Saturday March 26, 2016
Cold and clear this morning – 36 degrees. We had breakfast on the 12th floor and enjoyed gorgeous views of Kanazawa.
Our group of twelve divided into smaller subgroups so we could visit people’s individual houses to learn about Japanese culture firsthand. Four of us were privileged to go the the home of the very gracious Mr. and Mrs. Mori. They were retired educators and were well prepared to teach us about Japanese culture.
They were charming hosts who showed us photos of their children and grandchildren and told us about Japanese festivals and Noh theater. Mr. and Mrs. Mori also gave a lesson in ‘Origami’ – the art of paper folding.
Afterwards we had lunch in a Japanese restaurant near the magnificent railroad station.
Then into the Kanazawa station:
Vendor making rice snacks for people to eat on the train: 
A variety of trains on the platform:
A view of the Japanese countryside. 
Arrived at the Kyoto station at 4:09 exactly and we had 90 seconds to disembark 18 people before the doors closed. Somehow, we all got off the train in time!
Our guides: Ayano and Joe:
Kyoto tower:
We checked into the Daiwa Roynet Hotel Kyoto Shijo and walked around the neighborhood. Although Kyoto is an ancient city, today it is a very clean and modern metropolis. We had dinner is a small comfortable restaurant.
