Japan Trip – Kanazawa

Our next stop was the charming Kanazawa. We were first off the ship and caught another awesome cab driver right away. No english, but we chatted through our translators. Takamori was so sweet and funny. We even arranged for him to pick us up at a certain spot at the end of the day and he was there waiting for us. I brought him a donut and he wouldn’t take it – I had to insist pretty hard. The Japanese are so lovely.

Takamori dropped us in the heart of the Samurai district. We visited three restored samurai residences from a high ranking family to foot soldier houses. We walked over to the Museum of Contemporary Art. We took in the free installations outside and the rabbit performance inside. Then we spent quite a bit of time in the Kenrokuen Gardens. It is considered one of the three most beautiful gardens in Japan. The name means garden of the six sublimities referring to the six essential attributes that create the perfect garden – spaciousness, seclusion, artificiality, antiquity, water features and panoramic views. We walked around the castle area, through the geisha district and the gold leaf shops before calling it a day.