Asia

[Visited: February 2023]

After an efficient Shinkansen ride from Tokyo, with the snowy mountains of the Japanese Alps in the background, we arrive in Kanazawa on a late winter day. The sky is a perfect blue. We take a local bus to our ryokan (Japanese inn), leave our bags, and directly hit the road. Our first stop is the Nagamachi district, which starts only a couple of minutes walk from our ryokan. We pass the Shinise museum, which unfortunately turns out to be closed. It is just a few more minutes before we come to a bend in the road. It follows a small river, and on the other side of the water, we see walls with a protective roof, and wooden plates to protect the top of it. We soon see a bridge on our right: it brings us straight into the Nagamachi, or Samurai, district. There are few people around, and we walk in the shade, taking our time to have a look at every house.
From the late Middle Ages, Kanazawa has grown as an important city. It is located near the Noto peninsula, on the north side of Honshu island. Its strategic position meant that it needed a good defence, so samurai were called in to settle in Kanazawa. This in turn attracted other people to come to Kanazawa. The samurai were given relatively large lots of land, and they built their houses such that they were able to withstand the climate of Kanazawa. Walls were given protection, just like we saw before. Many of the houses have small gardens, and in some cases, we can actually enter the gardens. They are, inevitably, all very well maintained and trimmed to perfection. We see trees with a network of ropes to keep the branches up for snowfall - this is a feat we would see all over Kanazawa. We see houses almost completely built with wood.
We walk the few traffic-free streets in search of more traditional buildings, and find plenty. Then, we reach a bigger street, which clearly has a different feel. We turn back into the Nagamachi district, and end up at the Nomura samurai museum. It once belonged to the Nomura family, a samurai family who served the local rulers from the 16th until the 19th century, when the Edo period in Japan ended. It fell into a ruin, but was bought by a wealthy local in the early 20th century. He restored it to former glory, giving us the chance to get an idea of what a samurai house looked like, and how they lived. We see traditional items on display, drawings, furniture and clothing. At the backside, we see a small garden with stone ornaments. We climb stone stairs to a tea room. After seeing the samurai houses from the outside, it is great to finally be able to get an idea what they must have looked like from the inside.

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Nagamachi district (Japan)

Nagamachi district > Japan > Asia

[Visited: February 2023]

Around the World in 80 Clicks