| From Joetsu City you can get yourself to Kanazawa for a mere 2 hour drive (depending on how fast you drive), 160ish KM, \3,500, and a half tank of gas. Kanazawa is about as far as driving to Niigata City but gives you a chance to get that all-important breathe of fresh air that we need from time to time. Kanazawa is known as being a little Kyoto but far more manageable. There are many, and I mean many temples and shrines that you can visit as well as Japan's 3rd coolest garden (which is Kanazawa`s star attraction). The drive to Kanazawa is super easy. All you have to do is take the Hokuriku Expressway all the way down. There are two exits for Kanazawa: Kanazawa Higishi and Kanazawa Nishi, either exit will work and you can ask for a map of the city from the guy at the toll booth. It is best to park your car (which you can do at the train station) and take local transportation. There is this cool loop bus that takes you to all the main tourist sites of Kanazawa. The bus is called the "Kanazawa Loop Bus" and for \500 you can get an all day pass, which can be purchased from the bus driver. The loop bus departs from the train station every 15 minutes. You can also get a very good bilingual map of the city from the tourist information office inside the train station. A must see in terms of temples is Myoryu-ji or more widely known as Ninja-dera. This temple has tons of cool secret passageways, trick doors, secret chambers and the like. You must call ahead to make a reservation for a tour (076-241-0888) and knowing some Japanese is helpful for this but you can manage with a bit of Janglish. The only way to see the temple is on the tour and the tour is only in Japanese. However, you can get an English brochure that explains the majority of the cool stuff found in the temple. The last tour starts at 4pm and the cost is \800. The Kanazawa Bus only takes you as far as the Katamachi District so you will have to walk the rest of the way down Minami O-dori and across the bridge to the Teramachi Temple District. It is a bit difficult to find but if you have a good map you will get there. Along the way you will see a handful of other temples that are worth checking out. The next must see would have to be Kanazawa`s star attraction Kenroku-en Garden. This is a huge garden that includes the six Chinese attributes of perfection. I am not to sure about the Chinese perfection stuff but I do agree it is a gorgeous garden. In it you will find Japan's first fountain, a huge statue of some god-like figure, tons of ponds with really big fish and beautiful trees and flowers. It is a great place to visit in any season. There are also tons of souvenir shops in and around the garden for that all-important omiyage purchase. The cost to get into the garden is only \300 and the loop bus will take you to the front steps. Across the moat from Kenroku-en you can also check out Kanazawa Castle and Gardens (or at least what is left of the Castle). It is an additional \300 to go into this area but if you're into gardens than it is worth it. Another place to visit is the Higashi Geisha District. This area is the one of the first stops on the loop bus. To get to the main area you want to walk along Johoku O-dori and find your way to Chayagai Street(please consult a map), here you can visit the Shima Geisha house (\400). As you walk around the coble stone area you will feel like you are walking back into time with all the slatted wooden facade geisha houses. It is a very cute, quaint little area. While in the district you should also stop by the Sakuda Gold Leaf Company. Here you can learn about kinpaku the process of making Gold Leaf (a very thin piece of gold foil), drink tea with gold leaf flecks and even get your own gold leaf souvenir. The staff is very friendly and provides an English pamphlet on the gold leaf process. Don't forget to check upstairs where you will find a golden bathroom and array of gold painted Japanese screens. You can also leave your own special message in the guest book upstairs. After all this walking about in Kanazawa I am sure you will also get quite hungry. But don't you worry there are plenty of yummy places to eat. If you are in the mood for sushi Kanazawa is the place for you. You can find a lot of sushi restaurants at Omicho Market. This is a fish market located off of Hyakumangoku O-dori. Again, the loop bus has a stop for this as well. Even if you don't get something to eat here it is still an interesting place to check out. They are stalls and stalls of fish throughout the market, some that are so fresh they are still alive upon purchase. Another good place to find food is in the Katamachi district, just stay along Minami O-dori and you will find plenty of places to satisfy your taste buds. This is also a great place to get some shopping in as well. If you are looking for an excellent sushi restaurant in this district I recommend Janome-sushi. It is next to the small river that is in this district, just past the corner where Hirosaka and Minami O-dori intersect (you can consult your Lonely Planet or just ask a local where it is). If you decided that a day is just not enough for you in Kanazawa there are a handful of places that you can stay. If you are looking for the traditional Japanese thing, there are several ryokan in the area. However, most are quite expensive (although they usually include meals). The cheapest ryokan I found was Murataya Ryokan at \4500 per person. The Japanese Guesthouse website (http://japaneseguesthouses.com/index.htm) will book the ryokan for you for free but you must fill out their form at least 5 business days in advance. (Please note: this service is good not only for Kanazawa but all of Japan). If you don't want to do the Japanese-y thing you can also find several hotels, especially around Kanazawa station. I stayed at Hotel Inn Kanazawa (formerly a Holiday Inn) and thought it was quite nice. It was \13,000 for a double room and for \1,300 more you can get the breakfast buffet, which was very good. There are also a few youth hostels in the area if you need to go super-po. I do recommend booking early, especially if it is a long weekend as things get booked up pretty fast. There are many other great sites in Kanazawa that I did mention in great detail such as Oyama Shrine and Nagamachi Samurai District that are worth checking out. Regardless of what you do, I am sure you will enjoy your time in Kanazawa. My best suggestion is to just walk along the main streets of Kanazawa and discover the variety of sites the city has to offer. |