Day 14. 21st May 2016. Saturday.

Another day in Kanazawa, and the first order of day was to pick up our rental car . We booked the car through Japan Experience for USD 570 from Nissan-rent-a-car. The office was walking distance from the station and therefore walking distance from the hotel. We had booked the Japan Rail Passes from Japan Experience also, and I was happy with the prompt service so I decided to go ahead and book the car through them as well. We also decided to go ahead and pay USD 40 for a service called driving assistance where you get a number and you call 24/7 if you're ever in the situation where you might require help or a translator considering everything here is in Japanese. 

I had asked the boys to stay at the hotel while we go pick up the car but they refused. And tagged along with us. And then were promptly bored at the rental car office where we had to wait a bit to be served and then had to fill in all the paperwork and stuff before we could actually pick up the car. The GPS wasn't entirely in English, the map was in Japanese, but the woman who showed us to the car explained how to input the destination and showed us which buttons to press. Here, the GPS works using the telephone numbers of the destination. It was easy enough to figure out and soon we were off. We didn't have much plans for the car in the first half of the day but in the evening, I was thinking of taking the drive to the Noto Peninsular. So we took it for a quick spin and then went to the hotel. Unfortunately, the parking area in front of the hotel was under construction but the girl at the reception was kind enough to show us how the paid parking hows and how to use the meter . She even gave us a map that showed all the closed paid parking areas around the hotel.

Once that was done, we took a bus towards the Omicho Market area. We wanted to walk about this place but Grandma's leg was still hurting so we parked her at a cafe with a drink and made our way on foot to the Nomura Samurai Residence. I absolutely loved the walk through the tiny alleyways to get to the house. We got to the ticket counter, I bought my tickets, went inside where Godwin and the boys were looking at armour and waiting for me, and realised I didn't have my camera with me. I figured I'd left it at the ticket booth and went back to get it. The girl at the counter had kept it aside for me. 

The house is well restored and beautifully kept and takes you back to a bygone era. There was actually Samurai stuff like swords and armour that the boys enjoyed looking at. The place was teeming with tourists, though, so that took a little away from appreciating the place, but there were explanations in English everywhere and the garden and the pond it is was absolutely tranquil and captivating. There was this meandering stream that flowed over strangely flowing rocks that was simply spectacular. There were signs all over the place that said do not go into the rock garden, the pond wasn't deep but the rocks were uneven and I don't think it was safe to balance on them, and then we saw these two white middle-aged women happily hopping from rock to rock! Like seriously, can they not read. Suddenly there were security guards blowing whistles and the women profusely apologising and trying to make their way back to safe ground. Ugh. 

The Nomuras held high posts with he Maeda clan during the Edo period and you can tell from the beautiful architecture of the house with all the murals and decorative ceilings. The house is very small and we were done soon enough and so made our way back to the ticket counter. On the way, we crossed a staff member desperately looking for someone who had left their iPhone 6s near the shoe rack. We got to the exit, and while we were putting on our shoes, a frantic woman entered and was asking if anyone had seen her phone. I told her there was a staff member inside the house with it and the ran in to get it. 

We walked back to the cafe, ate lunch, and then decided to take a bus to the tea district. Unfortunately, Zane fell asleep, so I asked if the rest wanted to get off and explore while I took Zane back to the hotel. Everyone was tired and so we decided to all go back to the hotel and rest. Once Zane had napped for a couple of hours and woken up, again, everyone was too bored to do the drive up the Noto Peninsular. I was really keen on doing the Chirihama Beach Drive but we had been on the road for two weeks now and I think fatigue had set in and everyone was just so tired. So we decided to go to the mall, do some shopping, eat some dinner, turn in early and wake up and leave when we were good and ready the next day. We had a rental so I didn't have to forward our luggage, and we could leave whenever we please because we didn't have a train to catch. 

Oh, and I forgot to mention that when we got into Kanazawa, we realised we had left the boys jackets at the Sheraton. They were in Grandmas room and we think when she packed up, she didn't look properly at the unused other double bed where the boys had left them on the last night. I tried to contact the hotel by phone to tell them that we had left the jackets but the hotel we were at was a little weird. When I called reception and asked to be connected, they kept saying no english. Not sure what the guy understood of what I said. So, I emailed the Sheraton and after a few emails back and forth, they said they found the jackets and had already packed and forwarded the jackets to our hotel in Takayama, as they wouldn't have reached in time to Kanazawa. 

Also, Zach finally found a nice pair of leather boots at the mall that he always wanted so he was thrilled. So another end to another day in Japan. Tomorrow, Takayama and a ryokan stay!

Coming up: Shirakawa-go village and a ryokan stay!
Steps walked: 9,984







I had danTDM and Pat and Minecraft TNT, Mobs and I can Buy Minecraft