Japan Travelogue #7: Kanazawa
Freezing weather, Kanazawa curry, and meeting a man in a Rabbit suit
Welcome to the Everything Else Substack, written by Chris. If you’re joining us from my other blog, Spatial Awareness, welcome!
Japan Trip Duration: January 20th 2025 - February 25th 2025
Monday, February 17, 2025
I felt like I could have spent more time in Kobe, but it is what it is. After watching a few videos online and hearing a little more, I decided to spend a few days in Kanazawa. Kanazawa is the capital of Ishikawa Prefecture, on Japan’s central Honshu Island. It's known for well-preserved Edo-era districts, art museums and regional handicrafts.
I took the Shinkansen from Kobe to Kyoto, and then the Limited Express Thunderbird from Kyoto to Kanazawa. The Thunderbird is faster than a regular train, but slower than the Shinkansen, and connects smaller areas of Japan together.
On the train ride up to Kanazawa, I began to realize the decision I had made. I didn’t fully realize that the northern part of Japan was experiencing so much inclement weather, and it was drastically colder when I got into Kanazawa than I was expecting. This part of Japan is beautiful, but I should have done more careful planning before coming here. Regardless, I was locked into staying for a few days and made the most of it.
After taking the train ride into Kanazawa station, I took a bus south, closer to the Nagamachi District where I was staying. I’ve mentioned this to a few friends, but it is worth mentioning again: every single city in Japan does buses a bit differently. In Kanazawa, you take a ticket and board from the back, and then get off at the front after paying (but IC cards aren’t supported). This was different from Hiroshima, Kobe, Kyoto, Osaka, and Tokyo. At some point I may develop an integrated bus system and propose it to the country of Japan.
I got off at my bus stop, and walked for a bit. I ended up running into a bar established in 1923 called the St. Louis Jigger Bar. No relation to St. Louis, just a name that was grabbed and utilized to be more western sounding. Not surprisingly the bar specializes in American style cocktails.
I dropped my stuff off, midday, and walked around the city for a bit. Travel days and spending hours on the train was wearing me out more than I was initially realizing. I also found myself craving some American food. I found a place called Pizza Horizon in Nagamachi that specializes in NY style slices and had a few.
Tuesday, February 18 2025
Today was the coldest day so far in Japan. Luckily, the apartment is warm, and I’ve made good use of my long underwear. I criminally underpacked for Japan in that regard, and did not realize how harsh the winter would be. It was also my fault for planning to go to a city that was having a winter storm.
One of the top attractions and reasons why I came to Kanazawa was to see Kenroku-en. It is considered one of Japan’s ‘Three Great Gardens’ and is renowned for its beauty and attention to detail with the landscaping. It was originally built in the 17th century by the Maeda Clan, feudal lords of the Kaga Domain. Initially being private, it was opened to the public for the first time in 1871.
Despite the cold, the snow made the park absolutely stunning, and I spent a couple hours walking around freezing while drinking coffee. It was one of my favorite quieter, tranquil moments on the trip.
Words don’t do it justice, so I took as many photos and videos as I could before my hands froze off.
After enjoying Kenroku-en, I walked to Kanazawa Castle. Yes, I know, another castle. Kanazawa Castle Park is adjacent to Kenroku-en and is sprawling. I didn’t tour the inside of the castle, as I had been told that the interior and the tour was a bit of a tourist trap. And, I had already toured what felt like countless castles so far on the trip. My imagination was enough.
Kanazawa Castle was built in 1583, and suffered from multiple fires over the centuries. Today, the grounds mostly contain rebuilt gates, with the castle having been entirely rebuilt. The only structures from the 18th century that are original in the park are Ishikawa Gate and Sanju-roku Ken Nagaya. Like many parts of Japan, the grounds are great for cherry blossom viewing in spring.
I took a long walk around the exterior, saw children building snowmen and got caught between a snowball fight while walking to Gyokusenin Maru Garden. The garden was closed because of the weather, but I managed to snap a few nice shots.
I had heard that the fish market, Omicho Market, was worth walking through in Kanazawa, so I headed there next. It was freezing, but it was cool to see. I’d love to come back during the summertime.
I took a longer walk from Omicho and walked around more of Nagamachi. After being out in the cold for a while, I wanted an early dinner. I had walked by a place called Champion’s Curry Diner, and decided it looked great.
I didn’t realize visiting the place that its claim to fame was being credited as the originator of Kanazawa style curry. Yoshikazu Tanaka established the place back in 1961, and the recipe for the curry has remained the same since.
Kanazawa curry is thick and dark in color, accompanied by katsu, rice, and cabbage. It was amazing, and I can’t wait to go back to have it again.
Wednesday, February 19 2025
Today was my last full day in Kanazawa. The time flew by, and I admittedly spent more time chilling in the apartment because of the cold. My host had suggested I visit the D.T. Suzuki museum, so that was the first thing I did.
The museum was within walking distance of the apartment, easy enough. However, I was less familiar with D.T. Suzuki and why he had a museum.
Daisetz Tetaro Suzuki was a Japanese philosopher and writer, and is credited for playing a crucial role in introducing zen to the west. He translated key texts, wrote about zen’s experiential nature, and wrote books on zen practices and meditation. His writing ended up influencing Carl Jung, who was very interested in the differences between east and west culture.
Anyways, you might be wondering how a philosopher could have a museum. I was asking myself the same thing. The architecture is as much a part of the museum as the artifacts inside. There’s a few wings of the museum: a small section that contains biographical info and writings, a learning wing (to sit and read about zen and zen philosophy), and a water mirror garden used as a space for quiet reflection.
When you’re given the ticket, part of the instructions is to spend the last half of the tour contemplating your existence, so I did that. The outdoor water mirror garden was quiet, with birds chirping and the sound ice melting down the rain chains. I spent some time in the learning wing reading a section of ‘Introduction to Zen Buddhism’ which today has a foreword by Carl Jung.
The museum is in the museum wing of the city, connected by some trails in the city with waterfalls and natural landscaping. I took a longer route and ended up briefly walking through the Ishikawa Prefectural Museum of Art. Unexpectedly, the pieces of art I wanted to take photos of were strictly prohibited, but I will say that the Doll Works of Kotani Tsutomu were worth seeing and quite cool.
I did a loop around the museum district before stumbling back on Kanazawa’s 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art. The museum is free to walk through, with a few notable highlights. Maru, the giant silver ball structure outside of the entrance, reminded me of The Bean (Cloud gate) in Chicago. Same vibe, same types of photos being taken.
After being nearly done with the museum, I came across a man in a rabbit costume lying on the ground in a room. A live daily performance.
The sign above where he was laying read the following:
I spent a few minutes staring into the eyes of Mr. B in the rabbit costume. Like him, I am on a journey of self discovery and often feel like a human in a rabbit costume.
Thoughts on Kanazawa:
Visiting here while it was snowing was magical. It made doing things more difficult, but I don’t regret visiting and would love to return to have more Kanazawa seafood once it is warmer.
The canals running through the city were beautiful during the wintertime. It felt like a city in Skyrim.
Kanazawa curry is something I didn’t know I would love. Trying out new things is almost always a good idea.
The city is way less of a tourist destination, so I didn’t run into many travelers. This was good. It really felt like I was by myself for the first time during the trip.
The atomic number of nitrogen is 7.
Heading to Nagoya in the morning.
- Chris