Kanazawa is a bit off the normal tourist trail, but we would highly recommend giving this place at least 2 days if you can especially in spring with the sakura as there is a surprising amount to see. There is a spectacular station, geisha and samari districts with old photogenic streets, a Ninja house (recommended by Chris' sister, but a little expensive so we didn't go) and one of the best gardens in Japan.
We decided to make the most of the sunny weather so decided to sack off Takayama (the Sakura wasn't even out!) and jumped on the first train (at a reasonable time) north - it was to be a long, but rewarding day. The Shinkansen was extended to Kanazawa from Nagano in 2015, making it only 2 and a half hours from Tokyo - amazing! After the slow journey on two local trains out from the mountains, we jumped on the Shinkansen at Toyama and just 15 minutes later we were there.
As you exit the train, you realise there has been some investment in Kanazawa. The station has a spectacular atrium, with a huge modern Torii gate and a 'real' water clock (check out the pic at the bottom of the page).
The sites were a couple of km from the station, but this wasn't a problem as there is a very good cycle hire scheme in the city. Similar to Boris bikes in London and other cities around the world, you pay a one off fee to access the bikes and then you get an unlimited amount of free 30 minute journeys. As the city was fairly small it is, unless you decide to tour, difficult to go over 30 minutes from one place to the next so it worked great.
We grabbed our bikes and cycled along the pavement (legal in Japan) in the sun, ringing our bells and dodging pedestrians - great fun!!!
Our first stop was the excellent modern art museum - bike stop just outside to the south of the main building.
There are a range of exhibits free of charge, including the famous 'the pool'. We really enjoyed our time wandering around the interesting building taking in all the free exhibits. It would be easy to spend longer there, but we needed to move on.
Kanazawa is best known for its garden - apparently one of the top 3 in the country - and this was really why we were there. It was only a 2 minute walk across the road from the museum.
The sakura was in full bloom, which meant the garden and castle were free to enter!
The sakura was spectacularly beautiful. We had seen it starting to open in Tokyo and Hiroshima, but this was something else. The roads and paths around the garden and castle were covered in beautiful blossom - we could see why it is such a festival here.
We decided not to get too carried away and headed into the garden. It is smaller than we expected and didn't have any nice grassy areas to sit down, but it was stunning nonetheless.
Julia had always wanted to go to a traditional tea house, so we were pleasantly surprised to see one right in front of us in an idyllic setting, with cherry trees, a wonderful lake and a delightful waterfall. There was even carp and a heron to also make the setting even better!
Tea just tastes so much better in these situations.
After our refreshing tea, we headed up into the garden passing through and under Sakura trees, streams and moss covered woodland. This place was fantastic.
It was a little busy, but that did not detract and actually contributed to the energy and festival atmosphere. There were families, friends, tourists and women dressing in kimonos all enjoying the garden and Sakura.
After a couple of hours, we headed to the castle. We were blown away by the amount of Sakura - wow this was special...
As you cross the bridge into the castle you are completely surrounded by pink. This looks even better against the white of the castle and the bright blue sky. There wasn't much in the castle from what we could see, but it was a lovely place to chill out.
This theme continued inside as we wandered around and down to another small garden.
Sadly we had to leave as we had already booked accommodation in Takayama so found the bike park and peddled back to the station, checked the time at the cool water clock and jumped on our 16:47 shinkansen.
It was a fantastic day, we just wish we had longer.
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| Kanazawa castle in full bloom |
We decided to make the most of the sunny weather so decided to sack off Takayama (the Sakura wasn't even out!) and jumped on the first train (at a reasonable time) north - it was to be a long, but rewarding day. The Shinkansen was extended to Kanazawa from Nagano in 2015, making it only 2 and a half hours from Tokyo - amazing! After the slow journey on two local trains out from the mountains, we jumped on the Shinkansen at Toyama and just 15 minutes later we were there.
 |
| Shinkansen |
The sites were a couple of km from the station, but this wasn't a problem as there is a very good cycle hire scheme in the city. Similar to Boris bikes in London and other cities around the world, you pay a one off fee to access the bikes and then you get an unlimited amount of free 30 minute journeys. As the city was fairly small it is, unless you decide to tour, difficult to go over 30 minutes from one place to the next so it worked great.
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| Kanazawa station and the huge twisted torii gate |
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| Ready for a bike ride? |
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| How are they not getting wet? |
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| Really cool building |
There are a range of exhibits free of charge, including the famous 'the pool'. We really enjoyed our time wandering around the interesting building taking in all the free exhibits. It would be easy to spend longer there, but we needed to move on.
 |
| Just chilling out |
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| The world has turned blue |
Kanazawa is best known for its garden - apparently one of the top 3 in the country - and this was really why we were there. It was only a 2 minute walk across the road from the museum.
The sakura was in full bloom, which meant the garden and castle were free to enter!
 |
| Just relaxing looking at the sakura |
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| Wow... |
Julia had always wanted to go to a traditional tea house, so we were pleasantly surprised to see one right in front of us in an idyllic setting, with cherry trees, a wonderful lake and a delightful waterfall. There was even carp and a heron to also make the setting even better!
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| The tea house |
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| Julia with her cuppa |
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| The view |
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| Tea anyone? |
After our refreshing tea, we headed up into the garden passing through and under Sakura trees, streams and moss covered woodland. This place was fantastic.
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| Beautiful garden |
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| A few people enjoying the garden |
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| Double selfie! |
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| More photos |
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| Sakura sakura everywhere |
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| Quite stunning |
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| Just chilling out |
Sadly we had to leave as we had already booked accommodation in Takayama so found the bike park and peddled back to the station, checked the time at the cool water clock and jumped on our 16:47 shinkansen.
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| Time to go! |
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