Garden Hotel Kanazawa

... design!

I was told that each room of the hotel is uniquely designed. Each room reflects a theme. Unfortunately, their website doesn't show any of their rooms. Only hotel guests have a privilege to see them.

There is a library on the second floor of the building, where you can take a look at books on art and architecture.

I really wish to come back for lunch and spa!

Soba restaurant "Takano" that stands on the half way of the two main streets of Yatsuo, I heard, is famous among soba manias. Soba plant is cultivated by Yatsuo farmers, so there are many soba restaurant that serve locally made soba noodles.



You cannot leave Yatsuo without having soba!!

Kamaboko is one of the specialties in Toyama. It used to be a must for festive occasions such as weddings and betrothals. FIsh shaped kamaboko is the most popular one. Kamaboko is made from fish meat. Fish meat is kneaded and shaped into a fish shape, which I think is quite ironic...

We visited "Kamaboko Museum" annexed to Umekama kamaboko factory. A president of the company came to see us and the ...

... I have never paid attention to astronomy before. The attendant there was very hospitable and he explained many things about astronomy. By listening to him, little by little I got interested in astronomy especially in stars.

The cozy planetarium facility is good for families with small kids. If no other visitors there, you can have a private time with your family! They don't have a chair for you to sit in, so ...

Route 41 is a road that goes along with Zinzu river. Autumn is the best season to come to Zinzu river as trees alongside of the river turns their colors.

When we went there it was a bit early for the best season. I really wanted to come back to see the autumn leaves, but I never had time to do so. Too bad.

There is a small dam on the way to ...

Medicine making in Toyama has a history of over 300 years. Medicine peddlers who delivered medicine door to door all over Japan are famous. They introduced a unique marketing system of "use first, pay later". Those medicine peddlers are still in business today.



Ikedaya-Yasube Shoten is located in the city ...

... expanse of this fine city, but I've yet to find any far from the main drag. May sound boring as well, but I've found a good stock of lunch places, and I stick closely to that rotation. Of course th**e's a lot more to eat than just Mon-MacDs, Tues-Curry, Weds-Ramen-Italian, Fri-Dumplings. Paired with this childlike lack of awareness on the local culinary scene, is the high propensity to get lost in the tiny, winding back streets of Kanazawa. Even Japanese people struggle at ...

... severely drunken Japanese salarymen who were quick to strap us up with a can each of some tasty Kirin Stout. We wandered along with them towards the river Saigawa (captured on video in a previous post) before waving goodbye to them as they crammed into taxis. There we took some time to sip our beers and quietly reflect.

After swallowing the last drop of my beer, I reached into my pocket to check the time. The digital display showed 1:30am, and I thought perhaps it ...

... view overlooking a mountain river and forest while it snowed. It was quite cold outside but the water was so hot that it did not matter and the snow fell straight down. It was definitely a beautiful scene -- much more natural than the 'pool-like' hot springs that I've been to in Canada. I'll definitely go back and do this again if and when I get the chance. On the drive home we passed very close to the northern coast of ...

... en sit the remnants of Kanazawa's former castle. Unfortunately, with the fading afternoon light, Mayu and I had to save that for our second day, instead retiring to our hotel for a dinner set (including some delicious cheese fondue). After checking out early this morning, we made our way back to the castle, arriving at its intact, original Ishikawa gate by a quarter of ten. Everything else in the complex was burnt to the ground in 1888, and until 1989 ...