Blogs from Ishikawa, Japan, Asia - page 2

We arrived in Kanazawa in the morning and took the bus to our guesthouse, where we left our bags before going for a walk. We went inside the 21st century museum, a modern art museum, where we didn't spend much time. I have to admit we don't really like (nor understand) modern art. One piece consisted of several screens displaying videos of an octopus and sounds of a cow, and there was a yellow t-shirt hanging above the screens... There were also long legs everywhere, with a plug going out of the shoe, and a fake swimming pool from where we could see people on the lower level. We then walked to the Kenrokuen park, which was beautiful. It was a warm and sunny day and we really enjoyed walking around. Kanazawa is known for the ... read more

Did I mention that our hotel has a 20 meter tall Godzilla head pertruding from it's 8th floor? And that on the hour it roars, flashes coloured lights and sprays a mist over the balcony? Sooooo Japan! Tourists watch from the street below, but the locals walk by without a blink of the eye. There are so many people here. The city stretches to the horizon with high-rise hotels, skyscrapers and department stores. A panorama from our 26th floor hotel is ALL city! There are 13,000,000 people in Tokyo! That's half the population of Australia in one city! And Shinjuku station has so many JR, metros, suburban and shinkansen lines intersecting beneath it that it blows your mind. There is something like 40 platforms! We got crammed into the train to Harajuku yesterday, and it wasn't ... read more

Suzu to Wakuraonsen. A good sleep on the floor last night, thank goodness, so woke up ready for off and not making the mistake of yesterday morning and chasing people 20 years, or more, my junior. Breakfast was the usual fish, egg boiled (or nearly so) in the Onsen and various pickled Unknown vegetables with a bowl of rice. Where is the porridge? Off we went and after a morning brew we stopped at a bakery for some extra lunch supplies since our guides were providing bread and fillings. Not fish I am glad to say. I bought 4 items in the bakery, which looked delicious like custard tart etc. My rear bag had a lot of gear in so it was a bit of a squash, so when we saw the backup van later I ... read more

Kanazawa to Togi The news all cyclists dread. Rain and strong winds as we wake and as we look out at breakfast time things are swirling in the air. Stoke up with food the get the metabolism generating heat. Eventually we were off at 8.20 into the headwind, on the cycleway by the river, until we hit the sea. Joy, the wind is on our tail and the rain eases a little as we fly north along the coast. Passing by plastic litter and old small boats on the tidal line swept up by a violent sea. The cycle path was in very good condition with smooth Tarmac and concrete with the occasional sandbar across our way, which on one occasion brought Tim down who immediately got up before I had time to photograph him - ... read more

Off on another adventure tomorrow to Honshu, Japan, for two weeks. Flying to Frankfurt on Lufthansa and then onto Osaka before taking the train to Kanazawa. Then sixteen of us cycling across from west to east from Cape to Cape. Noto Peninsua to Izu peninsula. I love Japan. Attached a few photos taken on Kyushu last year.... read more