Nati on the road: Kanazawa

It's not true that I cannot be spontaneus in Japan. I was advised by a few friends and plenty of travel websites to plan the entire trip and book all the accomodations in Japan in advance - especially during the period of holidays such as Golden Week. I was really confused and didn't know what to do. While making some plan of my itinerary was feasible (and I did it), it was still highly complicated to predict how much time I will need in every place, whether I will like the place or what unforeseen circumstances could happen. I decided to book only a few first nights in Tokyo, and then be spontaneous. And so far it is working perfectly - with booking,com I just book a hotel from one day to another, and with my Japanese Rail Pass I'm totally flexible as regards my transport. Takayama was a great example of impossibility to predict what will I want to do. Although it was a lovely and charming town, I was just bored after one day and decided to move further. Next destination was Kanazawa!

Kanazawa - along with Kyoto - managed to escape destruction by air raids during the World War Two, therefore big parts of the old town have survived in good condition. I wanted to see it.

Before leaving Tokayama, I was caught by the Japanese TV at the train station and gave a short interview about my travelling in Japan :)

In order to arrive to Kanazawa I took a train to Tayama, and then changed into Shinkansen to Kanazawa. On the way I was admiring the beautiful scenery of this region.

I arrived to Kanazaw in the afternoon to one of the most impressive train stations I have ever seen! Quickly checked-in in my hostel (Good Neighbours Hostel) located very very close to the train station. A bit tired with capsule and dorms, I decided to rent my own room - Japanese style room.

Since it was still light outside, I went for a walk to the Higashi Chaya District - a district where in the past geishas entertained their wealthy patrons. Besides Higashi, in Kanazawa there are two other geishas' districts, but Higashi is the biggest and apparently the most interesting. The architecture reminded me the one of Tokayama, but Tokayama's one seemed to be a bit more charming.

In the morning I decided to go to the Myoryuji aka Ninja Temple. Apparently in order to go there, a visit needs to be booked first. So I asked my hostel and they called and booked the guided visit (they are scheduled every half an hour). All the guided visits take place only in Japanese, however the non-Japanese speakers receive a booklet in English step by step describing any place the guide is currently explaining.

Originally the temple was a place of prayer and it actually is not associated with ninja, but because f its complex structure, including several pitfalls, hidden rooms and stairs, it is called Ninja Temple.

Visiting this place with a group of Japanese was also quite funny, as they reacted with plenty of sounds of admiration when the guide was showing the complexity of the building ;-)