mmm-yoso!!!

Happy Halloween

Hope you have a fun and safe Halloween.

Pretty nice stuff around the neighborhood. But nothing beats this one in Los Olivos! Yikes!

Reykjavik - Dinner at Fiskmarkadurinn (The Fish Market)

Iceland sure was photogenic; even during the "off-season", though I've read that Iceland is now facing the mixed blessing of too many tourists, which of course has its own share of problems (ask the guy who grew up in Hawaii about this). We didn't find things (other than our last two dinner restaurants) too crowded, people were very friendly, and the country is ruggedly beautiful.

We stopped the car a few times on the way back from Gullfoss................ look at the views!

We arrived back in Reykjavik, dropped by a little grocery store (Bonus), then headed back to the apartment. Relaxed a bit, showered, napped, got up, relaxed, showered, you get it, right?

From this point on, we'd basically be hoofing it around Reykjavik, and we walked to our dinner destination, Fiskmarkadurinn (The Fish Market).

I'd made reservations online and was glad I did as the place was really busy. In fact, we had a nice seat in lounge for about 20 minutes or so until a table opened up. One interesting thing about Iceland. There are coat racks....I mean pretty massive racks where everyone hangs their coats. It's really easy to forget where your coat is on the rack, so I made sure to put our coats in specific places.

In the comments of my first Iceland post, "KenB" asked about food and drink prices. Yes, things are fairly pricy. I'm list the prices for this meal, since it's one that I recall.

While waiting in the lounge we decided to have a few local beers. I noticed beer from Borg Brugghús on the list, so we decided to try two of them.

The Bríó Lager was quite nice, somewhat floral, clean tasting, somewhat creamy, and also 1.490 kr - $14.

I opted for the Hans Rauchbier, which had a nice smokiness to it, lightly hoppy, really good! 1.790 kr - $17.

After this we decided to lay off the drinks.

We finally got a table. Sitting we noticed folks were either getting sushi or the tasting menu. There's a bit of an Asian influences on some of the dishes here. We weren't super hungry and decided on ordering a la carte. As is the norm for us, we went with several starters and one main. Of course, things started with a fantastic moist rye bread and the amazing butter they have here in Iceland.

And a nice amuse.

The Fishmarket Lobster Soup (2,900 kr - $27.50)

The soup was prepared using coconut milk, so we had our doubts, but this was really good. The coconut milk gave the dish some rich-smoothness, the langoustine tail was perfectly cooked, so very tender and slightly sweet. Not a big fan of the mandarin oranges in this dish.

Next up was the Bitter Lemon Glazed Arctic Char (3,200 kr - $30).

I love the way they pickle items in Iceland; very crisp, very nice flavors. The artic char was moist and slightly buttery, the rye bread outstanding, the edamame puree interesting but not really adding to the dish.

Of course we had to try the Robata Grilled Minke Whale (2,800 kr - $26.50).

According to the Marine Institute of Iceland, there is a sustainable yearly catch number for Minke Whales. So I thought we should try this. Even though there was a good amount of horseradish grated on the soy and ginger glazed whale meat; I thought it was much too "livery" in flavor for me. The Missus, who loves liver really enjoyed this.

We noticed the main courses looked fairly large, so we decided to only order one; the Grilled Blue Ling (5,300 kr - $50).

We though the Hollandaise sauce actually detracted from the mild flavor of the perfectly grilled fish. There was a touch of smokiness, the fish was nicely seasoned and melted in your mouth. The bit of foie gras was a nice touch as it added a good deal of richness; though it over-powered the fish when eaten together. The smoked cheek of catfish was nice and crisp and added a nice textural counter-point.

This was a nice meal. The Missus enjoyed Herself so much; especially that Minke Whale, that She had me make reservations at the sister (brother) restaurant of the Fishmarket for the next night. In terms of prices, starters go for around $27-$35 and mains $50-$85, the tasting menu is about $115 per person without drinks. Service was very nice though the tables were quite close together.

