; it was at a sake bar – Kanazawa Shu Shu Sake Bar, run by a cheerful husband and wife. There are only about a dozen seats at the bar. The husband pours tasting flights from his more than one hundred sake variety’s, while his wife cooks up small food dishes in the tiny kitchen.

And finally, the food pictures a lot of you have been asking for…

If you go…

The Japan Rail Pass is no longer the bargain it once was. There are however regional passes that can still save money. Check out some options here and buy online in advance.

The Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO) has excellent online resources. They make a special effort to encourage tourism to lesser-known regions beyond the “Golden Triangle” of Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka.

• Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO)
• Japan Guide website

If you like watching travel vlogs on Youtube, we highly recommend the Japan-Guide channel. The JNTO funds professional quality digital-nomad style travel videos covering all regions of Japan.

• Japan Guide YouTube Channel

Finally, Kanazawa and Shirakawa both have very good websites:

• Kanazawa Tourism Office
• Shirakawa-go Tourist Association