Getting my Geek On

Saturday 28th October (Day 9)

OK - nightmare scenario …. It’s bouncing down and according to the forecast, it’s going to be raining all bloody day ….. 

So - indoor activities today it is then …..

I follow a guy on Twitter (X) who lives in Kanazawa …. He’s a Brit from up our way and although he supports Newcastle, he’s a nice guy and knows a lot about Kanazawa.  He mentioned some time ago that they have a new library which is state of the art and very pretty.  Who could resist ….

So - as it’s raining and I enjoy a book or two ….. it was time to get my geek on and find this library.  Well, Scott found it …. And armed with umbrellas … off we went.

The Library was about 20 minutes away on the bus … but it was worth every second.  It is HUGE!  It has over 300,000 books and 500 reading seats.  There’s a small museum area which shows works from the students from the Art University over the road, a large theatre which was showing some kind of kids thing when we got there, a cafe and a huge archive\reference room.  Best of all, chatting and conversations are allowed in most areas of the library, tho there are ‘quiet’ areas for reading and studying.

It was nice to see kids running around and making a noise in a library and in the kids section was an Activity Center and a decent size play area with climbing frame.

There are books in all languages… there’s a big section at the top of English books ranging from Stephen King to Dickens and some Sherlock Holmes’s and a lot of Japanese author books translated into English. They also have the book I’ve just finished reading …. They also had two complete sets of the Encyclopaedia Britannica which fascinated Scott ….. I had to pull him away as he started reading the A’s …. We could’ve been there a while 😂.

It was soooo tempting to grab a book and find one of those comfy chairs and make myself at home ….. I could have still been there now …..

It’s still raining, no no, it’s bouncing . . .  Plan B now in action.  It’s back to the Mega Donki to look at the places we missed last time.  Managed to do some very specific shopping for a young lady back home …. Could have gone completely wild, but I had to keep thinking of the suitcase …. Oh blimey!

Coming home, we saw signs and loads of tents set up around the are and remembered it’s Kanazawa Marathon tomorrow, looks like roads will be closed and it’ll be quite busy, so might have a rest day tomorrow…..

We’ll see what happens . . . 

Until tomorrow xxx

Tea Master and More Geisha

Friday 28th October (Day 8)

Another special day today …. This is the second of the ‘experience traditional Kanazawa’ events that I planned months ago. After booking the Geisha evening and Lady Baba, I found other traditional events happening in October. . . .  Cue the credit card and the calendar.

These are all happening through the ‘Art of Geisha’ programme throughout Kanazawa which allows tourists to see the usually closed Tea Houses and allow them to interact with Geisha.  First timers are not allowed to just enter a tea house, they need to be recommended by someone who has been going to the tea house for many years and is very respected ….. as I know no-one with those references, this programme is ideal for me.

This event is slightly different to the Geisha evening as this is a Tea Ceremony.  Bonus - I could take pictures of this one!

The first part (Tea Ceremony) took place in the actual Tea Masters house.  There was only 10 people in the first part as it’s only a small room.  We are all now sitting on the floor watching the Master at work.  His movements and actions are taken with care and absolute precision.  Every move he makes has a reason. …. It is perfection and completely mesmerising.

We then get our own tray and cup to make our own Tea.  It’s not as easy as it looks…. It’s all about how to whisk the tea.

After making the tea, we could eat the sweet and drink up…. Absolutely delicious.

We were then moved to another tea house where Geisha would perform for us.  This Geisha area specialising in playing the flute …. And we had a lovely performance of Geisha playing traditional tunes.

Another Geisha came out to dance.  Again, the moves were perfect and so precise 

The Geisha that was dancing then came out with Taiko drums and played …. Again, she was amazing.

We then had a little time to ask the ladies questions but we all had so many questions that we went a bit overtime!!!

Again, Scott as waiting for me when we finished.

As we were in Nishi-Chaya, we were pretty close to the center of town.  There’s a real mixed bag of shops here… we go from department stores to vintage shops to Daiso (100yen shop) to designer shops …. Tiffany, Rolex, Versace, Bulgari etc. We,  being simple folk, found the nearest Tokyu Hands, my favourite shop, and wandered round there…. May have bought a couple of things … Shhhh. 

