Saturday

Today we left about 9 am for a trip to Kenroku-en-garden.  What a beautiful place, too.  There were the most magnificent cherry trees in bloom.  Hundreds of them.  There were beautiful Japanese gardens and ponds too. It was pretty chilly again, although there was no rain.  Following this we went to the Kanazawa castle park.  Then we went to place that does silk painting and I did a little flower on a silk banner.  I enjoyed that as it was like colouring in a paint book when I was a child.  Paint inside the lines. I bought a little silk napkin which is so pretty.  Following this, we went  for lunch.  A Japanese restaurant with raw tuna, miso soup, rice, tempura and some noodles (soba I think)  in a broth.  All very tasty but I really will be glad of a change to cooked food.  After lunch we went to a street where geishas are trained and perform in the evening.  They charge 2000$ for an hour of entertainment.  We then visited some gold shops where gold foils are used.  I'm didn't buy anything.  Home at abut 4 and dinner tonight at 6:45 then leave tomorrow for a train to Kyoto for a couple of nights.  The train back from Kyoto to Tokyo will be the bullet train.  That will be most interesting. 
Had typical Japanese dinner tonight.  I am truly done with raw fish!  It is so beautifully presented but it still tiny squid, raw tuna, raw snapper, or tofu, in a broth, or seaweed in a dense green colour!  I long for a Big Mac!  However, each course takes a long time so basically I am full without having consumed a lot of food.  Now for bed!