Today's breakfast.
We convened in the morning for another Japanese style breakfast, this one complete with service on low tables while seated on cushions on the floor. The hip and knee joints weren’t too happy about it, but the taste buds and stomach were.
We stuffed our luggage in coin lockers at the train station again and went looking for the tea house that piqued Mason’s interest the night before (Cindy, Mike, and Mason having not located it the night before) and the Takayama morning market. When we found the tea house opened at 10, we went on to the morning market that stretched over numerous blocks. We then walked down the street with the traditional architecture, poking in a few stores to pass the time. Finally wandering back to the teahouse a few minutes early. To pass those minutes, we stepped into the gallery across the street that featured a nice selection of porcelain, paintings, watercolors, and woodprints. I was taken by one of the woodblock prints and ended up buying it (sans frame).
Completing that transaction, we adjourned to the teahouse where Mike, Mason, and I had tea, but Cindy and Jonathan had coffee. We returned to the train station and retrieved our bags in ample time to catch the train to Toyama where we would change for Kanazawa.
Today's breakfast.
An array of fish over the coals.
A helpful vendor demonstrating proper technique for consuming the smoked mackerel.
The smoked mackerel.
These 'lollipops' are actually rice balls on a stick, to dipped in assorted flavorings.
Dried fish for sale.
Lotus root.
The red bridge in Takayama.
Cindy taking a portrait of Mike and Mason.
A modern rickshaw, available.
The street through the preservation district.
The lucky cat and the lucky Mason.
A rough hewn lucky cat.
A row of flower boxes in front of an establishment.
A swallow nesting in the rafters.
An azalea bloom.
A heron in the river.
We bought this woodcut print of snowy pines because it reminded us of Maine and Minnesota.
Mason's teahouse order - green tea and a Japanese sweet (probably red bean paste).
The train tracks in Toyama.
The train was a reverse of the previous on following the river down through the mountains to the coast – this time the Sea of Japan, the northwestern shore of Honshu. A consultation in the tourist office identified the bus and the stop we needed to get to the hotel. After dropping off the bags in our rooms, and a lunch of sushi a few blocks away, we walked through the grounds of Kanazawa Castle Park to the Kenrokuen Garden, reported to be among the three most beautiful in Japan. We spent the rest of the afternoon wandering the garden before taking a circuitous route back through the castle grounds as the public address system announced the park was closing for the evening.
Catching lunch at a sushi bar.
Kanazawa Castle.
An abundance of buds - I would have loved to have seen them all in bloom a few days later.
A tower of Kanazawa Castle.
Jonathan and Mason coming out a gate from the castle grounds.
This fountain is totally gravity driven and is a feature of the Kenroku-en Gardens.
Cindy crossing the bridge, heading up the trail.
A view across the main pond of the gardens.
Reflection of the pond through the leaves of an maple tree.
A teahouse over the pond.
An especially tall tree specimen.
Banks of irises on either side of a stream.
Iris, up close.
A rather venerable tree.
Catching a snap of Cindy, Mike, and Mason.
Catching a snap of Cindy, Mike, Mason, and Jonathan.
A bridge with Japanese lantern.
There were a fair number of women in traditional kimonos.
A rare shot of a garden path with no people. The garden is very popular.
Cindy and Mason taking a pause.
Water fall from the upper pond to a lower pond.
A pair of Lucky Cats.
Kotoji-tōrō - a signature feature of the park.
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A shot of Jonathan juxtaposed against the immense castle walls.
We stopped for a beer at a tiny café/bar located in a hotel lobby and sat out front. We got a recommendation for an local restaurant from the bartender, but found the place was closed. We ate at a pseudo-Italian restaurant, and then, at Mr. Lubin’s request, we went to the Starbucks across the street for coffee.