We drove from Toyama to Kanazawa for the next leg of our trip. (If you didn’t know we went to Toyama, please see my previous blog post using the arrows below. We had the best time there, I recommend you don’t miss that post!)
For anyone who isn’t aware, Kanazawa is a famous part of Japan located by the Noto Peninsula. This area had a huge earthquake and tsunami on New Years of 2024, which the towns and communities are still recovering from. If you travel in Japan and are in the area, or wasn’t planning on going but you have time to go to Ishikawa, please consider traveling there now to see all it has to offer and to spend money in these communities because they need it very much. Shrines and other spaces where many people gather all over Japan also may be taking donations to help this area, so please consider donating if and when you see the bins to do so. The earthquake and aftershock was so big, it set off tsunami warnings all the way up the northern coast of Japan from Kyushu up to Hokkaido, so it’s not hard to imagine how rough the situation got for the people living on or by the Noto Peninsula, the epicenter.
Luckily, the main area of Kanazawa city which houses most of the shrines and protected buildings, is not by the coast, so they were safe from the tsunami last year, although of course the earthquake was felt strongly.
Kanazawa city is famous for its history, preserved old buildings and districts (such as geisha and samurai areas), its many shrines and of course, one of the great three Japanese feudal lord gardens (Kenrokuen), which is located right by the castle. It had so much to offer us already, but if you haven’t guessed already from the title, the cherry blossoms were at their peak when we arrived, so we had an even more spectacular time this year. Seeing Kenrokuen in full bloom, as well as the grounds of the castle, is something I will never forget in my entire life. The picture of the four of us is one of my favourites we’ve ever had, along with the one by the Sumida river with Skytree in the background, which we took on the first day. You can see that photo here:
https://ayjaysadventures.fun/2025/09/30/sisters-sakura-experiencing-the-cherry-blossom-in-tokyo/: Ishikawa prefecture — Kanazawa city (SPOILER: ft the best cherry blossom sight we’ve ever seen!)In Kanazawa, we definitely couldn’t complain about the weather, particularly because of the sakura we’d seen in Toyama and in Ueno Park, as well as the spectacular view we got at Fuji, which if you haven’t seen yet, you can check out here:
https://ayjaysadventures.fun/2025/10/01/kawaguchiko-and-our-story-about-catching-a-rare-view-of-mount-fuji/: Ishikawa prefecture — Kanazawa city (SPOILER: ft the best cherry blossom sight we’ve ever seen!)However, despite me counting my blessings about our time in the city, it wouldn’t be an accurate portrayal of our experience of Kanazawa if if I didn’t mention how cold it got from the evening of the first day we were there. After all, there’s a reason it is considered one of the rainiest cities in Japan. We’d had a long first day looking at the cherry blossoms, browsing teh markets and snacking on the street food, whilst still trying to get to the castle before it closed before exploring the grounds and Kenroku-en (which was free entry for that night only, because it was peak bloom – how lucky!). Understandably, Ellen and Michael were getting hungry and cold and wanted to go back to the hotel before seeing the night illuminations. We were only a short walk away from where we were staying, so they headed back, and Sammy and I went to a little hut to get some hot tea while we waited for the sky to turn dark enough for the lights to glimmer the way they only do during hanami illuminations. It was our first experience of trying Kaga-boucha, the tea Ishikawa prefecture is famous for, which is made out of the twigs, not the leaves of the tea plant. The taste was similar to houjicha (roasted tea), which is in fact Sammy’s favourite Japanese tea, but it of course was unique in its own way. We adored it because it was so incredibly tasty and it also warmed our chilled bones and fueled us during our wait for the night to draw in. (SIDENOTE: this is an experience I can now only dream of looking back, as I finish this blog post in October after 6 long summer months in Tokyo… please let the Autumn come ASAP I need to feel cold soon before I melt out of existence!)
I can’t do the sight of Kenrokuen in full bloom at night justice with words and photographs, but I hope I can at least show you the tip of the beautiful iceberg in the pictures below. I wish I could do more, but some things are just meant to be seen by the eyes, not a lens. I hope you can understand.
