Water Water Everyone, But No Gaijin But Me

Sometimes when I travel to certain parts of Japan, especially ones not generally advertised to tourists or during certain points of the day, I find that there is a certain lack of...other foreigners. It's not a bad thing, but it can be pretty humorous. When I got to Shirakawa-go that wasn't really an issue, but when I arrived in Kanazawa it was pretty desolate, even as I headed to the famous marketplace to kill time. The town also gives you quite a welcome when you head out of the station.

Kanazawa, where water literally welcomes you.

The market sells all sorts of fresh fish and produce, and has some smaller stands set up selling knick-knacks. It was really like a two floor farmer's market. I picked up some grilled fish that are caught locally in the river and they aren't bad, thought I did ask if it was alright to eat the tails. And of course the area has a lot of art, like this strangely human-sized katamari ball...

Dadadadadadaaa da Katamari Damacy

After killing time at the station it was time to board the bus and head out to Shirokawa-go, which I quickly learned would be a good deal colder than Osaka, where the cherry blossoms had already bloomed.

Much...much...colder

The good news was I had brought a scarf, the bad news was I had only brought a light coat. Since I did so much walking around, however, it wasn't as big of an issue as I did a lot of walking around. Access to the main village, for instance, involved crossing a bridge across an icy canyon.

I mean there were actual ice chunks on the other side of this bridge

The main village area is really nice, and wasn't very crowded despite the buses dropping people off. The locals were all really accommodating despite  the fact that there were so many tourists. Of course they all tend to go to the main viewpoint right away. There were only a few, if not any, people that headed on the road towards the main shrine.

Now one thing to note about Shirokawa-go is that it's not only a UNESCO heritage sight, but it's also where the horror series Higurashi no Naku Koro ni takes place. That means that a lot of fans flock to the area (myself included, though I also enjoy older Japanese buildings), and leave quite a few wish plaques dedicated to the series characters, especially the shrine maiden Rika.

Here's a picture of the torii gates with Rika included.

The shrine also keeps its tower for festivals up, which made it sort of feel like Obon in winter. Also the beam supports were really, really cool looking.

After heading to the shrine I began down the road leading up to the mountain, which seemed to be where everyone was going. Along the way I did stop to take a look at this igloo someone had made.

Then it was time to take a good...long...hike up the steepest hill I'd encountered since Hyogo. I actually went a week after the path had opened, usually its closed due to heavy snow until April. The view from the top though made it well worth it. You can see all the houses, and even the folk museum.

I recommend viewing this is in a larger size

Some of the houses were available for tours for a small fee, so of course I paid the small fee and took the opportunity to enter a home that's been maintained for hundreds of years.

This is not it, this is a different house that you could go in

While I was there the head lady of the house, Miss Obaachan we will call her, was giving information on the area and house to those visiting. It was really cute, and she talked for me quite a bit. The reason the housing is still used and parts of its architecture are used even in the bigger buildings in Tokyo is because they're so sturdy. The houses are literally earthquake resistant, and its one of the reasons Tokyo and its area sustained such little damage during the major earthquake in March 2011.

Then it was time to head home, and my express train was stopped on account of the train line's president getting sacked. Nothing quite like a two hour train ride on a semi-shinkansen.

-Zenko-