Kanazawa

The two ladies that work at Pongi Guest house are so very lovely. They are warm and welcoming. 'You' and two of the other guests we sat down after dinner and played Japanese card games. I am very impressed with the hostel. I find it amazing how well 12 people can occupy such a small house (to be fair it was not full last night and there were only 8 of us - 6 guests and two employees). The spaces are well managed and everything is packed away very tightly. 

My first full day in Kanazawa (Saturday the 13th of July)

I had a big old sleep in and then leisurely made breakfast, washed and hung my cloths before I left the hostel at 11am. I met a lady that I had meet on the bus the day before I asked her how here morening was going and she had already been to a food market, the Gasha district, the gardens and it was only 11:30, she was very surprised to here that I ha d only just left my hostel. I walked along the channel towards the centre of the city and went to the old Samurai district. I then spend two and a half hours walking and sitting in the gardens. They are called $$$$ and were part of the palace gardens. They are one of the three most beautiful gardens in Japan, and they really were beautiful. Each view was made to look at and care was taken to make it look beautiful. It s a very nice way to spend some time. I met an elderly Japanese couple that had traveled to Kanazawa with two of their friends to visit the gardens. The man was the tallest Japanese person I had met so far and he was very nice trying to talk English to me. 

As I was off to the Noh theatre that night I thought it would be a good idea to visit the Noh museum to learn some more about the art form. I was able to dress up in a costume and even put on a mar, I am now very impressed that the actors can move so gracefully in the cloths and with such impaired vision! 

I then hung around the 21st century museum of art, which I intend to visit tomorrow. They had some sort of fashion parried on that happened  briefly outside. They had very interesting costumes on and great big wigs on. I'll see if any of the photos come out ok and put some up on Flicker so you can see for yourself. 

I them went to the Noh theatre there is some special performances on this week that mean the it only costs ¥1,000 to go to a performance this is instead of ¥3,000 or ¥4,000 but you do have to get there an hour early to get a good seat. I had a very good seat right in front of the stage people that come in at the same time as me were reserving hole rows for their friends that then turned up over the next hour. The two plays were fun the first was not Noh theatre but something that was more funny and less formal. It was about a load that travels without a servant and so has to carry his own sward. He is not happy about this and gets a passing seaweed seller to carry his sward and the lord instructs the seaweed seller on how to act like a servant. The seaweed seller get fed up with being piked on and pulls the sward on the lord and makes him dance and pretend to sell seaweed. It was very funny even though I didn't know that they were saying, the formal movement was fantastic and I liked seeing how focused the actors were - they would shake with how hard they were holding a pose. The Noh play was about a messenger that discovers a golden tablet that has fallen from the sky he talks to an old man about it, at the end of the conversation the man reviles that he is the god that protects this land and that it is his tablet that shows that the land is protected. The music was so strange, I can't imagine how it would look as sheet music. It had three drums and one flute and the musicians also made yelps and shouts. The costumes worn by the two main actors were beautiful and the old man/god  had a costume change on stage. He went into a tiny tent and a few minuets later while other action was taking place on the stage the curtain of the tent was lifted and there was a god. It was very impressive as the costumes are so big and he managed to get changed in such a small space. 

When I got back it was time for all the guest to sit down and make origami cranes. We are asked to write a peace wish on the back and then fold the crane. At the end of the year the staff will thank the big box of cranes to the temple and burn them, sending all the prayers up the the gods. I am slowly getting better at making cranes, tonight I tried to do one without getting help but I made a bag fold and my crane would not open up properly, so I  have to go back and ask for help.  Will try again tomorrow though.

My last day of sightseeing tomorrow! Then its off to Tokyo/ the airport on Monday.