Geisha, samurai, and ryokan

We had some new konbini items for breakfast today which included a long sushi roll (salmon) and a cold noodle bowl along with a smoothie and yogurt. Ready to start the day, we took a bus to the Nishi Chaya District to see the tea houses. This area had been used as an entertainment district historically.

We walked to the Ohi Museum to see an exhibit about the history of pottery, but in particular, tea ceremony pottery and utensils. This is a craft that has a master and that master has been genealogically linked since the 17th century, with one deviation from the original family to an apprentice of the family. There is currently an 11th Ohi master living today and he has branched out into other types of art, but maintains the traditional of the historical kiln. We then had matcha in one of the vessels that was done in a particular historical manner.

Next, we took a cab over to the samurai district. Our cab driver spoke the best English out of anyone we have met so far! He was able to tell us about today being the national holiday called Marine Day, which also starts the summer holidays for school children. Marine Day celebrates the sea life and what it provides for the island. He also told us that in August, they celebrate Mountain Day. He said August is also a time to honour “Lose the War Day,” but I didn’t ask more about that one.

After leaving our lovely driver, we went into a traditional samurai home to explore. It was hard to take pictures, because the spaces are traditionally quite small, but hopefully you can see the tatami mats, the Buddha altar, and the beautiful green space that all the windows looked out onto. We also checked out the servants of a samurai’s lodgings. They would live right next to where the horses were stored in a barn-like structure. They would often have to share an outhouse, and there were very little comforts in the space.

It was time to get back to our hotel so that we could pack up and get checked out. At noon, we departed our hotel, but went back to the fish market for some lunch. Today, was less busy than yesterday, but I think that is because of the national holiday. We had octopus balls (takoyaki), crab legs, a little octopus, tentacle, and two croquettes, one was Kanazawa curry (amazing) and the other was a fish cake (very good). Of course, we had to wash that all down with Brad‘s new favourite beer from Tayoma!

We decided to shop a little bit before we could take a cab to our ryokan. This involved a curious stop at the capsule floor of a mall. We have seen these capsule machines all over Tokyo, so we finally had to put our coins in and check our luck. I got a punk rock, Frenchie, and Brad got a character from a well known Japanese artist. It was pretty fun! We also decided to share a gold leaf ice cream cone before leaving Kanazawa. It is definitely style over substance, but a fun idea to display the history of gold leaf in the city!

Our ryokan is located about 20 minutes outside of Kanazawa amongst farmers’ rice fields. A ryokan is a traditional Japanese “inn” - but it is more like a spa hotel than what I would I think of as an inn! You wear your traditional robe around the complex and traditional style meals are served. You can access the onsens, which are similar to a mineral pool or hot springs, at any time of day. We sprung for a deluxe room and it is the most beautiful place we have ever stayed! It is the length of three rooms with one room for beds, a sitting area and a fireplace; the middle room is like a screened porch with a view of a bamboo forest and waterfall; the third room is a huge vanity and shower, which leads out to your own private onsen. It’s bananas.

At 7, it was time for our keiseki dinner, which can be anywhere from 5-15 courses. We were seated in our own private room, much like those you’d see in a movie about geishas. We had SO much food and I won’t be able to remember the names of everything. Our appetizer spread featured a welcome drink, pumpkin soup, a nigiri wrapped in a bamboo leaf, octopus with okra, mochi, and a cube of compressed tomato. Second course was a soup with whitefish. The next course was a sashimi course with yellowfin tuna, sweet shrimp, squid, and two other fish, one might have been grouper? Then it was grilled river fish, which we ate whole. Next up was a corn fritter with a snow crab broth (one of our collective favourites!) followed by Noto beef with vegetables. The last savoury course was hot pot with eel, vegetables, miso soup, rice, and pickles. Dessert was an Earl Grey tea jelly with fresh peach and some fresh fruit. We basically had to roll out on the tatami mats!

It was nice to have this stop where all we had to do was relax! We are off to Kyoto tomorrow at noon and we keep hearing how over-touristed it is, so this break in a small town has been lovely.Read more