Travel Day

We bid Kyoto goodbye and boarded the Thunderbird shinkansen. The train skirted the western shore of Lake Biwa with the snow covered peaks of the Japan Alps in the distance. We had a train change at Tsuruga to the Tsurugi arriving in Kanazawa mid afternoon. Our accomodation was a little too far from the station and with no direct public transport options we caught a taxi.

Thankfully we were able to check in early and we all decided to head out for a run, mostly separately of course! Andy and Katy went together, I left a little while after them and Ella took her time. Our accomodation was not too far from Utatsuyama Park a wooded parkland on the northeast side of the Asanogawa River.

My run took me past Utatsuyama Park Hanashoubuen, a Japanese Iris garden which in June and July comes alive with 200 000 Japanese irises and 3000 hydrangeas! Climbing up I came across Toyokuni Shrine as well as another shinto shrine with a very red bridge seemingly in the middle on nowhere! The views from the mountain were impressive overlooking Kanazawa and out to the Sea of Japan. Andy and Katy's adventure went a little further north and deeper into the park but they came across the same red bridge, while Ella ran along the Asanogawa river. 

I also noticed many trees and bushes wrapped in timber pyramids. Turns out that these pyramids and other structures involving ropes (yuki-tsuri) protect the branches from the weight of the snow. Unfortunately we would not see these structures in action as there was no snow insight!