Geisha in Kanazawa

We woke early for a quick return to the morning markets in Takayama to pick up a couple souvenirs. We also grabbed a random breakfast from a small food stand. Fish shaped pancake like pastries, with a variety of fillings including apple, cream, almond paste and a berry jam. Delicious!

Once back at our ryokan, it was time to grab our backpacks and begin our three train transfer (two local trains and one bullet train) from Takayama to Kanazawa. The journey would take a total around three hours and go snoothly enough. There was plenty of nice mountainous scenery and whitecap mountainscapes to enjoy on the way, along with a hot, canned, white coffee from a vending machine!

We arrived in Kanazawa by early afternoon. A much larger, more westernized city than Takayama, only an hour from the Sea of Japan. After another delicious spicy ramen lunch (my new Japanese favourite), we headed to a Geisha show nearby (felt like an art/theatre venue). This show lasted an hour and we were traditionally entertained by some Geisha ladies. Initially this consisted of dancing and music but soon became very interactive, with games and audience participation. When Nat and I were called up to play a "paper scissors rick.. type game" I started my humiliation early by cracking my head on one of the side panels on the way to the stage (much to the horror and concern of the crowd). I survived with shreds of my dignity intact.

We spent the remainder of the afternoon around the Higashi Chayagai (Geisha) district. This included many original buildings from the mid 1850's. Whilst the atchitecture here was fascinating, the area really had a touristy feel about it. Our afternoon was rounded off by a short tour and demonstration of gold leaf production and craftsmanship.

Following that, a cheap Italian themed dinner and separate desert, we're now settled in to our hotel for the next two nights - the APA Hotel, a Western hotel which is small but comfy enough. We've a big day around Kanazawa ahead tomorrow.

***I have many nice photos of the city and Geisha district (taken on my SLR) that need to be converted to jpg that will be added later. Heres some random mobile snaps.Read more