Hullo~
I hope you all enjoy your Sunday!

I left Shirakawago (Gifu Prefecture) by bus and went to Kanazawa (Ishikawa Prefecture). I ate yummie dinner and went to bed early.
I wasn't really lucky in Kanazawa as the weather was quite horrible, so the photos aren't that good this time.
Anyways here we go!~

Kanazawa - Day 1 (January 4th 2011):



I arrived by bus in front of the castle, but ....



... my first stop was Kenrokuen Garden (entrance fee: 300yen) which is said to be one of the best and most beautiful gardens in Japan.
Having seen other really great gardens, I'm not sure if that's really true, but then again I probably went during the wrong season and on the wrong day! The weather was just horrible, rainy and grey and it was impossible to enjoy the garden or take any good photos, so I can't really judge if the garden would be beautiful under "normal" circumstances. I guess in spring/autumn it must be beautiful.
It definitely is a HUUUUGE garden with lots of things to discover.



I went early in the morning (~8am) when everything was still full of snow, but soon after that everything got muddy due to the rain.









Despite the rain there were a lot of tourists, so it was difficult to take any photos without people in it.



Being patient pays off, though :) That was still before the heavy rain started!!



It was cloudy and dark most of the time :(



And it was raining like WOAH which is why most of the photos I had to take with my not so good cam ;o;



This is the statue of Prince Yamato Takeru (Meijikinen monument)



The garden is so big that there are also other sightseeing spots there such as the Prefectual Museum for Traditional Products and Crafts. You have to pay extra admission fee there, but as it was raining so much I decided to go inside for shelter and I'm glad I went because it was quite nice ^-^



Such a beautiful kimono!!! I completely fell in love with the colors!! (*_*)b



Close-up.







I like this one :)



If you don't look too closely, it could be a European style plate ;)









And that's also where I bought my little souvenir (*___*)b





As the weather outside was really horrible I walked really slowly through the museum and also took (too) many photos as you can see (^^')





Cute!





Back outside it looked okay for a short while, but the rain didn't stop at all and it got worse right after that photo again ;o;





There's also the Seisonkaku Villa on the garden grounds, but I decided not to go inside as the entrance fee (700yen) was high and you weren't allowed to take any photos inside (and I also wasted too much time in the museum already ^^; ...)



That gives you an idea of what to expect inside.



Snow and rain = bleh :/



This is the OLDEST fountain in Japan!! It works by natural pressure caused by the difference in the levels of the two ponds. The fountain is said to have been developed as a model for the construction of a fountain that was in the castle in 1861.



I left the garden and went to Kanazawa Castle which is right next to the garden where I met this little guy ^^



Although there's still a lot left, the main tower isn't!



The weather was finally getting a LITTLE bit better! :)







Finally, my first castle of this winter trip! (*__*)b



You can also go inside, but seriously it's not interesting at all and if you ask me a waste of money! I've been inside a lot of castles and was really disappointed with this one, but maybe that's just me.



The only good thing is that you have a nice view from the inside, but not as great as in other castles!





Back outside. I really love the shape of those two trees in front of the castle. Perfect!!



Walking around the castle ground a bit to explore some of the ruins around it.



Not so much is left, but it's still interesting!







And then it was time to say goodbye to the castle and move on. The weather was getting worse again and soon after this photo it started raining again (x__X') ....

... which is why I had to switch to my digital camera, so most of the photos don't have a good quality, sorry ;o;



I moved on (walked!) to Oyama Shrine which is quite special because ... well you'll see in a few more pictures (by that time it was raining cats and dogs and it was almost impossible to take photos!! *sigh*)



I didn't approach from the main gate and first walked through a small garden instead with yet another statue (though I don't know who this person is/was).



