With another holiday and travel on the docket, I figured it was beyond time to publish about the last trip my wife and I made: a Golden Week trip to Kanazawa, Ishikawa.
Located on the Sea of Japan coast about 3 hours by bullet train from Tokyo, the city is the current capital of Ishikawa prefecture and a former castle town from the historic eras. Kanazawa flourished in the Japanese middle ages, with the feudal lords investing in arts (such as lacquerware) which survive to this day. Right now, it’s a smaller regional city, but with well-preserved historic monuments. Well worth a visit in my estimation.
After arriving in Kanazawa, we headed out to the city’s famous Japanese garden, Kenrokuen.
The following day, we took a trip to visit Shirakawago, which is a registered and maintained historic village — the homes and buildings are all traditional Japanese using thatched roofs. Despite looking like an open-air museum, some of these are still used as homes.
The final full day, we spent the morning wandering the traditional samurai district before getting in the car and heading out to the countryside. We wanted to find — and made our way to — some natural locations, including a “thousand pool” hill that promises some amazing views…just not when it’s gray and rainy!
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