It’s now getting a bit late, I’m hungry and it’s raining again, so we made our way home.  Although we haven’t done that much, it’s still been an exciting day stuffed full of amazing memories.

Until tomorrow xxx

Lady Baba and the Geisha

Thursday 27th October (Day 7)

This is going to be a mixed day…. After having a long old day at the Gorge, we wanted to take it a bit easy today and …. I had an appointment later in the evening that I was not going to miss.

So first off, it was a late start and we just had a wander round the castle grounds to see the Japanese gardens in the grounds.  These are called strolling gardens and are immaculately kept.  The weather was nice so we ended up having a couple of hours walk around.

We passed the ‘eggs’ that are lit up on an evening and they look very different during the day … almost like Godzillas nest ….. 

So back home via the Combini where I got my first dumplings of the season …. Love these so much.  You buy them from the heated from the warmer, so they are ready to eat straight away …. I got a pork bun and a pizza bun…. Sooooo good!

Food sorted… and now get changed for the Geisha evening.  I have wanted to do this event for years, but we have never been in Kanazawa at the right time.  But we are in the right place at the right time this year . . . . . 

So off to Higashi-chaya to a traditional tea house…this is the real I am….. and I am now beyond excited.  Scott dropped me off and went off to find something to do for the next couple of hours.  He didn’t come because he can’t sit on the floor and he’s not such a big fan of the Geisha …. Shocking!

The event started with a cup of matcha tea.  I could take photos here, but that was it …. No photos allowed in the main room with the Geisha.

I had booked my seat for tonight months ago and I was in the front row right in front of the little stage… I could almost reach out and touch them …. But I didn't, cos I’m a good girl ….

The event is run by the Landlady of the Tea House… Lady Baba.  She introduced the Geisha and gave a history on the kimono, make up, the tea houses, Kanazawa and the life of a Geisha.  She was very funny and held my attention completely.  We then had a cup of Sake to celebrate the new evening and start of the night.

Then came the gorgeous ladies …. Two of them were entertaining us tonight.  One played the shamisen and the other danced.  They were perfect. The dance moves were exquisite and she seemed to float on the tatami mats.

They then played the Taiko Drums which was also impressive. When she finished, she got a couple of the girls in the audience to come and play with her.

Next, the girls relaxed a bit and played some games …. Drinking games!  They got a couple of lads from the audience to play the games with them - very funny.

The two hours were over waaaay too quickly and it felt like no time before we had to leave - plus the two Geisha had other business appointments to go to that night.

Although I couldn’t take any pictures, this night will stay in my memories for a long time to come ….. it was everything I hoped it was going to be and more.

Scott was waiting for me when it finished and I floated home ……

Got something else planned for tomorrow . . .  So until then xx

Kurobe Gorge

Wednesday 25th October (Day 6)

Big day out today …. We are going to Kurobe Gorge.  

We went there last time we were in Kanazawa, but most of it was closed due to a landslide so we didn’t really get to see the gorge in all its glory.  So - here we are with attempt number 2.

Getting there involves a walk to the station, a 40 minute trip on the Shinkansen and a 25 minute journey on a local train.  It’s going to be an early start so we can get to the gorge at a reasonable time.

We grabbed some breakfast at the station …. Me with a coffee and an apple danish and Scott with a coke and chocolate donut thing.

Fortunately the second train station for the local train was just over the road from the Shinkansen station, so not far to walk….. just a 10 minute wait or so and the local train rocked up.

We’ve now made it to the gorge.  

The Kurobe Gorge is a private railway company operating along the Kurobe River.  The railway was originally used to ferry the construction workers from the Kansai Electric Power Company to and from the Kurobe Dam.  The dam was finished in 1963, but since then, the route and the trains have been used to ferry eager tourists into the mountains …. How’s that for recycling…..

Model of the train we would be getting ….. 

The route would take us through 20km of track and we would go through 40 tunnels and over 20 bridges.  A one way trip would take about 80 minutes. 

