Back to Kanazawa: Fish Market & Washi Village

We were in Kanazawa in early November before we joined this tour. Today we go via Fukui Prefecture.

Breakfast then a walk for a great coffee at a cafe that we passed last night (ducking and weaving the cyclists again who use the footpath and aren’t exactly shuffling along). The young guy running the cafe has only been open for two weeks. So many small businesses run with just one staff person like this one: you have to be master of everything!

We had a 9:30 departure so we walked to Nijo castle just down the road which was just opening - a load of tourist buses already lined up!

Nijo-jo was built in 1603 as the Kyoto residence of Tokugawa Ieyasu, the first shōgun of the Edo Period (1603-1868) and is designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Of course we did not go in - no time - but very impressive from outside (thanks for tip JB!👍).

Walked back along the Horikawa River Walk to the hotel for our departure.

This morning is 10 deg C and overcast - predicted 17 deg C.

Rest stop - we shared a soft serve icecream: grape and vanilla. Yum.

Arrive Tsuruga city for lunch - 18 deg C. Nihonkai Sakanamachi is the largest fish market on the Sea of Japan with 50 shops offering fresh seafood, sushi and grilled fish. It is like a Costco for seafood!

We tucked into a cook-your-own grill of yummy fish, oysters, and [oh ugh] the abalone [moved]; plus rice and vegetables. I passed on the oysters and abalone …; plus a whisky highball and Suntory beer for MF-san. Served by a Filipino girl who was just lovely.

For someone who is not really ‘into’ seafood, I surprised myself. The fish tasted great.

The drinks look out of focus but actually they are frosty!

And followed by another soft serve icecream: this time chocolate and banana - yum! Plenty of calories today!

More driving. Many tunnels through to Echizen on the coast (there are tunnels EVERYWHERE in Japan): rice paddies (sake production!), mountains, streets tree-lined with (yellow!) gingko trees. It snows here in winter.

We visit the Echizen Washi Village. Washi (Japanese traditional paper) has been a main industry in this area for over 1,500 years. We watch a demo of it being made and visit the museum where there is also an art exhibition of paintings created on washi. 

We press on, passing the Sea of Japan on our left and arrive in Kanazawa (ahead of schedule!) at 5:30 pm. But definitely no time for the Castle or the Kenrokuen Gardens(!!). So glad we did these when we were here 3 November!!

We were going to head straight out but the sumo wrestling was on the TV and then I discovered the hotel has a laundry so we put a load through and relaxed probably for the first time since joining this tour while we waited for our wash. 

It was about a 1.6 km walk to a restaurant down past our previous hotel (on the other side of the station) that I had noticed when we were here before: Owls Hoot. I remember looking in through the window and thinking ‘How cute!’ - but also noting that it was TINY (10 chairs!). 

So we set off for Owls Hoot and were lucky to snag 2 spots; it is a curry and whisky joint.

I have been wanting to do a Japanese curry; it is regarded as a national dish. The dish was first brought to the country by the British from India during the Meiji era.

Kanazawa curry is a distinct Japanese curry style characterised by a thick, rich, almost black-coloured roux. But this was a keema curry: made from minced or ground meat (keema) cooked with a blend of spices, onions, tomatoes and ours was served with rice and a pretty little side serve of veggies - accompanied by whisky of course. 

Whisky is considered to be a perfect accompaniment to curry as the spices in many whiskies, like cinnamon and ginger, complement the spices in curry. Very good. 

Walked back via the station to our hotel (which is good - nice room, and a bit of space by Japanese standards): a bit over 8 kms today. Much more relaxing day!!