A whole lot of dancers

The parade went on for hours. We headed over to the castle and the gardens, and on the way, ran into the parade again. By now, it was organized groups dancing to the same song. Groups from companies and schools, all dressed in the same outfits, dancing the same song. It looked pretty fun to be honest. We watched for a long time, and I really wanted to join in! I think towards the end, it had gone on for hours and hours and hours, and there were lots of drunk salary men joining in!

Kanazawa Temple District

Right next to the tea district was something on the map called the "Temple district", an area just filled with lots of temples and shrines. I really enjoyed walking through some of them, but it was getting into the afternoon, so a lot were shutting up. It was nice to just stroll through them and not worry about taking photos. But I did get one!

Nishi Chaya district

The main things on my list to see in Ishikawa were the tea districts, which are still working, the only working districts outside of Kyoto. It was quite pretty, but Nishi Chaya is quite small, only one street, and during the day, very quiet. But nice to see, and we got to go into a few old geisha houses and see what they would have been like.

The big, big parade

I headed up after my date to Ishikawa with Len and Cori. We got to Ishikawa quite late. The hotel....was...a dive to say the least. But the bedroom was fine, and we got some sleep. The next day, after getting breakfast at a nice bakery and a Starbucks, we realised we couldn't get anywhere because of a big parade going on. The largest parade in the Prefecture was happening that morning, so we decided to stay and watch. There were dancers, batton twirlers, ladder dancers (which are specific to Kanazawa) and dragon dancers! It was great fun!

Date night at the Umeda Sky Building

Friday didn't start off well, but I knew it would end well. It started with me missing my bus. Not by much, but due me losing my bike key, I had to run all the way home, throw my bag together and run to the bus. I saw it as it left the station. I had plans for Osaka at 8, so I knew the next bus wouldn't get me there even close to 10. Such stupid busses! So I ended up using my brilliant Japanese (lol!) to convince a taxi driver to chase the bus. In reality, it was a good idea, but after 10 minutes for the taxi to arrive, a million Japanese red lights, and single track roads (meaning no overtaking)Turns out, there arent too many stops between Hagi and Shin-Yamaguchi. In the end, the taxi man drove like he was driving a derby car, but he got me to the stop right before the bus did! It was hefty, but so worth it! I got on the bus, and to Osaka in no time. I met Josh there, and I was pretty excited, because we had a date at the top of the Umeda Sky Building. Once, I found him, I found out also that he had brought me a present. Not any present, but frosting and goldfish crackers. It was pretty much the nicest thing anyone has done for me, since I had said I missed them.Lots of swooning ensured. We ran across Osaka, and up to the sky building. It was really fun. A beautiful view, and very romantic, considering how rushed we were. I dont think it is the tallest building in Osaka, but a lot of things glow and the whole atmosphere is fun. Sadly, I had to go catch another shrink. After a pretty perfect kiss on the station, I was quickly on my way to Ishikawa. So quick, and fast, but perfect.

The big white bridge

The whirlpools were quite impressive, but I was quite taken by the big bridge above it. Apparently, we had driven on this bridge in the bus when we were on our way to the boat, but I had missed it due to being asleep! It was so pretty against the brilliant blue of the sky and the darker aquamarine blue of the sea. I love how beautiful it was. It was perfect weather too, just perfect before the rainy season! (Which has sadly now arrived!) It is quite similar to the Shimonoseki one, and actually I bet there are a lot of similar ones all over in Japan, considering its an island and all...

Naruto Whirlpools

The whirlpool boat was very busy, but I guess that was reasonable considering that the weather was beautiful, and the sea was great. I think as foreigners, we overran the whole boat! It headed out from the pier, towards the bridge. Underneath the bridge there are these natural whirlpools. Some of them are small, some of them are bigger, but they are still, really cool. But exceedingly hard to take a photo of! I tried for a long while, but hung out with everyone for the majority of the time, taking funny group photos!