Day 11: Doing the Samurai
This was the first of our two days in Kanazawa. We were up and out bright and early with our guide Maki, who took us on a Samurai history tour around the city.
It was fascinating to see what a huge part samurai played in the Japanese feudal system, and I was really interested to learn about how their system was based more on status than money (often, the merchants at the bottom of the pyramid were far richer than those families at the top) in contrast to ours.
We explored the streets of Kanazawa, before visiting the descendants of a samurai. We were lucky enough to be able to see (and hold!) the swords that they had.
During WW2, swords like these were melted down for ammunition. However, these ones were hidden at the back of the warehouse until Masa discovered them 20 years ago!
After this, we went over to the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, and explored the art present in their collections. My favourite piece was the swimming pool, with added trickery!
This evening, we then headed out to Sushi Ippei, where I had the best sushi I've ever had (also endorsed by the German cargo-pilot we met!). Some of the most beautiful fish, and genuinely delicious.
All in all, another great day!
Fresh, clean, sushi feast;
Bam! An kick of wasabi
That makes my mouth burn!