Karma

Today we left Toyama for Kanazawa. We caught an early train and left our bags at the hotel. We decided to head for the Castle and the Kenrokuen. We did take our umbrellas since it had clouded over during the night.

Along the way we turned into the Omi-cho market.

We saw more different kinds of fish there than I expected. Including one that was about 5' long with a 2' head. Weird looking sucker. Looked like a huge pipe fish. Jo said that it's the most fish she's seen since she was on Fishermans wharf in San Francisco. I saw at least 20 different fish and more than 10 different molluscs for sale. It really was a pretty neat place. Becky complained that our hotel didn't have a stove :) I can't blame her because I was thinking the same thing.

The first thing we noticed about the Kenrokuen was that it was crowded. Since it is one of the final days of a holiday weekend we shouldn't have been surprised. We decided to take an hour and a half and wander separately through the garden and get lunch after.

The garden is as beautiful as ever. It's rated as one of the top 3 in Japan. Personally I rate it in the top 10. I can easily think of half a dozen that are better. Himeji Kokoen, Okayama kokoen, Nomura Samurai house, Heian jingu, well, you get the point. Still, even with the crowd it was worth going to.





After lunch near the bridge at the entrance, we headed over to the castle. Everything was open today. We wandered through the gate and over to the reconstructed gate and wall. We went all through there. They did a fantastic job of the reconstruction. What really impressed me was the way that they managed to fit modern necessities into the old plans.




While talking to one of the Docents I asked about an large area of construction. it seems that they are slowly reconstructing portions of the old complex from the original plans. This time it is the second gate (I think that's what it was called). She said it would be done in 2 years.

Now comes the explanation of the title. When we were finally ready to leave for the Ashigaru house, it started to rain.

I guess some of you may not know the story. Last time we were in Japan. A group of us came to Kanazawa for a day trip out of Kyoto. The closer we got to Kanazawa the heavier it rained. It was clear when we left Kyoto. So once at the station most of us opted to buy umbrellas from a stand Erik found. Except for Mark. He decided to spend the last of his cash on hard cider.

Needless to say we were a bit hard on him. But we did let him share...mostly. At one point we separated and agreed to meet outside the castle. Marks group wandered about a bit. Then it happened. A nice lady took pity on our bedraggled compatriot and graciously gave him her umbrella. It was a pretty blue with pink flowers. You can imagine what happened after that. I'll cut the story a bit short and say that Mark tried to abandon the umbrella in Hiroshima. Didn't work. It followed him to the states where it reside until this trip. Karma demanded that he return the umbrella to a lady in need, in Kanazawa, in the rain.

Funny thing was, no one at the castle wanted it :) Mark couldn't get anyone to take it.

Finally we headed out to Ashigaru house. And lo and behold, Jo needed an umbrella. So Mark lent her the umbrella to get where we where going.

(On a side note, Ashigaru house had both buildings open this time. It still amazes me that they're so small)

Finally we headed back through the city to the hotel. As we reached the station we looked behind us to see Jo holding the umbrella...turned inside out. A swirling gust had caught the umbrella and turned it inside out. Completely destroying it.

Karma. Has an odd sense of humor ;)

Lastly for dinner tonight. Mark, Becky and I went out and had sushi at a local restaurant. It was as good as Sushi Ota. May even have been better. Mark found a new dish. Raw squid.



Well, that's pretty much it for now. Tomorrow is back to Kyoto for the rest of our stay. See you then.