Sunday, February 8, 2015

THE HIDDEN CHARMS OF JAPAN -2-



Higashi Chaya District is one of the most popular destinations in Kanazawa.
As I wrote in my previous post, we went there on the first night. And we visited again, on the second day of our trip. I wanted her to see the different view of the townscape in Higashi Chaya District.


This area is called Higashi Chaya District. Higashi (ひがし/東) means "east", and Chaya (ちゃや/茶屋) means "a tea house". There're several Chaya districts in Kanazawa city, where Geisha (do you know Geisha?) entertains people by performing traditional dances. It may remind you of Kyoto, right? Yeah, Kyoto is the most famous area for foreigners to see Geisha! Kanazawa isn't as big and famous as Kyoto at all, but it's been called "小京都(しょうきょうと)" which means "Little Kyoto". You know why? ;)



It takes about 10 minutes by bus from Kanazawa station to Higashi Chaya District. Maybe less than 30 minutes on foot? Kazue-machi Chaya District is also a small Geisha district. I think there're a few guest-houses in this area. The riverside scenery is really pretty especially at the evening twilight time.

You can buy some souvenirs, try on a Kimono (Japanese traditional cloths), have a cup of Macha (Japanese green tea) with sweets... Oh, I almost forgot to say about 金箔(きんぱく) /kinpaku/ "gold leaf".

If you've been to Kyoto before, you must have seen 金閣寺(きんかくじ), Kinkakuji, the temple of the Golden Pavilion. (Google it if you haven't seen it yet!) It's covered in 金箔, gold leaf. You can see the very gold leaf in Kanazawa because 99% of metal leaf in Japan are produced here! Also, you can try gold leaf pasting! :D



Can you believe that gold leaf is less than 0.0001mm thick?

Can you see gold leaf floating on the surface of the tea?

Don't forget to explore back streets when you go to Chaya districts!! :) Don't rush, don't hurry, take your time to see around town. This is the most important tip to enjoy sightseeing in Kanazawa.


4 comments:

  1. Hello Tomoe-san!

    My name is Mahdi, I'm an Iranian guy who's been living in Japan since 2013, I found your blog because a long time ago we met on a language exchange site and I was learning Japanese and I think you were learning Persian.

    Just wanted to say I really enjoyed going through your older entries, learned a lot of interesting and subtle things about the Japanese language (always trying to improve!). In case you need help with Persian, I would be glad to help ^_^

    よろしくお願いします!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Salam, Mahdi! Oh, you live in Japan!! I guess your Japanese got improved a lot. As for me, I still keep learning Farsi at my own pace. :)

      Wow, thank you so much! I'm really glad to hear that you enjoy reading my blog! I hope it would be of some help. Your comments are always welcome. ^o^

      Az daste shoma dard nakone! Kheili mamnunam. ;)

      Delete
    2. まあ。。今だいたい話せますけどまだまだ満足できません!

      あの「*Japanese Word of the Day*」はすごく面白くて、勉強になりましたよ。ありがとうございます。 :)

      「Az daste shoma dard nakone!」-> "az" いりません。

      "دست شما درد نکنه" だけいいです。 ^_^

      Delete
    3. 教えてくれてありがとうございます!まだまだ、簡単な言葉も間違えてしまいます^_^; 私も、ペルシア語をもっと練習しないといけませんね。
      خیلی متشکرم

      お役にたてて嬉しいです!ぜひ、またコメントしてくださいね(^_-)

      Delete

Comments on Google+: