kanazawa rules!

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So yesterday was lovely and relaxing. I slept until noon, man did I need it! And then putzed around the house till Ivayla came home and we went for a bike ride. she showed me a grocery store (they have individual wrapped bananas!) and a 100 yen shop. They had amazing stuff in there for so cheap! Bike riding in japan is awesome, they mostly have old school one speeds with baskets, and there is no goin fast, you just cruise and relax! And you can bike anywhere! But cars can go on sidewalks too in some places so you have to be careful! We went to a walking area, and I tried this green tea ice cream that was soooo amazing . It's the heroin of icecreams.
Then I caught a night bus that ivayla found for me that was only 55$ to Kanazawa, and here I am!

I am staying in a Ryokan which is awesome. It:s a little pricey but the hostels are too far away here, and I wanted to stay in a Ryokan at some point anyway. You get a cotton kimono robe to wear and slippers, and your room is totally traditional, with sliding screen windows, a futon on the floor, low table, and waiting pot of green tea. It's so beautiful! I am gonna rearrange all future apartments differently after this! I love my little room so much. The bath is an onsen style, where you shower first and then get in. But man is it hot! Too hot! It took me 15 min to get in and I could only stay in for 1 before getting dizzy.

Today I saw a whole lot. Kanazawa is an absolutely gorgeous town. So gorgeous, so many old neighbourhoods that look as though they haven't changed for generations. The samurai districts and geisha districts are jsut the start of it. Pretty much ever street except for the 4 big main streets is old school, right out of kurosawa! Tampopo!

Even the train station, which is modern, is amazing architecture (Jon you would love it). I walked to Kanazawa castle, which is a reproduction of the original which burnt down, and inside is all wood, no nails, and mainly just a museum of how they built it. Then I saw Kenrokuen which is one of the top 3 gardens in Japan and has tons of tea houses in it that are so lovely. Then I went to the Oyumi Ginza shrine for official prayers and a religious tea ceremony markign the start of the Matsuri festival that is going on this weekend. It was so breathtaking, monks beating drums, flute music, slippers, and an atmosphere of ancientness and reverence that I think you would never experience anywhere in North America unless you were standing in an ancient sequoia with a medicine man.

Later I took my painfully hot onsen bath at the Ryokan and a nap before heading out to see the lantern parade at the central park. They also ringed it with fair style booths selling hot dogs and Japanese tempura and games and stuff. One booth was even selling tiny birdies as small as my thumb, with a cage, for 300 yen! I was quite taken aback. I didn't know if I should think they were adorable or feel shocked because they were selling animals so casually at the fair. The Kids in the park were damn cute, I even had some smile at me and say hello in English, which was big because I think that they are usually very shy. They had their own little lantern parade to city hall with mini shrines and were all so happy.

Then I went up to the river to see the silk lanterns floating at dusk. Now that was amazing! Thousands of silk lanterns, handpainted silken boxes, are floated down the river while taiko drummers gave er' and thousands of people lined the river. The river is very shallow so they bob around the rocks, and people nudge them when they get stuck...it was sooo beautiful, indescribeable. Miles of winding yellow lights. Note, through all this I have seen maybe two other foreigners so this adds to the feeling of being in a totally different place and time which is blowing me away.

Then I got lost, on my way back, which was good at first because I found a geisha district where I could here proceedings taking place and it so peaceful and beautiful, women in kimonos clodding past, sometimes on cell phones, people on bikes, old school ramen shops next to hot dog stands....but then I got so lost I ended up at the train station. I keep thinking things are further than they are and going way too far! For a Japanese 30 min is 10 for me due to longer legs and speed of walking. Several hours and much back pain later I found my way back to the ryokan and nursed my wounds, after stopping at a convenience store for a 4$ snack. I would say the food here is as cheap as canada because the quality is so good, even in convenience stores. To eat healthy in Canada it costs. YOu can get a big healthy meal with fish, veggies, rice, and tea that tastes awesome for 8-10$ here, which is good cause everything is so fresh. Not so bad, cause you don't have to pay tax and tip, and it feels to eat real food for a change.

So I rested at the Ryokan, then headed out to the winding streets for some night life. I found one called Arena or something, which is a Gaijin bar with free internet if you buy a drink. Some old Japanese dude invited me to his company table and bought me a sake so I got to hang out with an afterwork crowd which was neat. The whole company allegiance thing is so odd here but totally makes sense in terms of history and tradition. So strange, the girls are as young as 21 and the men as old as 50, all hanging out together at a bar cause they work together. So I sat with them and sang "My Sharona" for them in the karaoke room and they went nuts for it. I talked to one girl for a bit and when I said that I like to travel and be independent and am outdoorsy and like to walk alot and would prefer not have children so that I can be free, she asked me if I want to be a boy! She also noticed my hiking shoes, which stand out like crazy in Kanazawa cause every female I have seen has been in heels so far. Poor things. I told her that I don't wear high heels so that I can walk more, she said she likes heels because women should be cool, but also beautiful. She wishes she could make as much money as here male coworkers, but prefers to stay home and have a family. Different worlds for us! I need freedom!

Ciao,

iva

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