Day 37

I went to Kanazawa with Jane and her host parents today. The trip was really fun. First we went to this section of the town where they kept the buildings the same since samurai times. Kanazawa means 'golden marsh', named because of the large amount of gold found there. The stores all sold some sort of gold things, and the ice cream had gold shavings on it! I ate some, but the gold didn't have any flavor. After lunch (udon), we dropped off Jane and her host mom at the station because they were planning to do a day trip in Kyoto. Jane's host dad drove me home, but before that he took me to this beautiful japanese garden called Kenroku-en. Jane's host dad told me that it was built by one of the most powerful lords in Japan around 1680. After that we went to the Kanazawa castle. I had a lot of fun!

udon restaurant

many people dressed in yukata (summer kimono) and took photos

statue of Yamato Takeru, prince of Japan

Jane's host dad

the park had a tea ceremony you could do. It was so bitter!

the castle

inside the long storehouse

symbols carved into the rock wall

smaller garden on the castle grounds

Day 36

I went to a waterfall called Shyomyodake falls with my host mom and sister. It was a little foggy but I think that made it more pretty. It was a bit of a walk, and afterwards we went to this very pretty temple in the woods. I took lots of pictures! (also, apparently a movie was filmed at this specific temple)