Well after leaving Takayama :-( we made our way to Kanazawa on another breathtaking train journey. We changed at Toyama for the train to Kanazawa. Kanazawa on first impression was more built up and seemed like a big city. I thing we were spoilt by Takayama but we decided not to judge it until we properly looked around. We stayed in a hotel which was nice but smelt of meat. Our checkin wasn't until 3pm so we decided to wander around the area to get our bearings. We ending up at the market where there was a real hustle and bustle of the locals selling fish, fruits and clothes. The market was like a rabbits warren but we found our way out and saw where the castle and the gardens were. So we decided to go there the next day. We went to the department store which are massive here and ate some curry which was OK. They recommend eating in department stores as they are cheap and have a good selection of cuisines. We decided to get some beers and ice cream from the vending machine and ate them from our handy disposable toothbrushes genius even if I do say.

Day 2

We went to the market again and bought some bananas and strawberry's and then went to the castle and the gardens. My shoes have a leak in them and my feet felt really soggy. The castle grounds were lovely and we walked around a while getting soaked. We then went to the gardens ranked as one of the 3 best in japan, gain there was snow everywhere so it didn't do it any justice but never the less it was stunning. There were little bridges over small lakes and weeping trees that should've had cherry blossom on them. Anyways we did the castle and the garden and decided to head back to the hotel to change as my shoes were well and truly soaked. I used 2 hairdriers to dry them and eventually they dreid enough to put back on. We went back to the department store and had tripe soup with fatty pork. I must say our diet has been awful and the non production of stools have really been understandable. We both crave bum blaster (a massive pot of various beans with tomatos and spices) to help make things move. Kanazawa apart from the castle and gardens was really uninspiring and we hope that Kyoto will make amends.