Kanazawa - Day 2

Today starts with more soufflé pancakes! Keanan found this place in the geisha district, and the breakfast pancakes are so good that we consider coming back later for their dessert options!

Our next stop is Kenrokuen Gardens, which is known for being one of Japan's 3 most beautiful gardens. The name Kenrokuen literally means "Garden of the six sublimities", referring to spaciousness, seclusion, artificiality, antiquity, abundant water and broad views, which according to Chinese landscape theory are the six essential attributes that make up a perfect garden. Water is diverted from a distant river by a sophisticated water system constructed in 1632 to feed Kenrokuen's various water features.

We make a quick detour to the Ishikawa Prefectural Museum of Traditional Arts and Crafts. Here, we learned about some of the crafts this area is known for, including ceramics, laquerware, gold leaf, silk spinning and more.

We wandered back through the castle park on our way to lunch and our massages. We checked out some buildings we hadn't yesterday and enjoyed the cherry blossoms, which seemed much more bloomed after only one additional day under the sunny blue skies. The foot massage also felt great after all the walking we've been doing!

In the afternoon, we went back to the geisha district, which was much more packed with tourists at this time of day. Here we toured a traditional tea house that still hosts geisha events to this day, and went shopping for some traditional crafts to take home with us. In the end, we picked up some matcha bowls and sake cups with gold details.

We then stopped at a bar, where Keanan tried a local gin and I tried a local sake before heading back to our ryokan. We donned our yakatas and used the traditional bath before going out to dinner. Dinner tonight was Kanazawa curry - a very dark curry which we both had with the recommended Noto pork cutlet. It made it onto both of our lists of favorite foods that we've tried here!

Tonight is our last night in a traditional Japanese room, which Keanan is relieved to hear when I tell him. Neither of us have really been getting very good sleep on these thin and firm futon mattresses on the ground...Leer más