Central Japan Day 3 - Kanazawa - Kenroku-en

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02 June 2008

Leaving the dreary morning and morbid Tōjinbō behind, our coach was back on the road towards our lunch destination at Kenroku-en (兼六園, Six Attributes Garden), one of the three great gardens of Japan. But before that we stopped by a ceramics/pottery shop and more interestingly, a large dessert shop full of samples!

One more of 'em serene looking country houses with Tang Dynasty styled roof


Ah! Pottery... Most people came here to buy a special ceramic device that cooks rice better when placed in the rice cooker


The fortune cats, "Don't buy the one with two hands up!", says my guide, "it means it's given up!"


Teapots


Probably the most expensive item here, ¥8,400,000! That's right it's about USD 84,000!



Cute looking figures


Now if you look carefully you will notice there are only 7 immortals instead of 8! The scholar is missing.


Be careful! Some of them have already given up!


We walked outside to enjoy some fresh air and check up on the drinks in the vending machines


"This coffee is dripped one by one person by one!", so it says on the can


Arriving at the dessert castle, Kagahan


Kagahan on one side, and a cultural village on the other


All desserts made in-house


The dessert machine in action


There's lots of variety, a pity they are perishable


There's lots of Sake and Sochu too


A dome stucture on the way to Kenroku-en, perhaps a storage facility for grain

Finally, after savouring the sweet desserts, we arrived on a hill in Kanazawa where Kenroku-en is located. This garden was named "Six Attributes Garden" as it is supposed to possess the six principles of a good garden as extolled in the "Chronicles of the Famous Luoyang Gardens" (洛陽名園記), a book by the Chinese poet Li Gefei (李格非) [1]. Originally concepted in about 1620 CE, it was gradually improved by the Maeda clan through till around 1840.

They charge to enter this garden


Here's what looks like a souvenir shop but it actually contains a restaurant in the lower levels (it is built on the hill slope)


This is what my guide refers to as an "Emperor's Lunch"


Notice the gold on the beancurd, it's edible, or so they told us


After lunch we quickly went to walk around this huge garden


First attribute -- spaciousness. The two legged stone lantern is sort of an icon for this garden


Second attribute -- panoramas



Most of the trees here look like huge version of what one normally sees in the miniature bonsai (penzai, 盆栽) plants


Third attribute -- artifice


Beautiful flowers are everywhere


Fourth attribute -- antiquity


Fifth attribute -- waterways


It is funny how trees grow in ways that cannot support themselves

Statue of Prince Yamato Takeru, a mythological hero. Erected to commemorate the Satsuma Rebellion against the Meiji government of which the office of the head of state (i.e. the Emperor) is still present today. The Last Samurai is probably based loosely on this rebellion.

The sixth attribute -- seclusion


The tortoise stone


Panorama from other side of large pond


There are lots of Koi in these waters, some prettier than others


On our way out. Looks like this garden is off limits to pets


Nicely shaped round bushes

Unfortunately, we did not have enough time to visit more of the garden. This seems to be the main problem with an organised tour -- Kenroku-en houses much more interesting sights and scenic spots than just the large pond that we circled. Reluctantly, we hit the mountain road that will gradually take us to 1000m above sea level at tonight's destination, Takayama. But right before that, our coach will take us to one of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites, the historical village of Shirakawa-gō (白川郷, "White River Old-District").

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