Kenrokeun Gardens

Many thanks for your kind comments, hearts and stars for yesterday’s snow monkeys - it was a fabulous morning of photography.

It’s time to move on to our next destination, so having eaten my ‘Western Breakfast’ - G still has the Japanese feast - we set off on the ryokan’s shuttle to the station at Yudakama. We feel quite emotional leaving as the staff have been so lovely - particularly Sakura who served us at each mealtime. Such a lovely sweet person - she patiently explained dishes in her limited English - much better than our Japanese - and thus morn8ng she pinned a homemade rose brooch on my jumper when we were at breakfast.  She’s expressed concern about my cough, patting me on the back when I’ve been coughing, and just as we leave she presses a packet of cough lozenges into my hand. So sweet and thoughtful.  

Our journey goes well, with helpful railway staff at hand to make things easier. It’s back to Nagano, then onto the Shinkansen which will take us to Kanazawa where we’ll stay for two nights. 

It’s too early to check into our room, so we leave our luggage at the hotel and walk to the castle and gardens. The weather is back to brilliant sunshine - if anything too bright for photographing the gardens which we make our priority over the actual castle today. We’re very p,eased to be given free admission as over-65s, especially as we had to present proof that this was the case! 

The gardens are full of beautiful features- ponds, fountains, statues, shrines - even a tea house - and it’s really relaxing just to wander around in the sunshine. 

Then it’s back to the hotel where our room is now ‘ready’. I’m too tired to venture far from here tonight, but neither of us feel like the high-end Japanese meals available at the restaurant, so we settle down in the bar where I enjoy a delicious smoked salmon salad with a couple of glasses of their hose white (a very nice Chablis!) while G has a pasta dish with wagu beef - spaghetti bolognaise it is not! 

My main today’s a view of the castle gardens - or Kenrokuen Gardens, with an extra of the castle. I’ve also,included one of the complex framework used with the trees in  winter to protect them from heavy snowfalls - these become part of the winter landscape in their own right.