Gallivanting Grandma

Thursday March 24, 2016

Today we had a sightseeing tour of the city by chartered coach.  First activity of the morning was to drive past Kanazawa Castle Park –  complete with moat, on our way to Kenroku-en Garden.

Unfortunately, the weather was chilly, overcast, and drizzly but it’s a beautiful garden. We were told that the lantern in these photos is the most famous stone lantern in Japan.

Then we went to Omi-cho Market.

Next we drove to the former samurai warrior and artist Kurando Terashima’s 18th century house.

Lunch was in the old Higashi Chaya district at a French bistro.

Afterward, we walked around the district which was known for its geishas who entertained clients since the Edo period.

We went to Kaikaro which is a 200 year old refurbished tea house owned by a geisha. We met the gracious Lady Baba who owned the tea house and told us about her life as a geisha.

The last event of the day was a gold-leaf workshop. Kanazawa produces 98% of the gold leaf in Japan.

For dinner we went out for conveyor belt sushi. Delicious!

Order what you want and pay at the end of the meal by counting the plates.

Wednesday March 23, 2016

Today was our travel day from Hakone to Kanazawa. Before we left the hotel, Mt. Fuji was out in all its glory to say “sayonara” to the visitors.

We rode a bus to Odawara Station. Since we had to travel all day, our guide suggested we purchase bento boxes to eat on the train “like Japanese people do.”  There were many shops to choose a fresh lunch:

There was an amazing “food court” on the second floor where I purchased our lunch. Jeff bought pastries at the “famous” Hakone Bakery.

We walked up to our platform to wait as one of the Shinkansen high-speed trains raced past at an astonishing speed. It didn’t even slow down at the station.

Our train arrived at exactly on schedule and we boarded and took our reserved seats. It was incredible to be traveling at 180 mph in relative quiet and comfort.

Scenes of the Japanese country side:

We could see Mt. Fuji from the train so we had a final viewing:

After about an hour in the ‘Bullet’ train, we arrived at Nagoya and changed trains for another three hour ride to Kanazawa.

We ate our delicious Japanese lunch as the train continued.

We arrived and disembarked at the modern station in Kanazawa. We took taxis to the New Grand Hotel, checked in, and rested for a while.

We had been sitting all day so we decided to go out to explore the neighborhood. The weather was cloudy again and the temperature was chilly, but we found a lovely park and shrine complex across the street.

Dinner was at an Italian restaurant nearby. We had spaghetti, chicken pieces, good salad, then cheese cake & green tea gelato for dessert.

Tuesday March 22, 2016

Mt. Fuji decided to peek out again this morning. We were so excited!

Today was our day to explore Hakone so the first activity was a boat ride across Lake Ashi. This is one of the five big lakes of Fujiyama.

It cleared up momentarily and we were able to see the mountain clearly above the nearby hills:

We disembarked at the village of Moto-hakone then walked to the Narukawa Art Museum to see contemporary Japanese art.

We had a Japanese buffet luncheon followed by a stop at the woodworking shop of a master craftsman. This was the Hakone Yosegi Zaiku marquetry and mosaic woodworking shop.

Later in the afternoon we walked around the sculpture garden of the Hakone Open Air Museum and Picasso Collection.

The final treat of the day was another delicious Japanese dinner:

Monday March 21, 2016

Today was a travel day from Tokyo to Hakone to try to see Mt. Fuji. The weather was overcast and drizzly so we didn’t have much hope of seeing the mountain.

On the way to Hakone, we stopped at a huge rest stop along the highway:

The bus drove us to the Mt. Fuji information center but it was raining and visibility was poor. The original plan was to climb up to the fifth station by bus.  We saw a video of the mountain instead.

We stopped for lunch at a Japanese family-owned French restaurant:

We stopped at a sake brewery to learn how sake is made. The owner of the company was the 21st generation of sake brewers in his family. He gave us a guided tour of the facility.

As we approached Hakone, the weather looked like it was clearing:

We kept searching the sky for the mountain, not really sure what we would see.  Our only views of Mount Fuji had been in photos and paintings.  Then we saw it! The clouds moved quickly and for a few minutes parted to reveal the majestic mountain.  It was huge; dominating the sky beyond the foothills!

The group checked into the Palace Hotel Hakone and we relaxed until dinner. We had been instructed to dress in ‘yukatas’ for dinner and ate in a traditional Japanese dining room in the hotel.

Sunday – March 20, 2016

View of the city from our eighth floor hotel window:

We had a short orientation and met the other fourteen members of our tour group. We also met Joe, the tour leader, and Yukiko, our local Japanese guide. It was Sunday morning and the street outside the hotel was quiet and empty:

We all boarded a bus for our tour of Tokyo. Our first stop was the Imperial Palace Garden.  The bus drove around the vast park which is the home of the current emperor and empress of Japan.

The white building in the photo above is a guard house. The palace is surrounded by a high wall and a wide moat and is not visible by the general public.

Part of the moat and guard houses:

Joggers, cyclists, and families enjoy the gardens:

Next we visited the Senso-ji Shrine which was crowded with extended families enjoying a spring holiday Sunday.

Another bridal party arrived at the shrine in traditional clothes and entourage.

We drove to the famous Ginza district known for its world class shopping. 

We bought fun ‘bento box’ lunches at Mitsukoshi department store’s fabulous food court and had a picnic outside on the ninth floor terrace.

The main street was closed to traffic and a folk singer provided entertainment for the crowds.  We strolled along the avenue for several blocks with the shoppers.

Our final destination of the day was the controversial Yushukan Military and War Museum located within the Yasukuni Shrine compound. The museum, which was established in 1882, is dedicated to the “souls of soldiers who died fighting on behalf of the Emperor of Japan.”

Dinner was at a Japanese restaurant near the hotel: