Kanazawa
Kanazawa is
the capital of the Ishikawa Prefecture and an important city in the region. The
city features many historical attractions such as its restored residences and
districts, but by far the city’s main attraction is Kenrokuen, which is ranked
as one of Japans top three gardens in the country and considered the most
beautiful of them all…which we agree and will cover later in the article!
When we visited Kanazawa, we travelled from Kyoto which took 2 hours 10 minutes, by the Thunderbird! which is the name of the train! This particular train wasn’t a Shinkansen, but still quite fast, with the similar comforts and massive leg room and space you get on a Shinkansen. Also using the Thunderbird, it takes 2 hours 40 minutes from Osaka and on the Shinkansen from Tokyo it takes 2 hours 30 minutes.
In the 15th
Century Kanazawa was controlled by an independent Buddhist government, but in
1583 was ousted by Maeda Toshiie, who was the head of the Maeda Clan. During the
Edo Period (1603 – 1868) Kanazawa served as the seat of the Maeda Clan, of
which the clan was the second most powerful feudal clan in Japan at the time, after
the Tokugawa clan. This meant Kanazawa grew and achieved great cultural
achievements, which rivalled that of Kyoto and Edo (Tokyo).
Kanazawa is known for its culture and art and upon arriving at its main train station, this is so evident! It’s certainly an impressive train station, with its intricated roof and amazing modern art torii gate construction!
