From Shinagawa on the Shinkansen

One of the experiences of Japan is the famous Shinkansen or “Bullet Train”. There is an extensive network all over Japan and our “self guided” tour is making good use of them….starting with our journey to Kanazawa. 

These trains are just fantastic. They can travel up to 330kms per hour, they are futuristically styled and very comfortable….oh yes, very comfortable, particularly in the Green Car. It is much like flying (in a number of ways!) except that the seats are bigger and more spacious, there is a never ending view flashing past the window and…..no turbulence!

So sleek!

Phew!….made it!

Our purpose for visiting Kanazawa is firstly to see the world famous Kenroku-en Gardens (supposed to be one of the top three in Japan) and also to experience some of the traditional Japanese society that has been preserved…somewhat.

So off we set to negotiate the complex, confusing and frantic thing that is rail travel here in Japan and, with a few wrong turns, missed gates and with some guidance from kindly and helpful perfect strangers, we found ourselves happily ensconced on our “Kagayaki 509” bound for our next destination.

Wendy grabbed this snap from the window. Quite magnificent scenery.
But you have to be quick!

The entry to Kanazawa train station. The design is based on the traditional Japanese Tsuzumi drums.

And in no time at all we had arrived at an ultra modern station (think Penrith Plaza with trains running through) and to our stunning hotel…..just newly completed and to our very spacious and luxurious room. What a contrast it would prove to be with the old traditional Higashi District….the Geisha area of the city.

But a small aside here. When researching this trip we found many references to crowded stations and trains and the nightmare of manhandling lots of large luggage in such conditions. But we also found out about a facility the Japanese have created to ship your large bags (by dedicated courier) to meet you at your destination. Hmm sounded a bit “out there” but we decided, what the heck we’ll give it a go. What’s the worst that could happen?🥴  So, with some apprehension, we sent our bags off ahead. It felt a bit like waving kids off on the bus on their first school camp but it meant that we could travel with hand luggage only.

Wendy did say (constantly, as I fretted about the bags’ location) “trust the system, trust the system”. And, as we entered the lobby, and to my great relief, guess what was waiting for us there? Yes…trust the system. So we are going to do it for the next leg as well. I guess we’ll see.

Again we used public transport (a touristy loop bus) to take us around the city (much larger than we anticipated) to visit points of interest. The Geisha District was quaint and well preserved and we did spy a couple of Geishas hurrying through the alleys and tiny streets ….. but it was also full of tourists and tour groups that fill and crowd places up pretty damn fast. So we appreciated the world of Old Japan as best we could then decided to head off …..and got lost again!! Wrong bus (it was a local one) and was it crowded! I refer you to my previous comments regarding etiquette and ignoring full on body contact. We were so tight that Wendy couldn’t even get her arms down to reach for her mask!  But somehow, more by luck than management, we ended up at the famous Omicho Fish and Vegetable market that we were planning to visit the next day anyhow. How serendipitous! 

In a side street - just where people live ..before we found the area proper.

We saw two or three of these but wasn’t quick enough to get a good shot.
Besides it looks better walking away..and that bloke 🤷‍♂️

Reminded me a bit of Venice when the cruise ships are in. 

Kanazawa is famous for gold leaf….they even put it on ice creams!

After our bus “experience”, and the gallons of alcohol hand sanitiser we splashed around (nurses and germs don’t mix!) we decided to catch a taxi to the object of our visit, the gardens - best $20 we ever spent!

The old adage  that “a picture is worth a thousand words” has much merit in the case of the Kenroku-en Gardens. So I’ll finish this post with a very small selection of such pictures to give some idea. 

Oh and yes..speaking of ideas, Wendy has gathered a few …..to implement at our Fairways House😉

Kenroku-en. The Garden of the six sublimes.
Spaciousness, seclusion, artificiality, antiquity, water and views.

The Autumn colour is just getting going…but patchy. 
Apparently it’s later this year. Global warming?

These structures are ropes to train the branches of the tree in the way the gardener designs. It is really common to see.

Labour intensive. The gardens are immaculately manicured.

These “Tori” gates are over a path leading to a temple near the garden.