[Kanazawa 金澤] Day 2

Kanazawa, April 2019.
金澤，2019年4月。

【Day 2】

9:00am…Omicho Market + Higashide Coffee
近江町市場 + 東出咖啡店
11:00am… Kazuemachi +  Higashichaya 
主計町 + 東山茶屋町
2:30pm…Kenroku-en + Gyokusen-en
兼六園 + 玉泉園
7:00pm…Takechiyo 竹千代

Omicho Market + Higashide Coffee
近江町市場 + 東出珈琲店

Known as the kitchen of Kanazawa, Omicho Market is a hotspot for seasonal produce as well as casual eateries focusing on fresh seafood. While not my usual staples for breakfast, seafood rice and sushi seemed like a most fitting way to start the day in Kanazawa.

有金澤人的廚房之稱的近江町市場，是吃早餐的好去處。我們早上9點抵達時人不多，挑順眼的店家就進去了。在這里終於滿足了 A 一早起來就大啖海鮮蓋飯的願望，也去了 N 年沒去的回轉壽司（也可以請師傅現點現做，未必要拿已經放在那裡好一陣子的壽司哦）。

After breakfast, we stopped by Higashide Coffee for a cup of their delicious house roast. The caramel pudding is not to be missed either – smooth, fragrant, with a charming bitterness from well-cooked caramel.

在近江町市場吃完早餐，散步到旁邊的 “Higashide Coffee 東出珈琲店”。這家老店除了自家烘焙咖啡非常好喝之外，自製布丁也相當出色，口感滑順、蛋香十足，再搭配焦糖的迷人苦味，是大人的滋味。要不是留胃給稍後要吃的親子丼，真想再來一份。

This is apparently a very popular cafe with locals, packed since the morning with older men reading newspaper by the bar, housewives who’ve just done the day’s grocery shopping, younger girls chatting away in the back…the vibe was convivial without being too loud. If I were to move to Kanazawa (just saying…), I’d like to live next to this cafe so I could come for pudding and coffee everyday.

這顯然是個很受當地人歡迎的咖啡店，一大早就坐滿了人，有看報紙的大叔，買完菜的媽媽、前來聚會的女孩們…氣氛熱絡但不至於吵鬧。要是搬來金澤的話（嗯？），就要住在它隔壁然後天天來喝咖啡吃布丁。

Higashide Coffee 東出珈琲店
Add：石川縣金澤市十間町42
Tel：076-232-3399
Hours：8:00～19:00
Price：400-600 yen / coffee

Kazuemachi +  Higashichaya
主計町 + 東茶屋街

The stroll continued to Kanazawa’s historic “Kazuemachi”. An old man paints alone in the quiet alley, sunny and breezy.

喝完咖啡，散步到金澤著名的老街 “主計町”。今日天氣正好，遇到老爺爺獨自一人坐在巷弄里畫畫，好個悠閑的早晨。

Crossing the river, we arrived at Higashichaya. This area was filled with private tea houses where guests can enjoy geisha performances, and to this day some of the original structures have been preserved.

過了河來到 “東茶屋街”。茶屋指的是江戶時代欣賞藝妓表演的場所，而東茶屋街是現今少數還保有傳統茶屋建築、文化的街道之一，有 ”小京都“ 之美稱。幾個日本女孩穿著春色盎然的和服，襯著古老街道的景緻，頗有風味。

Kanazawa produces more than 98% of Japan’s gold leaf, which is used for various craft items including temple and shrine decorations. You can even find gold leaf-covered soft serve ice-creams here in Kanazawa, for example at Hakuichi, one of the most famous gold leaf specialty shops in the city.

路過金箔專賣店 “箔一” 的東茶屋街分店，毫不猶豫地進去點了一份金箔冰淇淋。店家嫻熟地將整片金箔貼在冰淇淋上，動作俐落而豪邁，跟我們在甜點廚房裡用刀尖小心翼翼刮下一小屑金箔放在蛋糕上，完全是兩回事。會買金箔冰淇淋完全是為了顏值，不過牛奶冰淇淋本身也並不差。

Lunch was at Chokiji, a local yakitori joint that also serves oyakodon (chicken and egg over rice) during the day. Casual, affordable, and very tasty.

午餐，在一家名叫 ちょう吉（Chokiji）的小店吃了香滑柔嫩的親子丼。這家店晚上是做串燒的，中午則僅供應親子丼套餐，便宜又美味。

ちょう吉 Chokiji
Add：石川県金沢市東山 1-2-13
Instagram：higashi.choukichi
Hours：11:30am-2pm，5:30-11pm（closed on Sun）
Price：Oyakodon less than 1000 yen

Kenroku-en 兼六園

Kenroku-en is one of the Three Great Gardens of Japan, a must visit when in Kanazawa. Its name was derived from the “Chronicles of the Famous Luoyang Gardens”, a book by the Chinese poet Li Gefei, and stands for the six attributes of a perfect landscape: spaciousness, seclusion, artifice, antiquity, waterways, and panoramas

兼六園是日本三大名園之一，凡到訪金澤的人都不會錯過。它的的名字之所以取為 “兼六園”，是因為它兼備了中國宋代詩人李格非在《洛陽名園記》中寫到名園需具備的六個要素：巨集大、幽邃、人力、蒼古、水泉、眺望。

We were lucky to have captured the last few sakura trees in full bloom.

我們很幸運地在這裡捕捉到最後幾株滿開的櫻花。

We stopped by Shiguretei to rest our feet and enjoy some tea and wagashi (Japanese sweets). No reservation needed.

