THE RICE WAS ALREADY HARVESTED AND STORED, possibly expedited by the typhoon threat, and stubbly fields were all that remained. The trees are showing the faintest hint of autumn, pastels of pink, ocher and saffron. Goldenrod and the flowers of late summer brighten the scene from the train window. Another “local,” not the overpriced bullet train express — this time from Kyoto to Kanazawa on Honshu’s west coast.
Reflections of Kenroku-en
The Dormy Inn is perfectly located a stone’s throe from the train/bus station and a brisk walk is all it takes to get to the castle and Kenroku-en Garden, one of the top three gardens in Japan. It was crowded on this sunny Sunday but somehow, like many places in Japan, still serene.
Traditional life continues in Shirakawa-go
Yesterday we took a bus ride to see the gassho thatched farmhouses of Shirakawa-go, an hour and a half from Kanazawa. Although it is still a working farming village, Ogimachi, the most accessible of the gassho villages, is definitely for tourists. This is a chance to glimpse a bit of rural life rarely seen in modern Japan. I am not sure how the locals put up with everyone peeping into their traditional homes, but they seem to accept it. That it was moved to its present location in the 60s when the nearby dam flooded the valley it sat in may factor into their acceptance.
The road less traveled
Ogimachi is the only village we could get to by public transportation — and by tour buses. So when the lanes became too crowded we sought out quiet trails through the tall cedar trees that reached into the blue sky like spear-points. Of course we looked for birds while we were there. Who wouldn’t?
