Guess what today consisted of?? Walking/eating/walking/eating. Does this balance things out? Normally I’d say yes but today I’d have to confess that the eating won…sadly!!
So there are these districts in Kanazawa which are the preserved and lovely parts of town. Yesterday I told you we went to the Samurai district which was great. Today we hopped on a bus that took us first thing up to the Higashi Chaya District. A beautifully preserved area full of lovely shops selling crafty stuff. It was a delight to wander the streets picking up a coffee here and a croquette there. The only thing cramping our style was the masses (and I do mean masses) of Chinese tourists pouring off tourist busses…very cramping of the style actually. Nonetheless it was a lovely area and we enjoyed wandering around very much. Then we headed down and along the river to the Kazuemachi Chaya District. Again a beautifully preserved area along the river. And it was lovely and quiet and pretty. We thought we’d find lunch there but sadly we didn’t find anywhere suitable. I’d spilt grease all down my front from my engagement with a yummy croquette so we walked back to our hotel area. Then we thought why not see what the food is like in the hotel bistro. I got the eat as much as you want bistro and Rose got a burger (thinking that the bistro was too fishy) but it was a great bistro and I definitely got the best deal. The deserts reminded me of Vietnam…I came back with 3!!!!!! Oh dear!!
Half an hours break and we set off again. We stopped in at a department store to price a most gorgeous pair of shoes Rose had her eye on but predictably they were hugely expensive although probably no more that they’d be in Melb. Then hopped on a bus to the Nishi Chaya District…the area that is supposed to have the largest number of Geisha. Another nice area but damned if we saw a single geisha. We wandered around there for ages as well as around the temples there. We were a bit betwixt and between because we wanted to go back to the Italian Restaurant that was closed on Sunday but we were to early. And too early for the bars to be open too. So we wandered and wandered. Then we went and sat by the river to wait for everything to open. Then to the Italian Restaurant Osteria del Campagna. We had a pasta, some wine and got the bus back to the hotel. End of another busy day. We’re polishing off the wine in our room before bed. Its an early rise tomorrow and off to Hiroshima so a bit of showering and packing to do.