Finally landed in Japan! We have not had the opportunity to return to Japan since before COVID, and it brought such great joy to get together once again as family. Our son, daughter in law and grandson have been able to travel to visit us yearly for a while now, but circumstances kept us away from visiting them. It was a short 10-day visit to fit in with their schedule, but it was a wonderful 10- day visit!
It’s always fun to go there, but at the same time a little bit of anxiety creeps in. When we go, I don’t plan a single thing! I leave that up to my son and daughter in law, and they always deliver the most wonderful experiences of seeing Japan like a local.
The first few days we just spent living local and not straying too far away from our son’s home. Our grandson was busy with school and basketball, and we saw him briefly first thing in the morning and then again for dinner. We had some “spoiling” to do so we took advantage of that time to go shopping, eat great food prepared perfectly by our daughter in law (including fresh bread every morning!) and of course, do a little exploring close to home. As always, we had the chance to see our extended family there and were honoured to be hosted in their home with a traditional Japanese hotpot meal (nabemono).
Close to home is the Chiba Port Tower affords the most remarkable view of Chiba city, Mount Fuji, Skytree and Tokyo Bay. It’s the tallest structure there, standing 125 meters tall and was built in 1986. Once at the top, there’s a great history lesson to be explored and the view offered a great opportunity to see the prefecture of son and his family live in.
This trip also included a visit to the incredible Tsukiji market for some delicious seafood and meat “tapas” and of course, some shopping! We also visited the very unique Art Aquarium Museum located in Tokyo. Nothing like it! Goldfish, goldfish, goldfish! It’s not very often we head into the city, and this was just a wonderful reminder of some of the unique opportunities located there.
Our weekend adventure took us to experiencing the Shinkansen once again, travelling across the island to Kanazawa. I absolutely love travelling the rails in Japan. The only crazy part is trying to figure out what kind of bento box to bring onto the train with you to enjoy for dinner.
Our accommodations confirmed, we checked in for our two-night stay. It was situated only a few steps away from the train station, so it was easy to find, spacious and comfortable. Early the next morning after breakfast we rented a car and headed off to Gokayama district to visit two World Cultural Heritage sites – the Ainokura Gassho-zukuri Village and then the Hida Takayama Old Town.
These heritage sites are rich in culture preserving an ancient way of life. Ainokura gassho-zukuri is the biggest Gassho style village in the region. It is comprised of 20 gassho-style houses and 4 other valuable thatched roof houses. Carved into and by nature itself, they reflect the unique lifestyle being preserved. They withstand the heavy snowfall and the rigors of the weather and permit us to experience a true Japanese original landscape. Since local still live there, respect is a must when visiting!
The Emperor and His Imperial Highness the Crown Prince have visited this site, and monuments are placed around the grounds commemorating their visits. Festivals abound throughout the year. April is ushered in with the Spring festival. May sees a rice transplanting which is harvested in September with the Autumn festival taking centerstage. The Village lights up for tourists about five times a year with the winter lighting drawing in thousands of visitors.
Hida Takayama Old Town was established around castles, shrines and temples. It is incredibly well preserved. Everything blends into the harmony of nature. Homes are built using high grade timbers. Takayama Jinya was a governmental office for higher-class samurai. Water flows, called “Sanmachi Yousui” run through gutters all throughout the town and are a water source for the town. Tadpoles, frogs and lizards call these waterways home.
We had a chance to tour one of the homes. The first floor is very low, a characteristic of the Takayama old townhouse architecture. Latticed bay windows are also found in the homes, keeping outsiders from peeking in. The upstairs is accessed via a stairwell, allowing families to enjoy the comfort of their home with spacious tatami rooms. Quite beautiful in their simplicity. Many of the old buildings in the Old Town are still used today as sake warehouses, Machiya cafes, restaurants and souvenir shops. Near Takayama are a myriad of Onsen (hot springs). There are five hot spring areas containing over 140 open air baths. We didn’t quite have enough time to visit them, unfortunately. It was quite the day of immersive Japanese culture – an absolutely wonderful family day. Upon our return to Kanazawa, a quick stop to drop of the car, attend Mass at the Catholic Church built in 1888 and make a stop at the grocery store to pick up dinner (and breakfast) was in order!
We spent day 2 in Kanazawa itself, famous for it’s goldleaf production! What seems on the surface to be a modern city, is deceiving. Known as “little Kyoto”, is brings opportunities forward to experience it’s preserved Edo-era vibe. There are samurai districts, geisha teahouses and delicious seafood!
After breakfast – onto the local, extremely efficient bus routes and off exploring! Limited by the weekend time frame (yes, our grandson had to get back to school, and we were getting ready to head back home), we opted for a one-day unlimited rides bus pass and was perfect for our day exploring.
While the family headed off to explore and conquer the Kanazawa Myouryuji, place of worship, I headed off to a different district and popped in to visit the Dolls Museum.
Unfortunately, no photos were permitted in at Myourjuiji, but this remarkable place of worship has survived World War II, braved the elements of weather, and has remained steadfast in honouring the traditions of a nation. Standing four stories high, it has seven layers, 29 staircases and hides trap stairs, hidden sanctuaries and staircases riddled with traps of all kinds. Even it’s 25m deep well in the center of the kitchen hides a secret offering a connection to the Kanzawa castle.
I figured I would waste an hour and go look at some dolls. Well, my time in this museum was packed full of amazing history. I had a private English-speaking guide that walked me each of the two floors of the museum and into each of the rooms showing the different eras and regions of doll creations – including a flawless porcelain geisha doll, a life-sized puppet and a beautiful doll encased in gold leaf. It was the best $10.00 I could have spent anywhere! I will never look at a “doll” the same way again.
The Kanazawa Castle Park & Kenrokuen Garden is a beautiful respite. Water features, including the oldest fountain in Japan built at the end of the Edo period (1600s – 1850s) is naturally powered by the difference in elevation between the fountain and the pond, manicured and naturally grown landscapes, shrines built in 1794 to protect the garden, cultural experiences and traditional restaurants and tea houses all make this garden a not-to-miss experience. Also not to be missed is the most expensive ice cream you’ll ever eat! Creamy vanilla ice cream with a side order of gold leaf! Delicious!
Let’s talk about the Kanazawa Gold leaf. Other than our delicious ice cream, golf leaf production is in the blood of the peoples here and taken very seriously. Production of the gold leaf has a 400-year history. Kanazawa is the only city that still honours the tradition, time-honoured techniques of gold leaf production. It has a remarkable 99% market shore of gold leaf work throughout Japan. With silver, gold leaf plays an important role in Japan’s Buddhist culture. The Great Buddha of Todai-ji Temple, the Golden Hall of Chuson-ji Temple, the Golden Pavilion and the screen pictures of Kano School are all examples of the use of gold leaf. Today, it is used in Buddhist altars, Kaga Yuzen Dyed Fabrics, ceramics, lacquer ware and other artistic crafts. I brought home some beautiful sake glasses with gold leaf built in and my daughter in law bought me some beautiful gold leaf and lacquer earrings.
Sadly, our 10-day visit ended all too soon, but with a promise to return again (probably in two years), we hugged, kissed and waved goodbye until we do return. Look closely and you can see our son, daughter in law and grandson frantically waiving goodbye!
Japan – the Land of the Rising Sun and home to my son. Japan is truly a unique destination experience. We’ll be back to explore, discover and uncover more of its diverse culture, scenery and peoples.
To view all the photos from my trip, head over to the Gallery.