Soggy day in Kanazawa!

Yesterday we arrived by train from Kirasaki in the north (remember wandering around town from onsen to onsen in our Yakata)? The train ride was smooth and uneventful through mountainous towns down to Kyoto and then switch trains (only 5 minutes to do it but we made it) and then north for a couple of hours to Kanazawa. We found our way to our little guesthouse Ponji. Everything is in miniature! This 300 year old house on a canal used to be a kimono shop and down the way a bit with red Japanese lanterns hanging out front where we had dinner last night also belonged to the same owner. Now it`s a little guest house that has 4 bunk beds (the bottom bunk that I`m in is a futon on the floor). It`s a bit bigger than my walk in closet at home. But again There is a lovely duvet cover, a pretty hard pillow but I`m getting used to them, and a nifty curtain that you pull around the bed for privacy. Very cozy and I slept great! We had one roommate, a Japanese retired teacher who is now researching to try to start her own guesthouse outside Kyoto. She has invited us to come and stay for a couple of days and see her town. We have to figure out our schedule in Kyoto and see if it fits in. She wanted to practice her English so we went together to a pub that serves pub food - meat on sticks, veggies on sticks, etc. We had great draft beer and she helped us order. I had chicken and pork on sticks, asparagus wrapped in ham and cheese wrapped in ham and some green peppers. It was delicious! We had great fun with the cook and server and took their pictures with us. Today Betty and I set out in the pouring rain with umbrellas from Ponji and bought a loop bus one day ticket for Y500. It`s an on-off deal so it worked out great. We started at one of the three most beautiful gardens in Japan - built by one of the shoguns back in the day. It was really lovely, even in the pouring rain. I can imagine it when the plum trees and cherry trees bloom in the spring. But I`m sure the hoards of tourists then would spoil it. Usually this is a big leaf-peeking season but the fall has been unusually warm and very little color is showing in the mountains yet. We had some hail as we were walking through the garden. We then crossed the bridge to the Castle remains (it had burned down after only 20 years) and is now being reconstructed somewhat. We found another senior volunteer English speaking guide to walk us around but only a couple of storage of weapons houses were original and the walls. It`s amazing how they built these huge walls, cutting huge stones, fitting smaller stones sort of as mortar. This area wasn`t of military significance so had little damage during WWII. The owner, Masaki-san told us we will all prepare a Japanese hot pot/Thanksgiving feast tonight for us. He was a Buddhist monk in Myanmar for a couple of years, I think, and then changed his mind and wanted to lead a normal life. He`d given away everything to become a monk so he said he started at the bottom, working at an onsen and restaurant, and now owns this little place. Very kind lovely man! And Yu and Maru, two young girls who share a flat down the way work here as well. Yu taught us to fold paper cranes last night (I`ve already forgotten) and has a whole bag of them, I think to take to the Peace Park in Hiroshima to burn for World Peace. We were all going shopping in the market for the food for dinner but when we returned to Ponji Mara said they already went in a car because of the rain. So I guess we`ll cook later. It`s very quiet and peaceful here, but we`re having a hard time with all this sitting on the floor. My knees just don`t bend that way any more. Tomorrow on to Takayam, a couple of hours train ride away. We`ll be staying in a temple there. We`re hoping it`s not freezing cold and on bare floors!  It`ll be an experience we haven`t had! Happy Turkey Day to all!