Kanazawa

Good evening! Today, I would like to share with everyone my memories about Kanazawa. Unfortunately I spent in this beautiful city only a day, but I honestly recommend this city to everyone who ever intend to go to Japan. Kanazawa is situated in the Japanese Alps and it is the largest city in the Hokuriku region. Kanazawa has a very lovely atmosphere, a bit similar to the one in Kyoto. The city can be reached from Kyoto with Thunderbird Express train in about two and a half hours. It is worth to notice that Kanazawa is the second largest and best-preserved city after the WW II ( after Kyoto).

JR Kanazawa station main entrance

After leaving the train we went straight to the tourist information center. In Japan, almost every station has one! It is very convenient, because you can get there information about city, maps and brochures of available attractions for free. So it is possible to explore the city without having previously any information about it :). And as it turned out the monumental entrance to the station was our first attraction. 

We took a bus to Kanazawa Castle, which made a big impression on us. We read earlier that it is slowly being reconstructed, so we did not expect to see such a well-kept park and beautiful buildings. It is true that so far only a part of the area of the castle has been reconstructed, which does not change the fact that it cannot be omitted during see-sighting! In addition, there is no admission fee.

Kanazawa Castle

Next, we decided to see a garden  called Kenrokuen,  considered by Japanese as the most beautiful garden in Japan. The garden actually turned out to be wonderful. Not only it is a huge, but also impress with diversity of plants. The colors of the leaves and the sound of water create a unique atmosphere. Near Kenrokuen we found interesting and charming street full of shops and small restaurants so we did a brief stop for some shopping :) and after that we decided to go to the Higashi-Chaya district.

Kenrokuen

Kenrokuen

It is really hard to decide which of the Kanazawa's attractions I enjoyed the most. Certainly, I would gladly come back again to this city,but this time I would prefer to spend a night at Ryokan. Another important attraction in Kanazawa is the Higashi Chaya District. Chaya  is a Japanese word for a tearoom. The city is famous for its two tea districts, where in the old days geisha played on the koto for their clients. Before  visiting Kanazawa I was in historic districts in Nara, Kyoto and Kurashiki, but I think that this tea district was much better preserved. Wandering between small streets full of traditional Japanese restaurants and shops I could feel the atmosphere of old Japan. 

Higashi Chaya District

Sadly it was all that were able to do in one day :(, but I guess I will visit Kanazawa once more!

Shingeki no kyojin

On that day, mankind received a grim reminder. We lived in fear of the titans, and were disgraced to live in these cages we called walls. (quote from Shingeki no kyojin)

In today's post I would like to describe a series of anime and manga called Shingeki no kyojin, which means in English  Attack on Titans.
This anime tells the story of a post-apocalyptic world in which humanity is forced to live surrounded by three walls. The walls are the only protection against the Titans. The Titans have no intelligence, they are mindless monsters, more like moving corpses with their sole purpose to kill people.

I admit that for a long time I hesitated whether it is worth to read and watch this series. A short description did not convince me, but the large popularity of it forced me to try. I was simply afraid, that this anime's only storyline will be bloody massacre of people, but fortunately I was wrong. Shingeki no kyojin has a well laid out and balanced story, the action scenes are perfectly animated and emotional development of the characters is also interesting.

Of course at the beginning of the series it is not known from where the titans came, why do they kill only humans, forcing humanity to live within the walls. A group of main characters is lead by Eren Jeager who had personally experienced a fall of Wall-Maria. This anime has amazing and unique atmosphere, and because of that it is hard to say which genre it is-  not only a thriller, but also a bit of drama and of fantasy. 

The series shows complexity of human behaviour in face of the threat. The more the situation gets worse, more society lacks of compassion and willingness to work together. Nevertheless the main characters' approach contrasts with them. They are not shown as fearless heroes, but on the contrary facing the Titans they are more scared than anyone else. It is like they fight whit fear itself. Despite continuing struggle, which from the beginning is bound to fail, they want to manifest the desire to be free. Motto of the scouting legion is "Jiyuu no tsubasa", which means in English the wings of freedom. 

Suprise! First volume of Noblesse in Japan!

Hello! It is highest time to re-start writing a blog after the summer break! I am full of energy and I hope that my new posts will be even more interesting than the previous.

This summer I managed to visit the country of my dreams- Japan, and just like the first time it impressed me with its beauty. I have many beautiful memories, that I would like to share with you, but firstly I will describe what surprised me in Japan. (Edit : I'm not a person that is easy to surprise and probably only otaku will understand how I felt. :) )

I was coming back in the evening to the hotel in Tokyo's Asakusa district when I entered the Seven Eleven to buy something for dinner and to drink. But when I went into the store I stopped suddenly and my eyes rested on a pile of small, black-and-white books. It wasn't manga, but new, just translated manhwa called Noblesse. One of the most beautiful things that the Koreans have managed to create. Needless to say -  I left the store with sushi, Pocari and the first volume of Noblesse. In my spare time I hope to translate the entire volume to polish :). To be honest I did not expect that I will have a unique opportunity to buy these series in japanese. 

I like Noblesse because of the characters' personalities and enjoyable story. It is hard to say why  exactly do I like Noblesse so much. It  doesn't really distinguish among the others. However it has something that focuses the reader's attention and forces to emotional involvement. For me Noblesse is still mysterious phenomenon. It is true that this manhwa is well drawn, but it doesn't has the story as developed as for example One Piece. It is not as unpredictable as Death Note, it is not as scary as Psycho-Pass, do not make you smile like Gintama, there is no extraordinary action scenes neither. So why? Perhaps its mysteriousness prejudge its beauty. I believe that we should not ask why. Intuition is very important and usually knowledge only brings disappointment.

My newest prey :)