Kanazawa

 I arrived in Kanazawa, still slightly drunk from the Sake tasting earlier that day, only to find out that it was pouring. So I hid beneath my umbrella and went to check into my hostel. After chatting with the hostel owner for a while, I decided to brave the rain and go out again - only to find out that the weather had become gorgeous in the meantime: no more rain, and a really great warm wind that lasted for my entire stay in Kanazawa.

The first sight I checked out was Kanazawa castle. The castle is a recent reconstruction, but the interesting thing about it is that it is not made from concrete, but using traditional techniques. They also have a few cross sections on display showing how the castle walls are actually constructed.

Kanazawa castle

Ever wondered how the interior of a castle wall looks like?

My next stop was the contemporary art museum. They had an exhibit called 360° which was all about changing perspectives. Some of the pieces were awesome to look at, and some really made me think - all you can hope for in any museum, right?

This cool exhibit - located in front of the museum's entrance - lets you play with color mixing

Kanazawa's train station has a fountain displaying the current time. The other side of the panel said "Welcome", if I remember correctly

 The next day, I went to see the so-called ninja temple with a bunch of really nice and funny Americans I had met in the hostel the night before. The temple is officially called Myoryu-ji, but earned its nickname from all the hidden stairs, doors and trapdoors inside. It even has a dedicated room for committing Seppuku (ritual suicide). It is basically a tiny cell with a revolving door. You can open it from the outside, go in, and close it - but there is no handle on the inside. So no way of changing your mind about the Seppuku once you're inside...

In front of the ninja temple

There's definitely some truth in this statement, don't you think?

Beautiful traditional houses in Kanazawa's samurai district

Awesome painted sliding doors inside one of the samurai houses

... and this is why coins need a hole in the middle! Who needs a purse if there are coins like these?

Another highlight in Kanazawa was Kenroku-en garden. It is cited as one of the best gardens in Japan, and you can see why when you look at the pictures below. What I didn't expect, however, was its size - it is huge! I would have gone there earlier if I'd known... because when I finally got to the tea house, it was already closed ;-)

Huge old and gnarly tree in Kenroku-en

The museum of Kanazawa traditional crafts is on one side of Kenroku-en, so I paid it a short visit when I passed. My first thought on this exhibit was - wait a second, they build bombs here?!? But they're fireworks, not bombs, of course. Interesting to see, nevertheless ;-)

Just before I got on the train to head back to Osaka, I went to check out Omicho fish market. It is not as huge as Tsukiji in Tokyo, of course, but the selection of fresh fish is varied enough to make any market in Germany pale with envy.