Day 13 detailed - Kanazawa to Kyoto

 Tuesday, 10 May 2016 in more detail

Original posted LIVE here.

This morning we depart Kanazawa and travel by express train to Kyoto. The trains are given evocative names and ours was called "Thunderbird 18" which was stopping at Kyoto on the way to Osaka.




While waiting for our train, I saw various other types of train which I found interesting.







We were waiting in a little air conditioned waiting room on the platform when around ten senior Police walked past, accompanied by men in suits and some cameramen. They looked very serious and important. I caught this photo as they passed.



Finally our train arrived and we caught this Thunderbird to Kyoto. As you can see, the seats are spacious and comfortable, and even though the seat on this "Limited Express" train were not reserved, there was plenty of space for us and our bags. The carriage was not more than 25% full on this trip.





Some photos in transit of the view as we travelled between Kanazawa and Kyoto below . . . the weather today is overcast and raining.











In the distance we could see Lake Biwa as we got closer to Kyoto.



Once we arrived in Kyoto, we then had to catch a local train closer to our apartment. Then we had to wait an hour or two before we could check into our AirBnB apartment at 3:00pm, so we found a comfortable McDonald's to grab a snack and get out of the rain.

Our apartment was on the eleventh floor and is located here. This is the view from our small balcony, looking north east towards Nijō Castle.

This apartment was very comfortable and cost around AUD425 for five nights. It could sleep up to six people so there was plenty of room for only two, plus it included laundry facilities and a small kitchen. Here is the link to the apartment where we stayed: Kyoto apartment.



About Kyoto:

Kyoto (京都, Kyōto) served as Japan's capital and the emperor's residence from 794 until 1868. It is now the country's seventh largest city with a population of 1.4 million people and a modern face.

Over the centuries, Kyoto was destroyed by many wars and fires, but due to its historic value, the city was dropped from the list of target cities for the atomic bomb and spared from air raids during World War II. Countless temples, shrines and other historically priceless structures survive in the city today.



After checking in to our apartment and drying off our bags, we set off to go exploring and have some dinner. Heading west down Oikedōri we soon found some arcades where India had success . . .




Some interesting T-shirts for sale here, conveniently there are English language translations which you may enjoy (with their spelling featured below because it may be hard to read on the photo):

"I Would Die For My Health"

"I'm Not What I Was Before"

"I'm hypocrite"

"Tribe of Delusion"

"I'm kind of person who thrive on scolded"

"Bad Boy"

"Small Fly (means I'm very weak in Japanese)"





We were back in our eleventh floor apartment around 10pm when there was a large explosion heard outside. My daughter looked at me with widened eyes and asked "what was that?".

Keep in mind there had been a major earthquake in southern Japan just two or three weeks earlier. The building was not shaking but the explosion was very loud. We went out onto the balcony and noticed a section of the suburb down to our left was in the dark.

As we were looking we heard a second loud explosion!! And sparks flying everywhere from a power pole down below. I explained how it appears one of the power transformers on a power pole had exploded, demonstrated by the section of the city we could see was now experiencing a blackout.

Shortly thereafter we heard the sound of sirens as fire engines came from the fire station a few blocks away. I recorded the sound of the sirens here:

Also some shakey and blurry video here from our balcony of the immediate aftermath is here:

We went for a walk to see what happened as we could see people gathering in the street below. By the time we got there repairs were already well underway.

An interesting start to our five days exploring Kyoto!

Day 12 detailed - Kanazawa, gold leaf capital of the world

Monday, 9 May 2016 in more detail

Original posted LIVE here.

Kanazawa is the largest producer of gold leaf in the world. They make it only one micron thick. Or thin. That's thin. We bought a one day bus pass and caught the bus to two of the major attractions, Kanazawa Castle and Kenrokuen Garden. Both are considered national treasures, with the garden "designated as a cultural property and national site of special scenic beauty".

Today we're going to explore this historic town and we start by walking 15 minutes from our accommodation to the main JR train station. Outside the Kanazawa Station concourse is the red-coloured Tsuzumi Gate, the design of which is based on traditional Japanese hand drums or tsuzumi.








We go to the East Gate bus terminal and each buy a ticket to catch one of the buses which does a circuit of various destinations we want to visit.




On the comfortable bus, a screen shows the route and various stops, along with announcements in both Japanese and English language.








At the below Police station, some of the police vehicles have interesting additions on top for overseeing traffic perhaps?




Below is a statue of Maeda Toshiie, one of the leading generals of Oda Nobunaga following the Sengoku period of the 16th century extending to the Azuchi–Momoyama period.

Before Hideyoshi's death in 1598 he appointed Toshiie to the council of Five Elders along with Tokugawa Ieyasu (1543-1616) as the guardian of his young son Toyotomi Hideyori until he would be able to succeed his father. Maeda himself died just a year after Hideyoshi and was succeeded by his son Toshinaga, who supported Ieyasu. Toshinaga was to complete the construction of Kanazawa Castle, begun by his father.



The below young lady is taking a photo of a special Kanazawa delicacy, an ice cream with gold leaf.

It is exciting to see Kanazawa Castle through the trees.

From 1583 to the end of the Edo Period, Kanazawa Castle (金沢城, Kanazawajō) was the seat of the powerful Maeda Clan, lords of Kaga, a feudal domain ranking second only to the Tokugawa possesions in terms of size and wealth.

The castle burnt down several times over the centuries, and the most recent fires of 1881 were survived only by two storehouses and the Ishikawa-mon Gate. The gate dates from 1788 and faces Kenrokuen. For several decades, Kanazawa University occupied the former castle grounds until the campus was moved to the city's outskirts in the early 1990s. Since then, a project is underway to rebuild the castle's former buildings. In the meantime, most central structures are standing again and make a visit more interesting.



Below you can see Ishikawa Gate, the main entrance into the ground of Kanazawa Castle












Above are some details of the construction techniques used. Although the castle today is a modern reconstruction, is has been done using authentic ancient construction methods.



Hidden in the above building are trapdoors so when the enemy passed through the entrance rocks and hot oil could be dropped onto the enemy . . . . ouch.

From inside the trapdoors can be seen, in the below photo . . .













Next to Kanazawa Castle is Kenrokuen Garden.

Kenrokuen Garden is a beautiful Japanese garden with an area of 11.4 hectares located on the heights of the central part of Kanazawa and next to Kanazawa Castle. The Maeda family, who ruled the Kaga Clan (the present Ishikawa and Toyama areas) in feudal times, maintained the garden from generation to generation. From its scale and beauty, it is regarded as one of the most beautiful feudal lords' gardens in Japan.

As we entered we saw this wedding party with photographer pass . . .








It is difficult to describe what it is like to look at trees, like this one, which was planted in the 13th Century, having been planted as a seed by a feudal Lord.












It was easy to see why Kenrokuen Garden at Kanazawa is considered one of the best gardens in Japan.























Time for a delicious ice cream from a vending machine . . .



Near the entrance to the gardens we ate lunch at a restaurant, these are our delicious meals . . .






Note my lunch, above, included a snail! And carrot cut in the shape of a butterfly.

We went to catch the next tourist bus but missed it by seconds, rather than wait 20 minutes for the next one, we decided to go exploring on foot . . .










We arrived at Hazuka, a manufacturer of gold leaf, a popular museum and shop. Website is here. This is our location. Inside you can see an explanation of the manufacturing process plus many beautiful items they make.














When we return to Kanazawa station we see this fountain clock, there is a video below of it in action. Very clever!





We are only in Kanazawa for two nights so we spent this evening exploring the large shopping and food complex underneath Kanazawa station.  Tomorrow we catch the train to our next destination, Kyoto!