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!