A Zen temple in the mist and rain
The view on Friday morning from our room at the Hotel MyStays Premier Kanazawa:
The final breakfast spread before checking out:
One of the retro beer posters on the wall of the hotel restaurant:
For the next leg of our journey across central Honshū 本州 I rented a car, which turned out to be a Toyota Aqua hybrid. Which turned out to be prescient choice as we were inundated with inclement weather at times during the day, and being inside a dry vehicle was much more preferable to walking around outside:
Our first stop out of Kanazawa 金沢 as we headed in the direction of the Noto Peninsula 能登半島 was the Kita-ke 喜多家 historic building:
From this large home the Kita family administered over 200 villages in the region during the Edo period 江戸時代:
Inside are displays of ceramics, documents, farming tools, folk art, weapons and so on:
According to the Lonely Planet guide, the garden has been called "the Moss Temple of Kyōto":
For the first part of our tour of the house, we were accompanied by a guide. He tried hard to explain the functions and history of the house. I tried hard to understand him. Neither one of us completely succeeded, but we both did our best:
We also spent time in the adjacent museum:
From Kita-ke I drove to the entrance of the Chirihama Nagisa Driveway 地理が浜なぎさドライブウェイ, an off road section of beach where cars are allowed to drive. Except for this Friday, that is, when the storm-derived high tides didn't leave much in the way of roads, thus resulting in the closure of the driveway:
The Sea of Japan 日本海 was in a bad mood this day:
Stopping for a tendama 天玉 lunch at a seaside diner:
Way back in the spring of 1991 I took a train from Kanazawa to Hakui 羽咋, where I then hired a taxi to take me to a famous shrine and temple in the area. After lunch I took Amber to see the temple, Myōjō-ji 妙成寺. After waiting in vain in the parking lot for the downpour to let up, we entered the temple grounds:
The Nio Guardians were able to stay dry:
Founded in 1294, the temple boasts 10 Important Cultural Properties, the most famous of which is the five-story pagoda. Although the rain would let up and even stop several times during our visit, every time I attempted to take a photo of the pagoda, the skies would open up and frustrate my iPhone camera's best efforts:
A closer view of the pagoda's exterior:
Beseeching the Buddhist gods:
A long earthworm caught Amber's attention. She's been expressing amazement throughout this trip over high large the insect life in Japan can be:
Again, when I tried to get a shot of the pagoda, the heavens would have other ideas:
My daughter was somewhat more successful in her attempts:
A set of pencils designed to make Amber a more diligent student:
Back on the road, and paralleling the Sea of Japan for much of the journey:
Kotogahama Beach 琴ヶ浜 is known for its "singing sand", but we weren't about to venture to the waterline in the inclement weather to find out by ourselves:
Despite the conditions, there were at least two surfers tackling the waves, though they can't be seen clearly in the video:
Amber continued to take pictures of the scenery as we drove further into the peninsula:
Our penultimate stop was at another temple, Sōji-ji Soin 總持寺祖院:
This Zen temple was originally founded in 1321. However, the 2007 Noto earthquake 能登半島地震 damaged many of its buildings. The reconstructions and renovations have been beautifully done, keeping the temple in harmony with peaceful surroundings:
Soji-ji Soin is also playing host to an art installation entitled
sorahana ソラハナ:
The rain turned this canal into a torrent of rushing water:
The quiet streets of Monzen 門前, where the temple is located:
It was around 1730 hours when we rolled into Wajima Onsen 輪島温泉, which will serve as home base for the next couple of nights. The view from our current hotel room:
Dinner. Delicious as always, but it's no wonder I've actually gained a couple of kilograms during this trip:
The plan on Saturday is to venture further into the peninsula, weather permitting.
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