Thursday, 3 November 2016

Kaga Onsen

We caught a thunderbird train to Kaga Onsen to see the Kakusenkei Gorge. Kaga Onsen is a collection of four hot spring towns south of Kanazawa. An onsen is a hot spring that generally has bathing facilities. There are thousands of onsens all over Japan. They were traditionally used as public bathing places and today play a central role in Japanese tourism.

We caught a bus from the Kaga Onsen station to Yamanaka Onsen which is where the Kakusenkei Gorge runs parallel to the town's main street. We initially walked in the wrong direction and walked up a very large set of steps that led to a shrine. It would not be visited by too many tourists on foot!

Several bridges cross the gorge and there are old wooden buildings along the pathway. It had been raining and the rough path was slippery so we did not venture far. The autumn colours were attractive in many places along the river.

There was one downpour of rain but we were able to spend time inside a shop selling local laquerware. 

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