We started off OK, but as it as warm, I was only wearing a T-shirt, didn’t have a coat or a jumper … which was ok at first, but after the 30th tunnel, it started to get a tad chilly. But once we got to the top station, the sun as shining and I warmed up nicely.  I warmed up even more once we started walking up the side of a bloody mountain ….. 😬

I may have underestimated just how much of an uphill trek this was going to be ….. we only made it half way up and I had to stop….. in my defence, it’s a a bloody big hill, but the views were wonderful and we got to see what we wanted to the first time …. So all in all - a success. 

Back downhill to the station to catch the little gorge train back…. Another 20km, 40 tunnels and 20 bridges ….. and it’s not the smoothest of trains and the tracks definitely need a dose of WD40 ….. it’s a proper bone shaker. Worth it for the views tho.

Sadly the timetables between the local train and the Shinkansen were out of synch so we had about 45 minutes to kill.  Grabbed a coffee from the 7-11 and watched the sun go down over the mountains …. Perfect end to the day.

Finally made it back to Kanazawa for a walk back home….. some food and watch a bit of crazy Japanese TV…. Then bed.  Got an exciting day tomorrow… going to see some Geisha …..

Until tomorrow xxx

Tea Houses, Gold Leaf and teamLab

Tuesday 24th October (Day 5)

Bit of a late start today as we were recovering from Toyama, so it was going to be a Kanazawa day.

We decided to go to the Higashi Chaya district.  This is the historic entertainment district where Geisha perform and traditional tea houses still exist. There would be no chance of seeing any Geisha during the day, but some of the old houses have been turned into shops.

Kanazawa is famous for gold leaf and everything is covered in some kind of gold from jewellery, cups, bowls, cosmetics and ice cream!  I wandered into one shop and came out with gold leaf lip balm and a tester set of face wash, moisturiser, cleansing gel…. All with gold leaf.  I’ll be shimmering like gold when I get home …..

We had a lovely walk round the whole district popping in and out the shops. As it’s one of Kanazawa's main attractions, it was really busy…. And it as packed with Schools kids …. Are they ever in school?   But we managed to get round and see all we wanted to ….

After a couple of hours , we made our way back home as we had tickets booked for the teamLab event tonight at the castle ….

Quick stop at the 7-11 on the way home first for a top up of snacks…. And a Smoothie! This is where you buy a pot filled with various frozen fruits and a yoghurt and after paying for it, you stick the pot in the machine and it whisks it into the perfect Smoothie - absolutely delicious ….. I’ve lost count of how many I’ve had so far ….. 😬.  The steamed cheesecake was to die for ….. yum 😋 

So now time for teamLab.  This is an outdoor digitised lighting exhibition which is shown against the castle walls. The artworks change as people walk past and changes depending on how quickly they walk-by it.  It’s also affected by the elements and changes every time each night - There are no duplicates. 

It’s on every night over October but the weekends are booked out, so we had to go for it now before the weekdays sold out. We got there just after 6 and it was already packed.  You follow the path round the castle in the pitch dark and there are different exhibits on each wall . . . . Now, Scott and I are not exactly known for our artistic sides, so a lot of this was lost on us…. But it was very pretty.

Animals made from petals

The interactive eggs

This parade changes depending on the people and elements …..

Half way round, we found a whole field full of lit up eggs!  We could play with these …. The colours changed as you touched them and if you pushed them they made a noise.  

At the end, there was a tent where people were colouring in printed pictures …. Not one for missing out (I always have a bit FOMO), I jumped in to find out what was going on.  All I had to do, was colour in the picture and give it to the girl who would project it on a screen. The screen showed a scene of all the different colourings interacting with each other.  

Yes yes, mine looks a tad scary (Scott did the nose and made her look … well… weird … or something Stephen King would make up) . . . But you try to colour in using crayons that have been well battered by the time you get to them…. They were like stumps… my excuse and I’m sticking to it.

There she is … chatting away!

I took some video of her moving around and chatting to the other pictures …. She hung around for about 10 minutes, then scurried off to let others on the screen…..

The whole event was really good fun and I’m pleased we managed to get tickets …. Like I said, some of the concepts were lost on us, but the other bits like the eggs…. Watching the kids go wild pushing the eggs at each other was funny and the party pictures were interesting and fun.  Would absolutely recommend it ….

So I’m done for now …. Despite not doing too much, we have walked a lot and we are are both ready for home for food and planning tomorrows day out …..

So until tomorrow xxx