JAPAN - TOKYO TO KANAZAWA
TOKYO
We spent 3 days in Tokyo getting to know its improbable mix of modernity and tradition, beautiful gardens, shrines, and palaces, and got a rare glimpse into one of the largest festivals in Japan, Kanda Matsuri. Kanda Matsuri is a Shinto festival originally held to celebrate Shogun Ieyasu Tokugawa’s famous victory at the Battle of Sekigahara. Our wonderful Japanese volunteer guides, Tomie and Hide, had our itinerary mapped to a minute making sure that we would always be at the right place at the right time. They are both members of the English Society at Doisha Univerity in Kyoto and are incredibly efficient and knowledgeable.
Our first-day itinerary with Tomie:
May 12th Meet at 8:45 at the Blossom Hibya Hotel Lobby. After the meeting take a Yamanote Line to Yourakucho (2min). At 9:00 Tokyo International Forum. At 9:30 Head for the Imperial Palace on foot (or by taxi). At 10:00〜11:15 visit the Imperial Palace (unfortunately the East Garden is closed on Friday). After the Imperial Palace, go to the Tokyo Forum. Have lunch. After that go to the Tokyo Metropolitan Building observatory and Hamarikyu Garden. Lunch at https://takenoan-gotyoume.com, a wonderful local place that would have been nearly impossible to find on our own.
Imperial family still lives in the Imperial Palace which is located on the former site of Edo Castle. The castle used to be the seat of the Tokugawa shogun who ruled Japan from 1603 until 1867. He was overthrown in 1868 and the capital was moved to Kyoto.
The second day was spent with Hide and was even more eventful. It was raining for most of the day, however, it cleared out before the main procession of the Kanda Matsuri festival.
9:00: Pickup at the Blossom Hibiya. 9:15-10:30: Asakusa Sensoji-temple. 10:30-11:30: Kanda Shrine. The procession of the festival starts at 8:00 a.m. from Kanda Shrine and lasts the whole day in the neighboring wide area (Kanda, Nihonbashi, Ote, Marunouchi, and Akihabara). According to the information on the procession schedule, the most exciting scene will be seen at around 16:30 in front of the Mitsukoshi department store, Nihonbashi. So, we will be there at around that time after visiting other sightseeing spots. 11:30-12:30: Shibuya crossing. 12:30-14:30: Tsukiji Outer Market (take lunch; Sushi, Seafood, Tempura, Ramen, Udon, Soba, and other local foods). 14:30-16:00: Shin-Nihonbashi to visit Ozu Washi factory (*Experience of Washi making, if possible) 16:00-17:00: Observation of Kanda festival procession at Nihonbashi. 17:00-17:30: Call it a day at the hotel.
Kanda Matsuri is one of the three most important festivals in Japan. It originated in the early 17th century to celebrate the victory of Tokugawa Ieyasu (one of the three unifiers of Japan) at the battle of Sekigahara:
JAPANESE ALPS: TAKAYAMA AND SHIRAKAWA-GO
After 3 days in Tokyo, we boarded the Shinkansen train that took us to one of our favorite and most authentic small towns in Japan, Takayama. It has the second largest old town in Japan after Kyoto and is located in the heart of the Japanese Alps surrounded by some of the most amazing scenery. We stayed two nights in a traditional Japanese inn called Ryokan and experienced the incredible hospitality, fantastic kaiseki dinners, and its onsen (Japanese hot springs).
Those interested in learning more about Japanese cuisine check out the link below:
https://www.japan-experience.com/plan-your-trip/to-know/japanese-food
We walked the streets of the old town and visited the city museum and Festival Exhibition Hall where you can see Takayama’s magnificent floats from the 17th century. The floats are pulled through the town streets twice a year in spring and fall during the festivities. Takayama is also famous for its Hida beef (the same level as Kobe’s) and you can find it at street stalls as sashimi or skewers. Takayama and Shirakawago (another town in the Alps we visited) are both UNESCO Heritage sites.
After two nights in Takayama, we boarded a bus and visited another UNESCO Heritage site, Shirakawa-Go on the way to the coastal city of Kanazawa. The village boasts its gassho-style houses built without a single nail and is famous for their steeply pitched thatched roofs. The houses have survived in this extremely harsh environment for more than 300 years.
KANAZAWA
After spending time in Shirakawa-go we boarded a bus again that took us to another amazing city on the Sea of Japan. Kanazawa is among the best-preserved of the historic cities in Japan. It has one of the three most beautiful gardens in the country (Kenrokuen), the beautifully preserved Higashi Chaya (higashi chaya-gai), the city’s famous traditional teahouse and geisha district, and the neighboring Kazue-machi geisha district. Adjacent to Kenrokuen are Kanazawa Castle and Kanazawa Castle Park. We stayed at the Kanazawa Hakuchoro Hotel Sanraku, a wonderfully atmospheric hotel decorated in the style of the exuberant art deco-inspired Taisho period with stained glass windows and onsen. It was adjacent to the Kanazawa castle.
Another of the city’s well-preserved historical areas is the Nagamachi District, which was once home to middle- and upper-class samurai and retains a wonderful atmosphere with its mud walls and long, narrow alleys.
Kanazawa is also known for its seafood that can be tasted in many of its izakayas and at the Omicho Market, its Shima geisha house built in 1820 and now functioning as a museum and a tea house and its one of the most beautiful futuristic train stations in Japan. The Nomura Clan House is one of the best preserved and exquisite buildings of that era and has a stunning garden and a tea house.
Kanazawa was indeed one of our favorite places where we got a taste of real Japan and its wonderful people, our guide Masako was one of the best guides we ever encountered.
