Kanazawa

Day 6

Following another amazing breakfast (some sort of eggy French toast with syrup and cinnamon, chicken broth/chowder, potato/veg stew with cheese on top) at our accommodation which apparently changes on a daily basis, we checked out and got the bus back down to Odawara station. Our next stop is Kanazawa and there are a couple of routes to take which will come up as options on google maps or apple maps. Often, the first option is via Tokyo. We didn’t want to take this route as we knew that the line from Odawara going west would potentially give us more views of Mount Fuji! We also took a slightly slower train with more stops (slower in Japanese terms). We were so lucky to get some seats on the right hand side of the train and were treated to incredible views of Mount Fuji in its entirety. The train journey is so worth it to see that view.

The trains are fantastic. You don’t notice the speed as they are incredibly smooth. In comparison to the virgin train service in the UK, I often feel quite sick as the trains tilt and move a lot more to get up to speed. They also don’t come close to the speed of these trains, the cleanliness, leg room and pleasure. Getting on the train, we noticed again that all of the seats face in the direction you are heading. We pondered how this could possibly be before googling and finding out that the seats are designed to turn, so that they always do face in the direction you travel - again, amazing.

When we arrived in Kanazawa, we took the JR bus from exit 4 of the East exit. This JR bus does a loop, so is really helpful to jump on and off. Our accommodation was right near the castle and gardens which was an ideal location! However, I probably wouldn’t recommend the place we stayed to others. It was fine, basic and loved the traditional Japanese living room which you then added the futons too. However, it was basic, and not as clean as I would have liked. After dropping our cases, we went straight out to catch the last light and have a wander around, we saw the castle and a few shops and then headed back towards the station on the JR bus as there were a number of good sushi places recommended in this area. We ended up eating at a sushi restaurant in the station itself, on the second floor. It was called ‘Sushitama Kanazawa Station’. There was a queue coming out of the door, and lots of professionals popping in on their way home from work. It was a conveyor belt sushi place with options to order from the iPad in front of you. Good news - the iPad could be switched to English!

We worked our way through a number of dishes and filled up on the complimentary green tea. The sushi was fresh, delicious and it worked out really quite reasonably. We were able to try Kanazawa’s famous crab which was delicious too. Would absolutely recommend this place to eat.

Tip: Take the train from Odawara and head West to see Mount Fuji. Sit on the right hand side of the train and you will start to catch glimpses from around Mishima station. The real money shot comes as you approach Shin-Fuji station.

Steps: 10,000 (much less today as we were travelling and to be honest, I think our legs appreciated it!)

Day 7:

We took the opportunity to have a bit of lie in as we could hear the rain coming down quite heavily outside. Our accommodation had a little kitchen area, so we bought supplies for breakfast the day before and ate before heading out. The rain ceased for our venture and for most of the time we were out which was lucky. The great thing about our accommodation was the location, it was right by the castle and Kenroku-en gardens. We started by heading into the gardens, it was 320 yen for an adult ticket and worth every single penny. We spent a while wandering around the gardens and taking some pictures.

There were a few places to sit when the rain drizzled which were undercover. The gardens have a number of tearooms, we visited one for a tea ceremony. It was such an experience, and we loved it! Except for tea - we did not enjoy the tea! Really worthwhile experience though, and meant we had exclusive access to the porch and teahouse gardens for some snaps. Kenroku-en gardens are meant to be one of the top 3 in Japan and it is very easy to see why - absolutely stunning and a highlight of our trip.

After the gardens, we crossed and wanted to explored the castle gardens too. We took a slight detour to share a snack which turned out to be fried chicken and a matcha green tea and milk ice cream. Armed with some sustenance, we headed over to the castle.

The castle itself is beautiful, there are also a number of other buildings to explore within the grounds, many of which have been restored. There is a great view of the castle itself from within the rest centre, a modern building with a café and places to sit and look at the view.

Given we had the little kitchen area in our accommodation, we bought some fresh seafood and rice and cooked a meal ourselves. We then headed back out to Kenroku-en gardens. During November, they open part of the garden up at night and some of the features are lit up - it was absolutely stunning and free! We spent some time wandering round and even grabbed a coffee from the stall.

Steps: 15,300!

Tip: We felt that November or at least Autumn was the perfect time to visit Japan. I think it was probably quieter than over the summer which must be horrendous with tourists and during the blossom season around April. The Autumnal colours were just stunning and everywhere! It is my favourite season of the year, and the colours of Japan just reminded me of that even more.