From Nagano, I reserved my seat for the train to Kanazawa, and then I went to the platform to wait. It would only take about an hour and a half to get there. Once I got to the train station in Kanazawa, I debated paying for a locker so that I could explore, since I wouldn’t be able to check in to my hostel anyway. I went to the station’s locker room to find out that all of the lockers were full. There was a sign showing two other locker rooms to go to, so I checked both of those out. Both of them were also full, and people were continuously coming into the locker room with suitcases, also looking for lockers. I decided it would be a lost cause and chose to head to my hostel. I bought a day pass for the bus (which I didn’t actually end up needing because I just walked to most places). The interesting thing about buses in Japan (or at least the buses that I saw) was that you enter the bus from the back and sit down. Then when you get off, you get off at the front and you pay the bus driver as you leave. You would think that this would completely slow everything down, but the Japanese have a structured way of doing things. My hostel allowed me to check in early and since I was only staying one night, they got me through as fast as they could so that I could explore the city. I dropped my stuff off in my room and went back to the bus to head to the Higashiyama district, which was also known as the geisha district. Walking onto those streets made me realise that I was no longer in a nice, quiet town anymore. Once again, there were people everywhere! I pondered getting something to eat since I still hadn’t eaten a proper lunch, but everywhere seemed extremely crowded and very expensive.
I continued walking to the Kazuemachi district, which was right next to the river. It was quieter and quaint, but there seemed to be nothing that was open.
So I walked towards Omicho market. Most of the stalls had already closed, or they were about to close since it would be closing time in the next half hour. I went to the basement of the market and there happened to be a sushi shop putting discount stickers on all of their sushi. Well, at least it would get me by until I found something to eat! I walked towards the Naga-machi district, which is also known as the Samurai district, and I planned to eat at an Indian restaurant, as it seemed to be one of the only places listed as gluten-free. On the way, I stopped at the Oyama Shrine, and explored the garden and pond there.
I went to the Indian restaurant and got there before it opened and it already had people waiting outside, so I decided to take a walk around the Samurai district. A lot of it was closed, but there were streams that ran in front of all of the store-fronts and houses, which was really cool!
I came back to the restaurant to see that there was a sign on the door, stating that they were full and it would likely be an hour to an hour and a half wait. I looked at some of the other restaurants closeby, but they also seemed to have lineups. I decided to just wait at the Indian place and finally, a couple left. I went up to the door and the chef said that they still had reservations, and I’d have to come back in two hours if I wanted a table. Shucks! There was another place close by, but I was avoiding it since it was pricey. However, it had open tables so I decided to just go in. It was called Love For All, and I think it’s more of a tapas-style place. However, after looking at the prices, I decided I could only afford one plate and possibly a dessert (only because they had gluten-free cake). They brought me an appetiser as soon as I sat down, which was kind of weird because you still had to pay for it (I guess as a cover charge?). I decided on the California Crab Avocado Boat, which they seared right in front of me using a blowtorch. I have to admit it was really good, and I would have loved to try more dishes if I could afford it.
I got the chocolate cake as well, and then I decided to walk to Kanazawa Castle. The good thing about it being Golden Week is that some cities had light shows after sunset, and this was one of those cities. They lit up the castle grounds, as well as the garden, which was a cool way to see the sites (and it was free!). I enjoyed my time walking through the castle grounds but once I got to the gardens, I realised that they were already closed. So I walked back to my hostel, which seemed to take a lot longer than Google Maps’ estimation of 30 minutes.
The next day, I got up early to see if I could do my laundry at the hostel (I figured it would be more expensive in Kyoto). It finished right at check-out time, so I packed everything up and left my bag at the hostel. I decided to explore the Kenroku-en Gardens since after reading the reviews, many said that if I had to visit ONE Japanese garden, it should be this one. I caught the bus there, and stood in an extremely long line to buy a ticket. Then I spent about an hour and a half walking around the garden. To be honest, I didn’t think it was THAT impressive (keep in mind this is coming from someone who’s not a flower/garden person) but I DID share my opinion with another traveller and they said the same thing. It was really just a bunch of trees – not really any flowers, and (oddly enough) VERY few birds.
I walked back to the Geisha district since the buses were extremely packed, and I decided to tour a traditional geisha house. I had to pay the fee, take off my shoes, and store all of my stuff in a locker. Then I got to walk around the house and see all of the rooms. If I paid extra, I could get matcha tea with a treat, so I decided to give it a try. The matcha was a bit too bitter for my taste, but the treat was really good and I don’t even know what it was! After the tour, my goal was to go to a pancake place that I had seen the day before (Cafe Tamon) because it was entirely gluten-free. I was struggling to choose between a savoury pancake (Eggs Benedict), or a sweet one. But knowing how I handle sweet things, I decided to go for the Eggs Benedict. So.. not trying to be overly dramatic but this was probably the best pancake I’ve ever eaten in my entire life! No joke, it felt like I was eating a cloud. I’ve never had a pancake that fluffy before! Absolutely amazing – 10/10, even though again, it was pricey (but totally worth it). I caught a bus back to my hostel, but the traffic was so bad, it took forever to get back. Then I grabbed my stuff, waited for another bus, and went to the train station. Again, traffic was horrible so I had just missed the train. Luckily, there was another one within 30 minutes to Kyoto. But I’ll save that for the next post. Love always
Prairie Girl Abroad 