Kanazawa Weekend

Last weekend I went to the capitol city in my prefecture to hang out with a fellow ALT. I can count on a few fingers how many times in the past year I have gone down to Kanazawa without a work-related reason. I have kept myself happily busy up in the Noto where I live instead. However, I had a lot of fun this weekend and realized that there are in fact many interesting things I can do down there as well.

On Saturday we woke up early enough to head to the station where we met our "Rediscover Kanazawa" tour group that we had booked for the day. Unfortunately, when we signed up we sent separate emails so they put us into the separate groups.

After making puppy dog eyes and explaining we came together, they graciously switched our name tags to put us in the same group (which turned out to be a super imperative thing). The group headed with everyone to the bus stop, and then a community center. At the community center we ate a lunch that was prepared by several housewives from the area using local Ishikawa specialty ingredients and heirloom vegetables. They gave a silly quiz and explained each of the ingredients as we ate.

Sushi decorated with shrimp and seaweed, I was really excited until I found out they enhance the color.

After lunch we headed to the Higashichaya district. It is the one of the areas in Kanazawa with well preserved historical buildings and streets.  Higashichaya is specifically a tea house district, meaning full of places where geisha entertain their customers, and still do today. We walked around with the tour group for a while, but we were relieved to part ways with them after 5 hours. Feeling less restricted, we continued to explore the Higashichaya area on our own.

There are several shops that purvey traditional wares and even some that give you the opportunity to try your hand at making something, specifically gold laquerware items- Kanazawa's most famous product. We explored the shops, had tea at a cafe, and took pictures of the area until sunset.

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A side street in Higashichaya. Pictured here is a shop which sells wheat gluten cakes which are generally added to soups. They are spongy, soft and a great source of protein, I always feel lucky on days when we have them in school lunch! A bundle of dried wheat cakes is hanging outside the shop, as decoration and tangible marketing.

There are a couple famous soft ice cream shops in Higashichaya. One of which purveys flavors such as Miso, and Soy Sauce along with the regular ones like Vanilla and Green Tea. I opted for a scoop of Strawberry and Bamboo Charcoal ice cream. Wait, what?!?!

A storehouse of gold, located inside one of the shops. Yes, covered in actual gold. Like everything else in Kanazawa. The name "Kanazawa," literally translates to "gold swamp." Kanazawa is famous for its gold leaf and gold item production. In fact, 99% of the gold leaf in Japan is produced in Kanazawa.

As I took pictures of this golden display in one of the shops, a kimono clad girl walked in to take her own pictures by the display. Coincidentally setting up an interesting shot.

This beautifully preserved street is said to be the most photographed street in Japan. It is a popular place to have period photo shoots and films.

Festive wagashi we ate with our afternoon tea before leaving the Higashichaya district. 

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Next we headed to the mysterious "Secret Thai," for dinner. There is a restaurant serving Thai cuisine nestled in the back of a ceramic gallery and factory in the Samurai district of Kanazawa that is well-known among ALTs. When we arrived I didn't even realize it was the restaurant, I just thought my friend decided to take us on a last minute, night-time viewing of some ceramic! It was however in fact our dinner destination, which we even realized has no name. Even the front and back of the menus are completely blank. Upon realizing this I kept my eyes open during the rest of the meal, checking for business cards or any signs on the wall or posted outside as we left. Nothing.

Another special part of this restaurant is that you receive a member's key chain after your first time dining there. Then each time you go they stamp it. With each stamp, the menu you can order from expands! We had some delicious noodle bowls and Shiso Plum juice.

What weekend is complete without a solid round of puricula!

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On Sunday, we went to a store by Kenrokuen where we did a wagashi (Japanese traditional sweets) making class! It was fun and actually pretty easy to craft the pastes into different pretty shapes resembling flowers.

Our workstation.

The classroom, outfitted with TVs all around the room to capture the teacher's techniques for easy viewing.

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After we were done making some sweets, we walked down the street to a fair in honor of sweets! The previous night we saw a poster advertising the fair posted on a bakery door as we walked home. I could not believe my luck, that Kanazawa just so happened to be holding a Sweets Fair on the weekend the Queen of Sweets (as my dad has called me since childhood) was visiting.

