Our bus ride from the Awara Onsen to Kanazawa took us along the coastline of the Sea of Japan. The sea looked angry with large waves breaking along the shore.

The ride was actually pleasant as we passed along a lake. Then, just normal scenery you’d find anywhere.

Eventually we arrived in Kanazawa. Since we were too early to check into our hotel, we went directly to the Museum of Contemporary Arts. We started with a group photo that was our reflection in the shiny display in front of the museum.

From there, we entered and the split up to explore the museum exhibits before lunch.

The first one we viewed was an interesting “underwater” exhibit. In a room below ground, visitors can walk, ‘swim’ and interact with those above. Participative art at its best.

Here are a few of the other exhibits we viewed:

The gallery had a café where we ate lunch. The food was very good and was one half a buffet for ‘starters’ and then an ordered main dish from a menu. One of our servers was a very cute young lady who we had a short conversation with. She asked where we were from and when we said the US, she told us that she wanted to visit New York City to see Times Square. She also asked us why we came to Japan. Our answer was because we have heard how beautiful it was and how nice the people were. Sue said: “Just like you”. She asked: “Like me?” And she seemed very happy. And it proved our statement to be true.

Upon completing our lunch, we had one more stop before heading to the hotel. We went to the beautiful Kenrokuen Gardens. It is widely thought of as Japan’s most beautiful landscape garden. We thought it was stunningly beautiful. The following photos will hopefully provide you with some insight on the garden.

We caught back up with the bus driver and made our way to the hotel. We stayed at the Hotel Nikko Kanazawa and it was quite nice. The lobby area was beautifully appointed and the rooms were very comfortable.

For dinner, we stayed in and enjoyed a very nice meal at the hotel’s buffet restaurant. We’re not talking salad bar and chicken nuggets. The buffet included a chef preparing sirloin filets cooked to your preference. Then there were entrees featuring fish, chicken and pork. Noodle dishes, vegetables, soups, fresh breads, some sushi and, of course, a selection of desserts. We feasted like kings and queens.

After the meal, we needed to relax and get a good night’s sleep.