31st
The train ride to Kanazawa was very scenic. Lots of snow capped peaks, flowing rivers and plenty of lush green fields. The hotel where we are staying is brand new, and very very large by Japanese standards. After settling in we take a walk to see what the city has to offer. Its a rather warm day, 25, and lots of blue sky. The city is far more spread out than other cities in Japan.
The railway station is buzzing with activity as it has just opened a week ago, and there are a lot of people coming from Tokyo to visit Kanazawa. The new Shinkansen line into Kanazawa has certainly opened up tourism for this city. In fact nearly every hotel is booked out this week. Know wonder we had trouble getting accommodation here.

1st
Well it had to happen sooner or later. Its a very cold and wet day outside. After breakfast we take a short walk to the train station to buy some bus tickets from the bus station next to the train station, only to be told that all the buses from Kanazawa to Takayama are full. The bus was the cheaper option, so now its back to see if there is a train we can book. Yes there is a train and its not full, yet. Turns out the train is the same price as the bus.
There are a lot of new department stores that are part of the train station, so we do some window shopping. Still raining so its back to the hotel.

2rd
Today is looking a lot better weather wise. Blue sky with light clouds and warming to a nice 22 degrees. The Kanazawa Castle is about 3 ks walk, and what a sight it is. The Castle is pretty impressive, and the surrounding gardens are just as good. Lots of Cherry blossom trees blooming. Next stop is Kenrokuen Gardens. One of the top 3 in Japan, and meets all the criteria to be a number 1 garden. And i can see why. It is $3 to walk in, but you are presented with $1000's worth of scenery. You need a lot of words to describe the gardens. The cherry trees do take centre stand again. The garden is full of tourists from around the world, and plenty of locals as well. We spend a few hours here taking in the wonderful gardens.
We have lunch at a traditional japanese restaurant, where we order a bowl of Ramen. Probably the best we have had so far. There is a little cafe along the river walk that is selling soft serve icecream. Nothing special about that till you read the price list. There is one soft serve in a cone that is $10. Turns out the soft serve is covered with 1 sheet of gold leaf. Didnt see anyone buying one.

By now we have covered a lot of ground, so we take a rest under a cherry tree and Shauna basks in the beautiful sunshine.
Next its a bit of window shopping around the main part of town before heading back to the hotel and grab some tea.

3rd
Not the best of days. Starts out ok but doesnt take long for the rain to arrive and the wind is blowing quite strong. We do manage to visit the old town and take in the history of the area before heading back to the main part of town to seek some shelter. Shauna's umbrella is turned inside out and wrecked by the strong wind. Lucky it was on a $4 umbrella.
Rest of the day is relaxing in the hotel in a huge lounge room which we have all to ourselves.
Tomorrow we are travelling to Takayama, but the weather is not looking all that good. There is the chance of rain and night temperature dipping below zero. Oh well we cant change the weather so we will grin and enjoy what the day unfolds into.