I Am A Celebrity!: Cruising in Japan

FROM SOKCHO we sailed the 400 miles back across the Sea of Japan, back to the Japanese main island, and the town of Kanazawa. This voyage included one of our "at sea" days. The weather was a bit cooler on the Sea of Japan side of the island, and windy, so not our best at sea day. Kanazawa is on the southwesterly side of the Honshu coast, nearly 200 miles northwest from Tokyo.

KANAZAWA WAS one of the stops where we arranged for a private driver. Their literature emphasized that he was a driver-only and not a registered tour guide. Nonethless, we thought he did a great job taking us to some of the high points, including Kenrokuen Garden, at the gateway to the Kanazawa Castle ruins.

UNFORTUNATELY, OUR stop in Kanazawa was on Sunday, and some of the attractions, like the marketplace, were not open. We also learned that (even though the Cruise Line's rather dissembling sales pitch was something like "see authentic Geisha girls in the "Geisha district,") that there really wasn't an opportunity to see that anymore. There are in actuality, 3 different districts where these Japanese dancing girls perform in tea houses in Kanazawa. However, these days, they are only open on certain evenings and only to select clientele. No sure what the latter means, but pretty sure we weren't "select." The culture surrounding the Geisha is somewhat secretive. They are known to be highly trained artists and performers. They are not "ladies of the evening" as some ignorant of the culture may have once believed (and perhaps ruined the experience for others to enjoy).

ACCORDING TO Japan-Guide.com: "Kanazawa's unchallenged main attraction is Kenrokuen, one of Japan's "three best landscape gardens" and by many considered the most beautiful of them all."

BEING, IN all probability, the highlight of our stop, Kenrokuen was our first stop on the tour. In my LightCentricPhotography Blog, I highlight this special garden with its own post, in much more detail and with many more photographs. Noted by many sources of one of Japan's 3 best such gardens, Kenrokuen sits just outside the gate of the Kanazawa Castle ruin site. Originally developed more than 700 years ago by a Samurai Daimyo, it is impressive. There is a large pond, many lanterns, and a few bridges, among some very mature, old trees, and shrubs. My pre-cruise research suggested that it would be the best garden we would see, so I was looking forward to it. As much as I did like it, I am not sure I agree about the "best" thing. Very good, but not really better than the others we saw while in Japan.

KANAZAWA CASTLE has its own interesting history. It burned nearly completely two different times (1631 and 1759). The first time, it was restored. Following the second time, it was not, but the remains of the storehouse - which looks like it should - a part of a castle, remains. The approach is probably more dramatic than the actual thing. As you enter the gates, you are anticipating something more than what you actually see. Still, it is a pretty impressive sight.

THERE IS a certain amount of exaggeration in the flowery claims of the cruise line literature about what awaits the visitor to each of these ports. I have always leaned toward setting realistic expectations in hopes of exceeding them. This is an area (and I have certainly stated this before - see, for example, my comments on reaching cities like Florence and Piza from the port of La Spezia) where I think that though they may think they are engaging in hyperbole, they are really just being disingenuous. Regarding the "Geisha District," our driver told us that there was really nothing more than the architecture to see there.

INSTEAD, HE took us directly to the old Samurai Village. That was a good use of our time, and as we walked the small streets of the village, it was pretty easy to see how this village at the base of the Kanazawa Castle might have been centuries ago.

NEAR ONE of the entrances to the village, there is an old Samurai home. Visitors may enter and walk through the home, seeing many old tools and artifacts used by the typical Samurai occupant. There is also a nice restaurant, and a couple shops that have been made to nicely blend in with the style of the village.

AT SOME point following the first great Kanazawa fire in 1631, a canal was dug from the mountains, through the village, bringing water to the castle. Dug at a constant slope, the water moves rather quickly along the canal.

ONE OF the things we had asked our tour company to provide was the ability to do some sake tasting. Sunday, of course, nearly thwarted that request, but our driver found a shop where we could at least look and perhaps buy sake, and even though they were not technically doing tours or tastings (which, we learned, were by appointment only), the young woman who conducted the tastings happened to be there, and very graciously offered to do a short tasting for us (we would get the opportunity to tour a sake distillery later in the week). It was very interesting. Not huge wine drinkers, it was fun to get a feel for the different flavors and processes that created them. It was a nice ending to the day in Kanazawa.

I Am A Celebrity!

Sunday, June 23, 2024

Cruising in Japan - Kanazawa

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