走累了，可在時雨亭休息片刻，喝茶吃菓子（無需預約，直接進去候位即可）。

Kenroku-en 兼六園
Add：石川縣金沢市丸之內1-1
Website：www.pref.ishikawa.jp
Hours：7:00-18:00 or 17:00 depending on the month
Price：310 yen

Gyokusen-en Nishida Family Garden
西田家庭園 玉泉園

After Kenroku-en, we had just enough time to visit another garden in the neighborhood, the Gyokusen-en Nishida Family Garden. This small but enchanting garden (120 years older than Kenroku-en) was created by the Wakita family over four generations, featuring beautiful stones collected from all over the country, as well as several hundred different types of plants. Gyokusen-en is not as popular amongst tourists, and we had the good fortune of enjoying the entire garden to ourselves during the visit. 

從兼六園步行僅5分鐘就能抵達玉泉園。玉泉院是當年由奉侍加賀藩主前田利長的脇田家歷經4代建造的庭院（歷史比兼六園還多了120幾年），雖然不大，但充滿雅趣。最棒的是這里游客非常少，我們到訪時完全沒有其他人，有包場的感覺。

The garden also houses Kanazawa’s oldest teahouse “Saisetsu-tei” (reservation required), as well as a Michelin-starred restaurant “Gyokusen-tei”. I didn’t have a chance to dine here, but the photos look quite enticing, and lunch is priced at a very affordable 3500-7000 yen, FYI for those interested.

花園裡除了有金澤最古老茶室 “麗雪亭” 以及裏千家的茶室 “寒雲亭”（喝茶要先預約），還有一家米其林一星餐廳 “金澤玉泉邸”。沒吃過無法評論，不過看照片很美，而且午餐似乎只要 3500-7000日元，以米其林餐廳來說很平易近人。

Gyokusen-en 西田家庭園 玉泉園
Add：石川縣金澤市小將町8-3
Website：gyokusen-en.net
Hours：9am-5pm（closed on Wed and from 12/25-2/29）
Price：700 yen

Takechiyo 竹千代

Dinner was at Takechiyo, a tiny restaurant of only 6 seats.

當日晚餐，在只有六人座的小小料亭 – 竹千代。

We reserved our seats with the help of a Japanese friend (reservation by phone, in Japanese only) and were so excited to sit down for dinner, only to realize that the Takechiyo is cash-only and we might not have enough. To our great surprise, the chef said nonchalantly – “Oh, just enjoy the dinner and pay me back tomorrow when you manage to get some cash.” To have such trust in two complete strangers!

我透過日本朋友幫忙訂到了位，滿心期待地坐下來準備享用晚餐時，才驚覺這家店不收信用卡，而且我們的現金…所剩不夠！沒想到老闆居然說 – 沒關係，你們先吃，明天領了錢再來付。老闆，你不怕我們就這樣跑了嗎？（驚喜#1）

Chef owner of Takechiyo 老闆

After failing to withdraw cash from the closest ATM, we fumbled through all of our pockets and eventually managed to find enough cash to cover the cost of food, but not enough for alcohol. To our great surprise (again), the guest sitting next to us at the bar left his change to the chef as our alcohol fund. Such kindness to two complete strangers!

Note: It is not uncommon for restaurants in Japan to take cash only, do prepare enough cash.

在附近的便利商店領不出錢，我們東湊西湊勉強湊齊了飯錢（真的每個口袋都翻了），但酒錢絕對是不夠的了。沒想到隔壁客人居然在結賬時把找錢都留給老闆，說是請我們喝酒。咦！？（驚喜#2）後來聽老闆說這位客人也是第一次來，並不是熟客。一頓晚飯遇到兩個好人，真的很幸運。

註：日本很多地方不收信用卡，現金一定要帶足。

Sake of the night, thanks to the guest sitting next to us.
被請的酒（還有一瓶啤酒沒拍），和相當應景的杯子（真是有福氣）

This fun anecdote aside, food at Takechiyo was exceedingly charming on its own. The chef takes pride in making everything – even konjac – from scratch, and designs an omakase menu that changes nightly. Here are a few dishes from our dinner (priced at 10800 yen) for your reference:

這段小插曲撇開不說，竹千代的料理本身也非常迷人。無菜單，完全 omakase（只有一個價位，當晚是 10800 日元），老闆一人從打雜到料理都自己打理，所有東西都自製，連蒟蒻都是自己做的！那口感和味道，和超市裡買到用粉做的蒟蒻完全是兩回事。

House-made sesame tofu
手工胡麻豆腐

Marinated firefly squid
漬熒烏賊

House-made onion fish ball
自家製洋蔥魚丸

House-made konjac
自家製蒟蒻

Marinated bottarga and Pacific saucy
自家腌制烏魚子和秋刀魚

Herring, bamboo shoots, Japanese mustard spinach
鯡魚、竹筍、小松菜

Bamboo shoot & tofu skin kamameshi (rice dish cooked in an iron pot)
竹筍豆皮釜飯

All 11 dishes, even something as simple-looking as the adzuki bean paste to accompany the matcha, was put together with great care. A dinner memorably for both the kind-hearted people we met as well as the food that went into our stomachs. Note: please only make a reservation if you are sure you can make it to the restaurant. Takechiyo only has 6 seats, any no show would be extremely costly for the chef.

11道料理，從最一開始的手工胡麻豆腐到最後的自製紅豆泥佐抹茶，都能吃得出老闆的用心，非常推薦。認真提醒：若沒對自己行程沒把握，請不要訂位。竹千代只有6個位子，訂了不來會造成老闆很大很大的困擾，說不定以後就不開放給外國人預約嘍。

Takechiyo 竹千代
Add：石川縣金澤市廣阪 1-1-28
Tel：+81-76-262-3557
Hours：6-10pm（closed on Sun）
Price：~10800 yen/menu (alcohol not included)