July - Nagao Settling into Kanazawa

Hi all,

Thank you to all of you who've continued to read these posts, it really means a lot to me and Nagao. 

This past month, July, was pretty slow. I was able to visit Nagao for a weekend; he began his move-in to his new home, so was beginning to adjust to his new life there (granted, it's only a block from the apartment he was renting until now). Here's a lovely picture from one of the first nights:

 

We tried some store-bought sushi which, if we were back in the states, some of you might say would be unimaginable for someone like Nagao to do. It's surprisingly good, and the quality of fish at least has Nagao's seal of approval (though he wasn't a fan of how the sushi was made by machines..). I think this is a testament to the quality that regions like Kanazawa/Ishikawa Prefecture has the ability to maintain; with so much of the fish being locally sourced and fresh, even the supermarket sushi is good! 

On the other end, Nagao and I found a food truck serving burgers, so you know we had to try. The burger truck (I wish I took a photo) was fashioned out of what seemed to be an old American school bus; we could see the lights and signage intact. The burger wasn't cheap for sure, but Nagao and I agree that it was probably the closest thing to an American burger we've had since coming here. Typically, Japanese burgers are more tailored to the Japanese palette and are smaller. While delicious in their own right, they just are different from what it's like in the states. Nagao and I often talk about how we longed to have in-n-out again..

On a different note, while Nagao and I have yet to see this in person, there was a recent new addition to Kanazawa Castle, a landmark that I wrote about in my previous post. As part of an ongoing re-building initiative, the community re-built the Nezumita gate, which originally burned down in a fire over 100 years ago. It took a couple years, with there needing to be excavations and expert carpenters and architects to design and build the gate and adjoining bridge the same way it was done before. I've included a picture of it now and of the original. You can see elements of where the remains of the original stone structure were used, and where new stone was put in place. As a fan of history, I'm personally excited to see this for myself and to learn what's being planned next. As grand as this gate is, much of the castle is still gone; it may take decades to even get a glimpse of the former grandeur of this bygone, seemingly ancient era. 

- akira