As it was still close to New Years people lined up like woah to do "hatsumode" (the first shrine visit of the year).
Sorry for the crappy quality, but here you can see that it was really raining like WOAH! x__X



Oyama Shrine is famous for its European style entrance gate! The glass windows are very colorful (Dutch style), but you can't really see it in this picture (I went the next day again when it wasn't raining, maybe you can see it better then).



I already had my Hatsumode on January 1st, so I didn't have to line up ;P
I got a seal in my seal book, though :D



After I got my seal, I left again. I called at the "ninja temple" to make a reservation (you'll see later what I'm talking about) and then got something to eat at the next conbini store and waited for a bus.



I arrived in the Teramachi (literally "temple town") area and walked around a bit as I still had time until my appointment with the ninja temple.
I was so hungry that I stood next to a vending machine where I ate my bento while standing. Not really that great, but I was hungry, as it was raining, there was no place to sit down, so no choice! XD
It should be obvious why the area has that name. There are temples ALL over the place!!! Like every few steps!!



I just strolled around until it was time for my appointment.



For a short while the weather got better again.



What a cute bench!!! (*-*)v





Although it has been raining the whole day, there was still quite a lot of snow everywhere!



Ugly and scary! :/



And then it was finally time to go to the "ninja temple" (real name "Myouryuuji").
Entrance fee is 800yen and you need a reservation in order to enter the temple, but believe me when I say that it's absolutely worth it!
I've read in several places that people had bad experience with the staff there (being unfriendly and all), but I personally can't confirm this.



You get a tour guide and will move through the whole temple with him/her. They explain all the strict rules before you start and if you're a foreigner they'll give you a file with all information in English.
I didn't need it and I don't know why they thought I'd need it, but at least I was the only one who got something in my hands with detailed photos :D
Photos inside were not allowed, of course. The temple refuses to have any connection to ninjas, it got its name because there are so many hidden doors, stairs, floors etc.!!! It's really VERY interesting and thus I'd recommend to visit this temple ^-^



When I got back out it was raining again and I decided to just stroll around a bit more (wasn't really interested in seeing even more tiny temples (none of them was really impressive anyways) and then I wanted to leave.





Here's a map of the "Teramachi" area. Sooooo many temples (and also a few shrines!)
Teramachi is not the only temple area in Kanazawa anyways (there's also the Higashiyama temple district)! For temple fans it must be paradise!! ^-^;



When it was already getting dark I finally arrived in Higashi-Chayamachi across the Asano river.



As it was already quite late and also because of the weather there weren't many people there.
A few small shops and restaurants and also Geisha houses and museums of those. I went into one of them, the "Shima" (admission fee: 400yen)



It was an old tea house and they had lots of interesting stuff in there.





It's a really small house, though ^^;



Uhm ... don't worry, I AM calm!!! XDDDDD (Engrish love!)



And then it was closing time and I had to leave, nothing else was still open anyways.
Just so you know, another temple district is right behind this Chayamachi!! I just didn't have enough time to explore it as well ^^;



I walked back all the way to the station (too much walking?!?) So many crows!! (x__X)
On my way I ran into a lot of tiny shrines/temples!



Back at the station I saw the Loop Bus that I didn't use even once! XD



They had a German bakery in the station!!! (*___*)b ... but of course yet again no real German bread (-____-'')
And the way they drew the colors it looks more like Belgium (wrong order though XD) than Germany XD



And then it was finally time for DINNER!!! I was really hungry. I decided to get something with fresh fish as Kanazawa is quite famous for that anyways.
It was okay, but I've eaten better stuff elsewhere before :/



And here's my dinner from the night before when I just had arrived in Kanazawa from Shirakawago. That was yummie indeed!! ^-^



Not really good photos this time due to the weather and all, but I hope you still enjoyed it a bit at least.
Maybe you understand now why I personally didn't really enjoy Kanazawa that much and why it will never be in my top 10 list (^-^') ...
Next up: half a day in Kanazawa and half a day in Toyama (yay yet another castle!! )

Thanks for reading.
Bye~buu