We enjoyed the five nights we had in Kanzawa, a city on the West Coast of Honshu, (Japan’s largest island). We chose to visit this city as it is known for its arts and culture. Many of the city’s building have been well preserved form the Edo period, when it was home to the Maeda clan, one of the most successful clans during this peaceful time. It is known for Kinpaku, Gold leaf decoration, the local Yasue Gold Leaf Museum is dedicated to preserving and explaining the complex process of goldbeating and fine art pieces it produces. They had numerous examples of how exquisite, ornate, and intricate this type of artwork can be, sadly but understandably you cannot take photos.
Kanazawa is also known for the amazing architecture of its main train station, surrounded by an interesting mall. On the west coast its fresh seafood is said to be amazing, and we enjoyed indulging. We visited the Omicho seafood market, unfortunately we had already eaten, and on the day, we planned to return for lunch there was a severe storm. Luckily before the bad weather set in we were able to visit the famous Japanese Garden, the Kenoruken Garden, it is said to be one of the top three gardens in the country. The effort that goes into maintaining this perfectly manicured garden is striking (looking closely at one of the pictures you can see a few workers in the park sweeping the sphagnum moss), this speaks to the Japanese cultural value of keeping things clean and serene. It would be lovely to return to the city in spring or fall and see the garden and the city in its full majesty. While we were visiting, we had two days of winter storm with sleet, rain, snow, thunder, and lightning. The kids used this time to catch up on school and we all enjoyed reading our books.
The Kanzawa castle is a 17th – century castle city that is slowly being restored and rebuild after fire damage. As Kanzawa was not the victim bombing during World War II, it has maintained many of its buildings and city districts from the Edo period. It has three separate Chaya districts (tea house districts), a samurai district, the Nagamachi district, and an extensive castle with moat and wall.
