Hello Everyone,

Based on the great advice from this forum, I feel that I have our upcoming 2-week April trip pretty well planned. My only remaining question is regarding our time in Kanazawa. The more I research the more I want to see and do.

Based on this, below is a list of what I'd like to cover in our 3 nights and 2 full days. I've arranged it in a rough sense of order that I think makes sense, but if anyone has an input as to the order, what to add or delete, where the logical break might be from Day 1 to Day 2, or what we might bypass during the day because it's also open at night, etc. I'm not married to this list or order, and understand it might be too much, so your input, as always, is helpful.

Also, we love to rent bikes (which we did in Takayama last year and thoroughly enjoyed it) so that helps us cover more ground. We will also take taxi's to save time as needed.

Thanks!

Starting from Hotel Trusty Korinbo
• Kenrokuen Garden – Day time visit as well as evening “light-up”
-Seisankaku Villa
• Gyokusenen Garden
• 21st Century Museum
• DT Suzuki Museum
• Hirosaka Art Street
• Taxi to Higashi Chayagai District
-Shima Tea House
• Kazuemachi Chayagai District
• Omicho Market
• Oyama Shrine
• Nagamachi Bukeyashiki District
-Nomura-Ke Museum
• Teramachi Temple Area
-Ninjadera (We have an 11:00 appointment on day 2, so this will have to move up the list in order)
• Nishi Chaya District

With two days, you won't cover all of that. So start by prioritizing what you want most to see/do. We loved our time in Kanazawa and wished that we had more.

Your list definitely has some great things on it! There is SO much to see in Kanazawa, I fully appreciate your dilemma. I'm glad you are planning to visit Gyokusen -- its a very special place IMO.

I agree with Kathie -- best to think about your priorities. One thing I do when there's too much I want to see in the time I have is to order things with an eye to efficiency of movement (e.g., what's close to what), but have some idea of key times for priority checks, as in "If I'm not here by x time, skip Y and go straight to Z."

Good luck!

Thanks for the feedback! I assumed this was more than we would be able to manage, but I like starting with a wish list and then whittling down. Our priorities are certainly anything to do with gardens, so those will be staying in for sure. The DT Suzuki and 21st Century Museums are also near the top, as well as Ninjadera (but we can easily skip any other temples in Teramachi after that).

I think we could easily cut the Nishi Chaya District, after having seen the other two. If the Oyama Shrine is like other shrines we've been to, it will be open at night, which will help us fit that in (not sure about that however). We could also have lunch or dinner at the Omicho Market and kill two birds with one stone. The weather will also be a factor. We we'll just have to play the rest by ear and save the hard choices for when we get there.

Yes, the Oyama Shrine should be open 24/7
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e4203.html

Great! It's also a 5 minute walk from our hotel, so we can even see it early morning before everything else opens.