Alex Quinn's Japan Journal

Akemi and I took a trip to Kanazawa. It's north of Osaka on the northern coast, about 2.5 hours by an express train. At this time of year, it's covered in snow.

First, we went looking for a conveyor belt (kaiten) sushi restaurant that Akemi read about. It took a long time, but we found it. The sushi was delicious. After that, we were cold and our sneakers were soaked. We stopped in a little cafe that sells traditional Japanese sweets (wagashi). Akemi's shoes were especially soaked. There was a heater there, so Akemi secretly took off her shoes, put them next to the heater, and snuck back to the table. I did the same. The people there were so nice, when they noticed, they gave us each some newspaper to put our feet on so our feet wouldn't get cold and dirty from the floor there. If that wasn't nice enough, they went a step further and offered Akemi a fresh, dry pair of socks. They offered the same to me, but of course they wouldn't fit, and my feet weren't as wet as Akemi's anyway. But, they weren't selling socks here. This was a flat out gift to a pair of strangers. It was really quite touching.

We took this picture to remember how nice people in Kanazawa are. That's a guide book for Kanazawa. Not surprisingly, it says, "Kanazawa," in Japanese.

Next, we went to Kanazawa's famous Japanese garden, Kenrokuen. It was covered in snow and it was getting late, so we weren't sure if we could go in. On the contrary, we got lucky. It was a special event that evening. They had lights all around the garden. At 6:00 PM, after it was dark, they opened the park for free for a special night time snowy garden viewing event. It was swarming with people. People were taking pictures everywhere. It was like a big photography festival. I hate to take pictures of anything if it infringes on the peace and ability to enjoy the event. I'd rather have memories than nice pictures. But, I indulged a bit and Akemi was all in favor of it. So, here are my pictures.

Inside Kenrokuen park in Kanazawa. The ropes you see from the tops of the trees are put there by the gardener so the weight of the snow won't make the trees sag.

Inside Kenrokuen park in Kanazawa. Taken from a small bridge that goes over a tiny stream.

Inside Kenrokuen park in Kanazawa. This scene was about 20 times as big as you see here. I just didn't have the wide angle lens I'd need to capture it. It was extraordinarily beautiful. I didn't want to take a picture at all. I just wanted to sit and admire it. You'll notice the reflection in a big pond.

Inside Kenrokuen park in Kanazawa. Same place. Just gorgeous.

Taken from inside Kenrokuen park in Kanazawa pointing out to the city.

We stayed the night in a hotel Akemi found using a hotel search feature on her cell phone. By using her cell phone, we saved about 17%. ¥9000 became ¥7500. In United States funds, ≈$90 became ≈$75.

Alex Quinn's Japan Journal

2/11/2005, Kanazawa trip, day 1