I lived in Kanazawa, attending Kindai (Kanazawa Daigaku, Kanazawa U). Kindai is a second tier university, first tier are like Ivy League in the US; Kindai was still a good school.
Until they rebuilt the university, it was one of only two universities within original castle grounds (the other is in Germany).
As the article mentions, it's an interesting place because it was one of the few major cities not bombed during WWII, so lots of the street layouts are still intact. The note in the article about the open air gutters was funny to me, I saw a few cars rip off their bumpers after the fell into those gutters that would have been rerouted in other cities.
Kenrokuen is an amazing, incredible garden there. I live in Portland now which has what many consider the best Japanese style garden outside of Japan. But, those imperial gardens like Kenrokuen put the Portland Japanese garden to shame. Absolutely worth a visit to Kanazawa just for Kenrokuen.
When I lived there it was considered a bit of a backwater. My Japanese friends said it was the "waki" (armpit) of Japan. Now that the Shinkansen goes there, I think things have changed radically.
One of my fondest memories is a day-trip I took to Kenrokuen. It was the dead of winter, absolutely blanketed in snow with more coming down, and I remember being simply awestruck by the serene beauty of it. I still go back and look at the photos I took there four or five years ago - it's one of the few times I've actually wished I'd sprung for a phone with a decent camera.
I also remember hopping on a bus, looking ridiculous covered in snow after a whole day walking around outside, and getting a good-natured laugh from some schoolchildren for my appearance. Good times.
I just googled Kanazawa and it happens to be snowing there right now. I was curious about the latitude and it looks to be at about the same latitude as the SF Bay area where it rarely snows. And it's right on the coast as well. Is snow more common on the west coast of Japan than on the east coast due to the Japanese current which passes on the east?
east west distinction does make as much sense in Japan since the main island runs at a sort of diagonal but from my experience, in the northern half, the west is snowier. the islands as a whole are immensely wetter than California.
I took my family on a trip around Japan. Kenrokuen was major highlight. We visited at the tail end of Sakura (cherry blossoms) season. It is a favorite memory for all to this day. Well worth the trip. Kanazawa is also known for the kani (crab) which is amazing.
I visited Kanazawa once, to me these spaces gave me this really lonely energy, not entirely bad, just seems like a once great city which is struggling to survive or at least keep its identity.
I think about what circumstances would turn things around for Kanazawa but couldn’t imagine a time when people would flock back to live there. At least in the near future.
So many incredibly quiet yet beautiful neighbourhoods either abandoned or waiting to be.
Almost worth a visit if in Japan just to experience it. There is a list of beautiful things to see there.
I wonder if anyone else who’s been there felt the same ? I couldn’t tell if the author was trying to convey a similar feeling or not. Maybe the following comes close.
> Seidenberg’s photographs depict this city as storied and imperiled, poised between decline and revival.
I was there and it felt a bit odd. Even downtown areas were not that busy and buildings not that pretty or well kept as they would be in the bigger cities. The local food that I sampled was simpler too. The local markets didn't seem vibrant or busy.
Definitely had the feel of a city which has seen better days. It has lovely gardens though.
The demographic decline of the Japanese countryside is a stark reality most vistors don't get to witness, but it really is transforming the country. For a great, poetic examination from a few years back, the (now dormant) blog Spike Japan is an essential resource.
What strikes me most is how they clean up these structures and leave empty land, actual earth so it doesn’t end up in a dangerous imploded pile of rubble.
I haven’t been to Detroit and though I’ve read of efforts ti clean up abandoned lots with decrepit housing, most of the abandoned lots and houses are left to succumb to natural deterioration or arson.
The constrast of this reminded me of my city and the “urban prairie”, where previously crowded, close-to-downtown urban neighborhoods began to be abandoned, where 16 houses stood before, now maybe two or three, and the lots around those get overgrown with grasses, leaving behind a typical city street grid, streets and infrastructure and tall wild grassy fields where the houses were.
Until they rebuilt the university, it was one of only two universities within original castle grounds (the other is in Germany).
As the article mentions, it's an interesting place because it was one of the few major cities not bombed during WWII, so lots of the street layouts are still intact. The note in the article about the open air gutters was funny to me, I saw a few cars rip off their bumpers after the fell into those gutters that would have been rerouted in other cities.
Kenrokuen is an amazing, incredible garden there. I live in Portland now which has what many consider the best Japanese style garden outside of Japan. But, those imperial gardens like Kenrokuen put the Portland Japanese garden to shame. Absolutely worth a visit to Kanazawa just for Kenrokuen.
When I lived there it was considered a bit of a backwater. My Japanese friends said it was the "waki" (armpit) of Japan. Now that the Shinkansen goes there, I think things have changed radically.