As we set off, the sun was shining on the Oimachi platform, a station just a few stops from Tokyo…

Where we caught our shinkansen! I still always feel the need to take a picture of these trains every time I’m beside one.

Let’s go to Kanazawa!

As the train left Tokyo, Fuji was clearly visible, seemingly perched on top of an expressway. It’s actually quite surprising how easily you can spot Mount Fuji from random places in Tokyo.

The further west we headed, the cloudier it got. Rain was forecast for our first day, but thankfully it only lasted a few hours. I stared out the window as the train sped silently past the Japanese Alps.

Kanazawa station’s intricate interior…

And exterior! This huge gate was designed to evoke the image of the tsuzumi, a type of Japanese drum.

After we checked in to our hotel we set out for some lunch. A tempura set…

With chasoba – soba noodles made with green tea.

Our hotel was not too far from Nagamachi, a samurai district located at the foot of the former Kanazawa Castle, where samurai and their families used to reside. With clouds hanging overhead, and knotted trees growing from the cracks, it was atmospheric to walk around these old alleyways.

Nagamachi in Kanazawa

In comparison to Tokyo’s 13.5 million, Kanazawa has a population of 465,000 which makes walking about this city a quiet affair. It has a few central areas, but just a few blocks outside these places it becomes eerily empty. My first impression was that it looks like it’s in decline: storefronts and signage which were obviously modern about 30 years ago, are now lonely and rusting. That’s not to say it’s a bad thing. It’s just different.

One of Kanazawa’s many textured buildings: there’s still beauty in these scenes.

A gorgeous evening glow shines on a strange building. I felt like this belonged in Twin Peaks.

A neglected temple in Kanazawa at dusk.

A restaurant glowing, waiting for its first customers of the evening.

The next day, the sun was shining. A quiet morning filled with greens, blues and whites.

And a huge piece of broccoli

At Ishiura shrine, we found a red pathway of torii gates.

And went for a stroll

The chozuya, where you cleanse your hands, was filled with floating flowers. I’d never seen this before in a Japanese temple.

The sun casting a nice light over Ishiura shrine.

Omikuji are random fortunes written on strips of paper that you can usually purchase at shrines for about 100 or 200 yen. If your predicted fortune is bad, it’s customary to tie up your paper and leave it at the temple. I guess a lot of people had bad fortunes here!

The best shade of green. I wrote a separate post about our visit to beautiful Kenrokuen here.

The 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art was completely rammed when we went, ie. hundreds of people lining up to get in. This was just as social distancing was becoming a thing around the world, and so we stayed away (plus I couldn’t be bothered to wait). Instead, we just browsed in the museum shop, chilled out in the grounds…

And then went and grabbed some lunch at a nearby cafe. This curry rice was great, featuring a different type of curry on each side.

While dinner was at an old-school mom-and-pop Chinese restaurant: sparkling clean, but equally old, its decor unchanged from the 80s.

An empty carriage on the train back to Tokyo. It was totally full on the way up, but because we left early in the day, we beat the crowds on our return trip. Now, of course, the train would be empty for different reasons… I wonder how long it will be before Japan is open for business once again?