Page 10 - Japan 11 Day Sample Itinerary

DAY 06 KANAZAWA Meals Included: Breakfast At 9:00 AM be ready in the lobby of the Hotel Nikko Kanazawa in preparation for a full day of touring. Begin with a 60 minute drive outside the city to Shirakawago Village. Nestled in a rural setting reminiscent of the old Japan, Shirakawa-go is world-famous for its steeply thatch-roofed traditional farmhouses. The farmhouses were added to the World Heritage List in 1995. The style is ‘gasshozukuri’, hands-clasped in prayer. The heavy snowfalls that visit this straggling village in the gorge of the Shogawa river led people to build farmhouses of 60-degree pitch. The farmhouses are all oriented along a north-south axis so the roof sides receive equal sunlight and the snow melts evenly. Afterwards return to Kanazawa and with the Higashi Chaya District and Kenrokuen garden. Kenrokuen Garden, considered one of the "three most beautiful gardens in Japan". The spacious garden used to be the outer garden of the Kanazawa Castle. Constructed by the ruling Maeda family over a period of nearly two centuries it was opened to the public in 1871. The garden is filled with a variety of trees, ponds, waterfalls and flowers stretching over 25 acres. The name Kenrokuen literally means "Garden of the Six Sublimities", referring to spaciousness, seclusion, artificiality, antiquity, abundant water and broad views, which according to Chinese landscape theory are the six essential attributes that make up a perfect garden. Visit a typical plaster-wall home of the Samurai. Most of the homes are still maintained by the descendants of those samurai, but the Nomura Family house is open to the public. Of special note are the stone lanterns and bridges of the family garden, as well as the cypress-wood ceiling of the house itself. Walking outside, visitors may easily feel they have returned to the days of the samurai. At approximately 5:00 PM return to the hotel. Overnight: Hotel Nikko Kanazawa – (2) Deluxe Rooms