Yesterday we had a full day out and about in Kanazawa. We boarded our bus about 7.30 for about an hours drive to Tojinbo. The countryside is different here as they don’t waste any space. Because there is no zoning its an interesting mix of houses, rice fields, gardens, shops and factories all in together. So you see small gardens next to a parking lot or a group of houses and then some shops or a factory. There are rice paddies next to shopping centres and it really makes you realise just how much we take having lots of space available for granted. Small bits of land that are pretty flat are planted with gardens next to the roadside.
The houses are small, all two storey, most without fences and very close together. You could put about 10 houses this size on our block of ground. There are small groups of tombstones here and there, some in peoples yards, some in patch of ground all together. We saw lots of women out working in the gardens and weeding around the family tombstones as yesterday was a special day for remembering ancestors in Japan . We also saw people burning off the rice fields and harvesting rice. In the background are the beautiful mountains of Japan in so many shades of blue – it’s impossible to capture how beautiful they are in a photo! They are the backdrop everywhere we go – just stunning!
At Tojimbo we had a walk around the cliff edge.
Then visited the local market shops. There is fresh seafood everywhere.
You can even get a squid on a stick, and other things I couldn’t identify. Huge crabs, octopus, prawns, fish eggs. Seafood is everywhere!
The ladies on the bus also had our first encounter with Japanese bathrooms where squat toilets are the norm. Its seems to be one extreme or the other as on the ship the Japanese toilets are quite high tech with control panels, heated seats, flashing lights
We got back on the bus and travelled further towards the mountains to visit the Ethei-ji Temple – one of the head temples for Zen Buddhism . It was just amazing! (Our pics and words can’t possibly do it justice so you can read more about it here.) The gardens were lovely, all you could hear was the sound of flowing water the whole time you were outside – so peaceful!
We had a tour by one of the monks, wearing our little brown (one size fits all) slippers. The temple itself was a wooden structure, with beautiful carvings and decorations throughout. Here is just a few pics of this wonderful temple.
The ceiling of the main hall for meditation and sleeping was decorated with over 200 handpainted squares.
And as with most temples it was built at the top of a very steep hill, so there are lots of steep, narrow steps to get to the buildings..
and the steps continue once you get inside…
After leaving the temple we headed off to a local restaurant for lunch. Trying to eat gluten free away from home is difficult, let alone in a foreign country so it is something that’s been a bit of a worry. I’d hoped I’d get through it without too much fuss and attention. Oh how wrong I was! On the bus the chef phone the tour guide and I was asked about some ingredients as the they wanted to make a nice meal for me.
When we arrived as we all in the foyer were waiting for our seats they came and got me and brought me right to the front of the line with much smiling and bowing and much attention from all the others on the tour! Then they went and found Tony made him come up and stand with me. Everyone one was looking now wondering what was happening. When the seats were ready Tony and I were taken in and seated while the others had to wait outside. They had a made a beautiful array of tiny dishes complete with a written guide to everything in each dish, posted (sideways) below.
Once Tony and I were settled in, then they let the others into the dining room. After lunch they waiters came outside and waved off the bus, which apparently is the usual thing to do in Japan.
We got back to the ship about 4pm and the local dancers and schoolchildren arrived at the port to farewell the ship. For the next hour and a half until the ship sailed they performed traditional dances, flag waving to music – looks better than it sounds, baton twirling and singing, drumming – it was great! Plans to attend the entertainment on board got scrapped as we were both too tired and we have an even longer day ahead of us today. We leave at 7am to go to Kyoto – Nijo Castle and we get back at 5pm tonight.