Meg and I caught an early 8:06AM train out of Matsumoto to Kanazawa. Leaving Matsumoto felt liberating in some fashion because we were finally ridding ourselves of this rain cloud that seems to be following us. Hooray sunshine! On our train ride to Matsumoto, an Indian man living in Japan helped Meg and I find a place to sit and proceeded to buy me a coffee. It was nice to chat about his family and how he ended up in Japan. He came to Japan in 2002 and a few years later would start his own jewelry manufacturing company. It was refreshing to talk to someone who found opportunity elsewhere and took that leap.

Once in Kanazawa, we took a quick bus to our hostel. We stayed at K’s Hostel which was absolutely fantastic with a ton of amenities (washer and dryer!) and a friendly staff. I was on my last pair of clean undies so the laundry came at a clutch time. After dropping off our bags, we went straight for the renowned Kanazawa Garden. The Kenroku-en is one of the three Great Gardens in Japan. The gardens are often referred to as the most beautiful in all of Japan.

Deciding to take a break from the garden before heading to the castle, refuge was found in a local brewery, Oriental Brewing. Meg had an IPA and I had a Summer Wheat beer. Good stuff if you’re craving a craft beer in Japan. The bartender was extremely outgoing and we shared a lot of the same music tastes. He asked me about Indie music and who my favorite band was. When I mentioned Fleet Foxes his face immediately lit up. With excitement he raced to his iPad and put on White Winter Hymnal. One of my favorite. The bartender also was a big fan of Fleet Foxes and told me about his plans to see them live early next year in Japan. It was a testament to music being a universal language that can bring people together no matter where you are from. It was a great moment and one I’ll always think of when listening to White Winter Hymnal.

We made our way to the Kanazawa Castle, which is a beautiful area surrounded by open fields of green grass. There were numerous school children who must’ve just been getting out of class. The kids ran around us as we walked towards the castle, yelling “Hello!” to us and one came over and gave me a high five. WE LOVE JAPAN! The Kanazawa Castle dates back to the 16th century during the time of daimyos (subordinates to the Shogunates). Kanazawa Castle has been destroyed and rebuilt on a few occasions with the last one in 1881 after the castle was burned down.

If you ever visit Kanazawa, the visit isn’t complete without walking through the streets of old town or the Geisha district. The old wooden buildings and narrow streets give it a truly unique vibe and has a beautiful backdrop of the mountains off in the distance. 

No trip to Kanazawa is complete without partaking in some sake tasting. so we made a pitstop at the Fukumitsuya Brewery. Meg and I had a sake taster, which featured three varieties of sake. All three made from just rice and water with no added distilled alcohol, called Junmai Daiginjo. Making sake is an extremely intensive process and much of the taste is left to the technique of the brewer. For the most part it is just rice and water however the brewer can make slight changes to alter the taste or add distilled alcohol. The sake on the left for example was much sweeter than the others. Japan is not complete without a trip to the sake bar.

Again we had a friendly bartender, this time a 29-year old woman who studied English in where else but…Boston of course! She had lots of nice things to say about the people and the city. She taught us quite a few Japanese words such how to count to 5, the local way to say thank you, and the word “delicious”. 

The night came quickly and it started to get cooler so we went back to our hostel to grab some warmer clothes before heading to the Samurai District. On the way over, I found a Japanese arcade and nerded out a little. Claw machines filled with stuffed Kirbys, Pokeballs, and numerous arcade games. It was everything I wanted as a child and extremely nostalgic. 11-year old Chris probably would’ve exhausted all of his finances trying to win that damn Kirby rather than walking to the bookstore next door and buying one. It’s all about the thrill of victory! Sadly…I spent $10 trying to win a Kirby and Pokeball and came up short. Probably a good thing because I would’ve had to haul that big ass stuffed Pokeball around in my backpack. 

The Samurai District which was quiet, dimly lit, and empty. Perfect for some night time photography.