After the castle and Kenrokuen, lunch first, a quick rice bowl near the castle, then check-in. Our Airbnb was in an old townhouse style, with a wooden bed frame and a coffee roaster in the lobby.
Oyama Shrine
Oyama Shrine is dedicated to Maeda Toshiie, the first lord of Kanazawa. Its gate is a strange one: a three-storey tower from 1875 with a stained-glass window at the top, designed partly by a Dutch architect. A mix of Japanese, Chinese and European styles, and it somehow works.
An omamori from the shrine, held up for the photo, then on to the samurai.
Nagamachi, the Samurai District
A short walk west is Nagamachi, where the Maeda clan’s samurai lived. Narrow lanes, tall earthen walls with straw covers on top to protect them from the snow, and a little canal running alongside.
The Nomura House
The Nomura family house is open to visitors. It’s one of the few samurai houses here you can actually walk into.
Inside: samurai armour, painted sliding doors, and a small garden squeezed in between the rooms that’s considered one of the best in Japan.
Koi, a waterfall, stone lanterns, all in a space the size of a living room. We could have sat on that veranda all afternoon.
Back out in the lanes, the walls with their straw tops were waiting for the snow, months away.
Then across town to Kazuemachi and Higashi Chaya, the geisha streets.
Postcard from Nagamachi, Kanazawa
A samurai family's house in Nagamachi, open to visitors: armour, painted sliding doors, and a small garden with koi, a waterfall and stone lanterns, squeezed in between the rooms. Oyama Shrine is a short walk east.