30 different patisseries and Wagashi shops from Ishikawa were there with booths to sell treats to the guests. They also had tea ceremony and wagashi making classes set up as well as a large stage where different bakers did demonstrations throughout the day. It was so fun to walk through the plaza and see the different treats offered from each booth. Carey and I selected four items to split, and I got a little cupcake to go!

Strolling up to the Sweets Cafe.

Our selection of treats from left: a creamy chocolate pie with a banana slice concealed inside; a cake decorated with pumpkin cream; pumpkin dorayaki; and an apple pie.

My chocolate raspberry cupcake. Unfortunately, it got a little smashed on the way home

We ended our fun with a late Sunday lunch at the local kaiten zushi restuarant. We of course had the recommended Fall specialties and I ate Katsuo (Bonito) sashimi for the first time. I cannot believe how amazing it was! Katsuo is the fish that is used to make dry fish flakes which are used for flavoring and topping on so many dishes in Japanese cooking.

A Portal to America

On Tuesday I traveled to the capitol of the the prefecture for a work training. After the seminar day was over a nearby ALT and I went out for dinner together. We ended up going to a restaurant that claimed to be an American style burger joint, and as soon as we pulled up we knew we were not going to be disappointed!

Before even entering the restaurant we were excited and snapping pictures! Seeing in through the windows we could tell it was decorated just like American country bars. It was even complete with a Chevy pick up parked in front of the restaurant. As soon as we walked in we were euphoric with excitement by how at home we felt! The inside lacked bright lighting, however was full of neon signs for every cheap beer and gas station we have in America. From the decorations to the fantastic music, it had exactly the atmosphere of a sports bar back home. Betsy and I were full of smiles at our little discovery, and it just kept getting better. We opened the menu to find a vast selection of burgers, sandwiches, and more.

We had burgers and fries and even ordered chocolate parfaits, which turned out to be giant banana splits! When the guy brought them to us he grinned at our shocked faces and laughter and said, "Ganbatte!" (Which means do your best!) The portions were also huge- just like America. I could not even finish all of my french fries!

Everything about the place made us feel like we were really in an American sports bar. Betsy and I sat there talking for three and a half hours, neither of us really wanting to leave since we felt so at home. I literally felt like I was in America for those three hours. Betsy and I even realized we were both talking loudly, due to the combination of the loud music and how we just felt like it was an American place, so we let our American souls free and we talked loudly, laughed loudly, and thoroughly enjoyed our time.

This little American style restaurant was a totally refreshing place to spend an evening. I love Japan, the culture, lifestyle and my adventures here. But those three American hours were a break I didn't realize I had needed. I am looking forward to so many more good times in my new found portal to America.

And yes, we ate all of them.

富士山

Three weeks ago I climbed the tallest mountain in Japan (and active volcano), Mt. Fuji. Myself and several other JETs made the journey from Ishikawa to Tokyo on Friday night in order to spend our three day weekend conquering the mountain and enjoying the Big City. Since we rode an overnight bus we arrived in Tokyo bright and early on Saturday morning which gave us a couple hours to have fun before boarding another bus which would us right up to Fujisan.

"Good morning, Shinjuku!"

After stowing our bags in coin lockers at the station, we deliberated where we could go at 6:30 in the morning. We hoisted our hiking packs over our shoulders and headed to a nearby McDonalds. This was my first time to eat McDonald's in Japan and it was actually quite tasty. Not likely to become a frequent stop for me since the nearest one to my town is over an hour away, however at 6:00 am while waiting around its not a bad choice after all. After partaking in double decker breakfast sandwiches we helped ourselves to their bathroom space to change clothes and wash up like the homeless kids we were that day. Once fed and refreshed we set out for a few hours of Tokyo enjoyment.

First we went to Meiji Jingu, the grand shrine in Tokyo named after the Meiji Dynasty. We prayed, examined the lucky charms and amulets, and each of us bought omikuji to read our fortunes. We also walked through the garden and splashed ourselves in the natural spring well nestled at the bottom of a foresty slope.

