Beautiful! Kanazawa

 The year before last, my daughters took my wife and me to Beijing for our wedding anniversary, and last year they took us to Okinawa as a birthday present for me. This year, Yumi and my wife, Kazuyo, wanted to visit the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa (http://www.kanazawa21.jp/en/). We decided that this time each of us would pay our own way. it wasn’t meant to be a present for me.

 We left early in the morning on October 30 and drove to Kanazawa via the Meishin and Hokuriku Expressways. We arrived at the museum at 10 a.m. It took about five hours from Osaka by car. Before visiting the museum, we went to Kenroku-en, one of the three most beautiful gardens in Japan, located nearby (http://www.pref.ishikawa.jp/siro-niwa/kenrokuen/e/about.html). I had been there once a long time ago. There were many foreign tourists, and some Chinese tourists were speaking loudly. I wished they would speak more quietly.

 


After that, Yumi insisted that we go to Omicho Market for lunch (http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e4207.html). She told us that kaisen-donburi ? a bowl of rice topped with sashimi ? was famous there. We returned to the museum’s underground parking lot and drove to the market, which was only a few minutes away. The market was lively and exciting, with many shops lining the narrow streets. Its specialty is fresh local seafood. The kaisen-donburi was reasonably priced and delicious. I forgot to take pictures of the market.

 

The 21st Century Museum itself was beautiful and impressive.


After enjoying the current exhibition, we visited the famous swimming pool installation, one of the museum’s permanent exhibits. From above, people looked as if they were underwater, and from below, people could look up at those standing on the surface. It was great fun.



 After Chisato bought some souvenirs, we relaxed at the museum cafe. The view from the cafe was lovely, though the prices were not cheap.

We arrived at our inn in Yamanaka Onsen after sunset. It took about an hour from Kanazawa. Chisato loves hot springs, and since it was a weekday, we were the only guests in the large inn. The dinner was excellent, Chisato and I had a little to drink, and of course the hot spring was wonderful.

The next day, we took a walk around Yamanaka Onsen and the nearby streets.




On the way home, we visited Eihei-ji Temple in Fukui, the center of Japanese Zen Buddhism.

I paid all the expressway tolls and gas for this family trip. Why?

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