1. JN63JPN

Birthday trip to Kanazawa - Day 2

Like I mentioned in my previous post, I've been wanting to go to Shirakawa-go, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and a village of gassho-style houses (traditional Japanese farmhouses characterized by steeply pitched thatched roofs designed to resemble hands pressed together in prayer). The village is nestled in the mountains along a clear river.

The morning was later than usual since the bus I booked left at 8:20am from the station and the hotel I was staying at was less than 10 minutes away on foot. I had a leisurely breakfast in the room, showered, and headed out a little before 8am. There was a convenience store in front of the bus stop where I could get a large cup of hot latte. I sipped on the latte while waiting for the bus. The bus ride was a little over an hour. The closer we came to the village and higher up the mountains, the more snow I saw.

The sun was out, but the village was covered in snow. The streets were cleared, so I didn't have to worry about slipping while walking around. I decided to go to the far end of the village and walk back slowly to enjoy the view and take pics. Since it was still early, the shops weren't open yet and fewer tourists milling about. I managed to take pics of the village without people in it. The village was quiet, serene and beautiful, covered in snow. Most of the noise was from the tourists.

Since the buildings had steep roofs, all carried signs warning of falling snow. Some even had impressive icicles hanging from the edges. One of the narrow streets with a pretty steep incline looked more like a creek since it was covered in water rushing down from the melting snow. The water flowed through the drains and emptied to the river flowing below the village.

Since I was in the area, I wanted to try Hida beef. I knew there was a popular restaurant around the village somewhere. The map showed that it was on the other end of the village, but it was further than I thought. I still managed to make it to the restaurant and ordered a "hitsumabushi." Hitsumabushi is a bowl of rice seasoned with a sweetened soy sauce and topped with beef. It's served with miso soup, condiments, broth made with fish stock, and Japanese pickles. There are 3 ways to enjoy hitsumabushi. First, scoop some of the beef and rice into a smaller bowl and enjoy the dish by itself. Then, in the second serving, add condiments. In the third serving, pour the broth over the beef and rice. I enjoyed my lunch quite a bit and made the schlep well worth it.

Fortified by the delicious lunch, I power-walked back to the village and made it in half the time. Unfortunately, it started raining, but not too heavily, but an umbrella or raincoat would have been appreciated. I did pack one, but I forgot it in the room. Dumb move. But it didn't rain so hard that I got soaked through. One positive thing was that the line waiting for the bus to the observation deck became much shorter since many left the line to seek shelter from the rain. It was still raining a bit when I got to the observation deck, but the sun started peeking out. I got some great shots of the entire village. Another bonus was that I saw a rainbow on the other side of the observation deck, although it was light and fading. When we got off the bus, the bus driver said that it's about a 5-minute walk down the slope back to the village. Hearing that, I decided to walk down instead of waiting for the bus. What he didn't say was that I'd fare better with a cardboard box and slide down the slope. Parts of the slope was covered with ice and packed snow. Some of the more adventurous were sliding down while hanging on to the railing. I walked along the other edge where the snow wasn't packed down so it wasn't as slippery. I took my dear sweet time going down so I wouldn't end up on my fat ass.

I went back to the main drag to find the shop serving soft serve ice cream with a cookie shaped like one of the gassho-style house. I found the shop and got myself a ice cream cone. The ice cream is made with milk from Hida dairy cows and was rich and creamy. Yummy, yummy.

I spent the remainder of the time shopping for something to take back to the office. I settled on some sweets made right there at the village, not mass-produced in some factory. The sun was starting to disappear behind the mountains and it was time for me to go back to the bus terminal to take the bus back to Kanazawa. I passed out for a good 30 minutes as soon as I sat down on the bus. I did walk around for a good part of the day so I did need a nap.

I went back to the hotel to freshen up before dinner. I made reservations at a Mexican restaurant. I never expected to find a Mexican restaurant in Kanazawa, but this place appears to get fully booked on the weekends. There was a bit of a confusion over the reservation, but all got settled when I placed a call to confirm. But I shouldn't have had to do that in the first place. I did leave a scathing review about their unreliable reservation system. However, the food was surprisingly good. I really liked the beef tongue taco (it's something I've never come across before so I wanted to try it). It was so good, I ordered another one. I also had the skirt steak (don't think it was wagyu). I also liked the lime and vodka sour made with fresh lime imported from Mexico. It was very refreshing. While it wasn't a foodgasm experience, I did enjoy the food I ordered.

I got back to the hotel and turned in for the night. It was another day well spent.

 Jan 24