Kanazawa

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  Kanazawa, Chubu, Japan
Thursday, September 4, 2008

Following the small country town feeling of Nara, we expected Kanazawa to be the same.Thought we were getting off the beaten track but ended up in a very 'trendy' city altogether. Food is notibly more expensive - definitely getting closer to Tokyo! The tourist office at the station sorted us out with accommodation. It took a bit more effort on their part to find a non-smoking room within our budget. They did and we dropped our bags at the Hotel which was a stones throw from the station. We got the tourist bus (smallest bus in the world) which does a loop. Had enough midway through (really no use unless you've Japanese & too packed), got off downtown.
Warning Ladies: you will feel absolute mingers in Japan and there's no way around that. The girls are beautiful with beautiful clothes...with price tags to match.
Anyway, the main point of interest in Kanazawa is the Kenrokuen Garden (top three Japanese Gardens, in Japan) and the Kanazawa Castle which dates back to 1546 when it was a religious school

Tight squeeze on the tourist bus

. It also served as an army base during WWII and up until 1995, was part of the campus of the Kanzawa University.
After a wander, we made our way to the Higashi Geisha District. An enclave of narrow streets which was a center for Geisha to entertain wealthy patrons during the 19th century. We visited Shima, a former Geisha house there for a gawk. There are a few temples in that area, so we did a bit of bowing, climbing and some more bowing again.
A visit to the market completed the afternoon, along with an ice-cream and some donut thingie majingies.
We went for a bite beside the hotel and then checked out the mall at the station. Bought nada! 

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Garden Lake	The Castle-Grechy looks like he's in school photo	How many does it take to dig a hole?	Geisha district
Geisha in the corner!	Putting shoes back on after visit to the Temple	The market	Spot the odd one out

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