Afterwards, Sammy and I went back to the hotel and relaxed in the onsen. The tightness from the cold melted away in the steamy bath and we followed our dip with some more Kaga-boucha, which the hotel provided us with. The cups and teapot they gave us for the tea were also incredibly beautiful, as the area is famous for such lacquer-ware. I felt so grateful to be able to experience tea from such a special and expensive set, with my soul mate, sitting on the beautiful window seat of our room, overlooking the cherry-blossom-lined river Sai and the city below. It was like we had been picked up and dropped into a novel or TV show; a truly out of this world experience! One I will treasure for the rest of my life I’m sure. We had a lightning storm that night, which only added to our dreamy tea and window-viewing moment: both a thrilling and beautiful sight.
Since Ellen arrived, I had not been sleeping. I don’t know out of anxiety or excitement or what, but regardless, I was waking up at 5:20am almost on the dot every day and then I laid in bed in until 6:30 at which point I felt to get up because I’d been awake too long. In Kanazawa this was no problem, as I wrote Sammy a little note and went into the onsen in these early hours. I love to do that when we’re away, but I don’t like waking with an alarm, so it only happens when my sleep schedule allows it. I’m grateful it did that day. When I returned to the room, Sammy woke up. We decided to take the opportunity to wander through the Nagamachi district (samurai area) and the Chaya districts (geisha and tea areas) while they were free of any crowds or tours. Then we headed back to the hotel and waited for Ellen and Michael to wake up. We had some more kagaboucha, some of the cereal we’d packed for the trip (as is the life of travelling with allergies) and we enjoyed the window seat and the view for a bit once more. Once Ellen and Michael were awake, we all made our plans for the day, deciding to go to Oyama shrine together (where Ellen actually ended up buying her goshuin-cho/Shrine book) before splitting off. Ellen and Michael had a large walking route planned, some of which included the walk we had taken that morning, and we needed to take the car to a secondhand shop on the outskirts to pick me up a thin jacket, as I didn’t have one to bring with me on the trip (due to not owning one as I don’t really need one for our life in Tokyo. However it had become quickly apparent I needed one for this trip).
After saying goodbye to each other at Oyama shrine, Sammy and I went to a local park. It was small and by a nice coffee shop we wanted to visit. We didn’t plan on going there, it was just in the perfect spot for us. Just as we realised how hungry we were, the park seemed to appear. We sat and enjoyed all the sakura around us, feeling really shocked to have found such a spot with only an elderly lady on a bike and a mother with her young daughter to share the sight with. As if on queue, when we finished our food, it started to rain. We ran to the coffee shop, which was luckily just across the road, and enjoyed our drinks whilst listening to the pitter patters. We read, looking out of the window every so often, to enjoy the sight of the rainy city. Unlike most, I actually love wet weather. I find it relaxing and I seem to have a new appreciation for it since experiencing the hot summers in Japan. It’s almost like I can feel the sigh of relief from the trees and flowers when it rains and it brings me a sense of freshness and nourishment. Again, it was like we’d been picked up and dropped into a novel or TV show.(I guess that was the overarching theme for our visit to Kanazawa this time, and there’s no complaints from me about that!)
When we were ready, we shared our umbrella and walked back to the hotel, picked up the car and headed to the biggest second-hand store we’ve seen in Japan yet! We went in for a jacket for me, came out with one for both of us, a t-shirt for each of us, some trousers for Sammy, some cute beer glasses with a bottle opener, and a gorgeous 10 piece coffee cup and saucer set. We must’ve spent hours looking around it all and I’m just glad we didn’t end up spending even more, honestly. We only had two small suitcases with us, and we had to somehow fit everything in. Luckily, we bought just enough to still leave a little space for other souvenirs from the rest of the trip. If we’d got any more though, we would have been in trouble!
During our shop, we called Ellen and Michael to check in and see if they fancied coming to karaoke with us after we were done. They said they were only part-way round their route and were kind of tired, so would understandably give karaoke a miss. Therefore, Sammy and I took the car ourselves to a huge karaoke place on the outskirts of the city. They allowed you to bring your own food and drinks (a huge plus for anyone on a budget or with allergies like me), but they also provided an extensive drinks bar included in the price. We rented the room for three hours, and it only cost us around 1500 yen each. With the drinks bar, the huge room we got and considering it was the evening, that was a bargain for us! (I guess we’re just used to Tokyo prices ha!)
That evening we caught up with Ellen and Michael, showing them our shopping haul and giving them a run-down of the plan for the next day. Then, Sammy and I wound down in the onsen again, after packing up and getting ready to leave first thing in the morning.
