After a ferry back to mainland Japan and two bullet trains we arrived in Kanazawa, home to Kenrokuen Gardens, one of the top three gardens in the country by some standards.  We stayed at the Hyatt Centric Hotel adjacent to the train station. I was skeptical of an international chain which normally we would avoid but it turned out to be a beautiful place to spend three nights. Our ample room had some luxe features that we haven’t seen elsewhere, like remote-controlled window shades, sublime lighting, a chaise lounge, Bose speaker and thoughtful storage. We were pretty rapt after our austere stay on Sado. We tried for a highly touted sushi restaurant nearby for dinner but a two-hour wait looked likely. We opted for a version of noodle soup in our room. Who needs another 15-course kaiseki dinner?

The architecturally complex Ninja-dera (aka Ninja temple), was really fascinating. From the outside it appears to be two stories, but it actually has a 7-layer interior that includes 29 staircases! Embedded traps, secret passageways, fake ceilings, optical illusions and hidden rooms were devised to trick and trap shogunate spies and enemies and allow for easy escapes for residents. All are genuine and date back to the Edo period (1603-1868).

The 28-acre Kenrokuen Gardens was not yet exhibiting much autumn colour. The garden is home to 160 species of plants and 8,200 trees. This is a strolling-style landscape garden and embodies the 6 attributes that must be present in a landscape garden: spaciousness, seclusion, artifice, antiquity, watercourses and panoramas.

What a great place for a class photo!

The 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art aims to create a participation-oriented museum.

For our 2nd day in Kanazawa we decided to visit the Kurobe Gorge, a destination for train and nature lovers a couple hours from Kanazawa.  In addition to a scenic valley, the fun riding the Kurobe Gorge Railway (an open-air electric train that chugs along on narrow-gauge track for 20 kms) makes the trip worthwhile. At the end of the line are several walking trails and numerous hot springs accessible along Kurobe Canyon which cut through Japan’s Northern Alps forming the deepest V-shaped valley in Japan.

Autumn is here! Red foliage like mountain maple, garden maple, Japanese maple, rowan & sumac; as well as yellows like painted maple, beech, monarch birch and Japanese spicebush provide an amazing contrast with the conifers and rock face.

The steam from the onsen waters casts an ethereal glow to the image.