The grand gate leading into the grounds of Meiji Jingu

Afterwards we walked out of the shrine and stepped across the street to Harajuku to do some shopping! After spending a couple hours going in and out of shops there we headed back to Shinjuku station to be on standby for our bus out to Fuji.

We ate lunch at a fast gyudon joint, then headed by a conbini to stock up on water and protein filled snacks for the trek. Then we excitedly rushed back to our pick up point to board the bus at three. Following an hour and a half long sleepy ride we were let off at the fifth station of Mt. Fuji, the starting point of our hike. We changed into our hiking gear, ate in the restaurant, soaked up warmth and took our last free bathroom trips. At 7:40 p.m. we turned on our headlamps and headed to the dark trail head to start.

We climbed the whole night. It took seven hours for me and the other fastest JETs to reach the peak of the mountain. After the first couple of hours of hiking I started to get tired, by the middle of the hike my little group would climb a switchback and then have to rest for a minute every time. As we climbed higher and the temperature dropped the chatting gradually subsided and we just forged on as a weary group of hikers. By the time we reached the peak the temperature dropped until it reached -2 degrees C with a windchill at -11. While we climbed our bodies stayed warm from the hard work but every time we stopped for a break after just a short minute the cold penetrated our layers and froze the sweat on our bodies so that even though we were tired we had to stand up and keep moving.

Throughout the climb I gradually added more layers to my hiking outfit to stay warm- my
Under Armour shirt and leggings, an extra warm heat tech shirt, Nike shorts, a t-shirt, sweatpants, and on top of all a rain breaking jacket and pair of tennis pants.

I and one other JET reached the summit the fastest, at 2:30 a.m. with the three others in our fast pack quickly coming up behind. Only problem then was that we were determined to watch the sunrise, along with hundreds of other hikers, so we had to wait at the top of the windy, cold, dark mountain. Crowds of people huddled together, scrounging for any material they could use to cover themselves. I even saw people with their hats pulled over their faces and feet sticking into their backpacks. But no matter what you attempted to cover yourself with we were all freezing. Everyone on top of the mountain curled up tightly and shut our eyes and shivered as we attempted to sleep. I think I actually did sleep for about an hour somehow.

Before I knew it I woke up at four and it was time for us to stir and find a spot at the ridge on the peak to watch the sun rise. At 4:45 a.m. the skyline began to turn red, and by 5:20 the sun was climbing into the sky. Even though it was cold and windy I was determined to sit on that ridge and watch the entire sunrise. I climbed that dang mountain and waited in the cold for three hours for that sunrise and I was not going to miss it- cause I am not doing it again!

It was beautiful. At an elevation of 3,776 meters (12,389 feet) we were so high above the clouds that the view was spectacular. Sitting on Fuji the panorama was nothing but clouds and the tops of the smaller mountain's dark peaks peeping through the cloud banks. Also, shout out to fellow JET, Sean Grannum, for generously providing some of the pictures for this post!

The sky beginning to turn colors, everyone started to stir and find places to view the famous sunrise from.

Perched way above the clouds

A Tori, (a special gate for sacred places)

Mt. Fuji's crater

Hundreds of hikers gathered on Fuji's peak, enjoying the incredible view

Having reached the top, battled with potential hypothermia, and seen the sunrise it was time for me to get back down that mountain! The descent took only 3 hours and my little group reached fifth station- our starting point from the previous night. We had a couple hours to wait for our bus back to Shinjuku so we shopped for omiage and sat in a circle in the stone courtyard waiting. On the bus back to Tokyo every passenger on the bus fell asleep within five minutes. Halfway through the ride I woke up to complete silence, looked around and saw that literally every passenger was out and quickly ducked back down in my seat to follow suit. Tired, sweaty and dirty we made it back into Tokyo around 2 p.m. My three travel mates and I headed to our ryokan at 3, where we determined our order for the shower by Rock, Paper, Scissors (the quintessential decision making method in Japan), then napped for a couple hours before heading out for a night in Tokyo.

The main gate leading to Fuji's sacred peak

Incredible sights even as we were descending the mountain!

Made some random friends while waiting for our buses.

Yeah, I climbed that one this morning