24 October 2016
Its a real city
Exploring the mysterious alleyways of Kanazawa
As my unimaginative title suggest, Kanazawa is a real city, even on a Monday night. Its Monday isnt it? Yeah, Monday.
My route first went to the old geisha area. This is where shops selling ice cream are paying minimum wage to aspiring actresses to dress up and dart across the street pretending to be geishas.
No master is parading his real live in sex slave for tourists to snap photos of.
According to the internet, theres lots of very exclusive restaurants in this area, which no westerner would ever be allowed to enter. I kept sliding open their stupid paper doors and asking if they sold omurice. It gets cold here, use something other than paper.
After geisha district, I headed back to one of the main areas of town. In addition to department stores this one had a long outdoor (no roof) upscale shopping mall, the likes of which I have not really seen in Japan before. Full sized multi storey western shops. I was there at 8pm so they were all in the process of shutting.
There were also alleyways you can barely walk down hidden in backstreets with sheds erected either side housing really smokey bars. I saw lots of young Americans wandering around here trying to penetrate the Japanese defences designed to keep them out.
Somehow I also found myself back near the castle, the walls of which appear enourmous once lit up at night, I did not appreciate just how big they are during the day.
However nearby outdoors in a park, there was a very formal exclusive event going on, with old women giving speeches and getting polite claps from a mini auditorium full of people. I wandered right up to the back of the stage and peered at the audience in front of me over an old ladys shoulder who was illuminated by spotlights.
Unfortunately I was not invited to give a speech.
Heading into the geisha district.
I didnt actually see anyone, but there was drumming coming from inside the wooden houses. No doubt the poor toeless geishas putting on a show for their slavemaster before they bathe him.
Go read about what they do to their toes.
You read toeless as topless didnt you?
Genghis Khan was last here in the 1700's with Marco Polo. Together they collected tuna from the Tsujiki fish market and took it back to Cleopatra.
Castle walls. 3 levels of them.
It is also possible to do leaf appreciation hypervenilation at night.
I am now taking photos in toilets. No sleeping!
In the backstreets I found audio man. Inside theres an old guy with piles and piles of cd's and tapes. I do not know if its actually possible to get inside.
Tiny bar alley, one of many. Fire hazard.
I crossed a few bridges, this one looks back towards the city centre, so I nearly got hit by a bus taking the photo.
Like I said, a real city.
How I feel.
Moar curry, moooaaar. This time its mainly vegetable curry with avocado and coleslaw. Those things are a great mix.