Chiaki & Nico at Kanazawa Castle
Kanazawa-jo at dusk
Wes & Greg with a Shishi
A Shishi is threatened by a swordsman
A second swordsman joins in
Kenroku-en Garden at night
The most fascinating things we saw today. Shishi-ku, famous for what North Americans would think of as the dragons you see in parades at Chinese New Year. Kanazawa Castle and Kenroku-en Garden.
Culture Day. Today was a national holiday in Japan. Last year in Canada we met Keiko Kihara, who helped us learn a little Japanese. She has a friend, Chiaki Kitagawa, who lives in Kanazawa. Chiaki and her boyfriend, Nico, spent the day with us. Chiaki teaches English to children, and Nico works in a sport shop owned by his family. When they picked us up, I asked, "Eigoga wakarimasuka?" (Do you understand English?). "Zenzen wakarimasen," he replied (I don't understand any at all). But it wasn't true. He was just a bit shy and underconfident (it was his first time to speak English with foreigners), and as the day went on, he spoke more and more English, and clearly understood a lot.
Shishi-ku. First on the day's agenda was a visit to Shishi Plateau, a rideline with paragliders soaring overhead. We saw a museum with many Shishi - monster or dragan heads, carved from 1,000 year old wood, some weighing 1.5 tonnes. Ishikawa prefecture, where Kanazawa is located, is famous for the largest Shishi in Japan.
Soba lunch. We went to lunch at a soba restaurant - which Chiaki and Nico located using a pamphlet with a complicated set of written directions, in keeping with the Japanese system of addresses and making sure you can't find your way around unless you already know where you are going. That sounds like a Zen koan of some kind - "you cannot go there unless you already are" or something like that. At the restaurant, we removed our shoes on stepped up onto the dining area platform. We ate at a low table, seated on cushions on the floor. Chiaki said, "You are very good with chopsticks, but if you want a fork I will ask for one." So as you can tell, we can get by with hashi, but we're by no means experts.
Shishi practice. Next we went to see some groups practicing with Shishi. There are only four groups in Kanazawa who perform with Shishi, and we were lucky that they were meeting together today to perform for each other.
Kanazawa Castle. Although most of the castle is new, having been rebuilt after burning down, many of the stone walls of Kanazawa Castle are original. A large flock of crows calls the castle grounds home.
Kenroku-en Garden The garden was opened at night with lighting highlighting many spots. We say quietly in a traditional Japanese tea house and contemplated the beauty of nature. Several spots in the garden have views that are famous.
Purikuru After dinner in a restaurant on Katamachi Street, Niko & Chiaki took us to a Purikuru shop. Brightly lit and noisy, it has a lot of garishly colored photo booths. The booth takes a series of pictures of you and your friends. Afterwards, you can stand together at an interactive screen and add cartoon-like effects to your pictures. Then you get some wallet-sized prints to keep. Clusters of Japanese girls in uniform filled the shop. Chiaki said, "This is very popular with Japanese high school girls."
As we walked down the street, I saw the same young men in black suits we saw yesterday evening patrolling the main intersection. I asked Chiaki about them. She said, "I think you shouldn't talk to them," crossing her arms in an "X" in front of herself. "They want you to go to their bar. They will say come with me, it is cheap!"
"But it's not so cheap," added Nico, laughing. So, the mystery was solved, they weren't just young men hanging out to see and be seen, they were advertising local bars.
Hospitality So, two young people spent their entire holiday with us. How nice is that? Thank you, Nico and Chiaki!