Fiskmarkadurinn (The Fish Market)
Adalstraeti 12
Reykjavik 101, Iceland

Mr Holy Gao Revisited

So, recently I had some time for an actual sit down lunch. Though not enough time to head down to Kearny Mesa. I wanted some Chinese, of which there seems to be a rather strange shortage of in this area. There's the "one-trick-pony" shop (which I actually revisited for the first time in nearly ten years and Lai Chen, which never seems to be open. My office is close enough to the 805, so a revisit to My Holy Gao seemed to be the most realistic option.

The place was empty when I arrived and pretty much stayed that way during my whole visit. The menu has changed a bit since my first round of visits back in March. Some new dishes added including Di San Xian; a classic stir fry of potato, eggplant, and bell peppers. While I knew the specialty of the shop leaned more toward Sichuan style dishes, I decided to order it. A big mistake.

This was like every bad stereotype of Chinese food out there. The dish was gloppy, too sweet, the eggplant wasn't cooked properly, as in the skin portions were hard and inedible and the interior pieces almost crunchy; lacking the buttery texture of well cooked eggplant. There was a shortage of one of the "three treasures", the bell peppers.

At least they had the Tea Smoked Duck which is the dish I believe they do best. While a bit drier than on previous visits; this was by far the best item.

Not too salty, nice smoke flavor, good texture.

For the final item, I saw the classic Chongqing Dish, Mao Xuewang on the menu. I've usually avoided it because the blood curd used is usually of terrible quality. In this case, I decided to go for it.

I've noticed something about the hot pot and similar type Sichuan dishes here. They seem to lack skill and finesse and the flavors are very simple and lacking in the wonderful layers and complexity of really good Sichuan food. The broth was very thin and in spite of looks not very spicy. The only real "ma", numbingness was provided when I bit into the whole Sichuan peppercorns. The blood was metallic and bitter; the "ham" in this case was faux Spam; the beef was decent if a bit too chewy, the intestine was good, though somewhat lacking in the offal-funkiness that I enjoy.

And like before, the rice here was terrible; with some really hard pieces, followed by strangely gummy grains.

In spite of the tea smoked duck; I'll probably not return for a while.

Mr. Holy Gao
10066 Pacific Heights Blvd
San Diego, CA 92121
Open Daily - 11am - 930pm

Iceland - The Golden Circle and Icelandic Lamb Soup at Gullfoss Kaffi

After our dinner at Matur Og Drykkur, we got back to our apartment rather late, at least for us, as it was nearly 1130pm. We showered; well here's an interesting thing (apparently one of many) about the hot water in Iceland. It all comes from geothermal fields. So guess what? Yep, there's a distinct sulphuric smell to the hot water....it smelt like rotten eggs (and something else, but we won't go into that). A bit of a shock at first.

I believe the sun rose at around 7am in the morning when we were in Reykjavik. We were pooped so we got up a bit later than usual. After waking up, we just headed straight out of Reykjavik. We didn't want to overdo things much and just decided to do the three main stops on the Golden Circle.

First stop Þingvellir National Park, Iceland's first National Park and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. I could probably write a dozen posts about Þingvellir, there is so much historical and geographical significance to the place.

We thought Þingvellir was quite beautiful, even on a drizzly, overcast, windy, and chilly November day.

I was stunned to be walking along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge; literally between two continents!

In one of the lakes in Þingvellir National Park, called Silfra, you can actually touch both continents at the same time!

Funny thing, I had purchased two really cheap rain ponchos, but the Missus refused to take Hers stating how "unfashionable" it looked. Now, in the face of rain and more wind than an umbrella could stand, She decided to use mine.

Þingvellir ("Thingvellir") literally means "Assembly Field" and the National Parliament of Iceland was formed here in 930 and kept meeting here until 1798.

The flag in this photo marks the supposed site of Lögberg (the Law Rock) where the speeches during the assemblies were made. I say "supposed" because the precise location of the rock is lost to time.

Walking back up the trail, we drove down the road a bit. Stopping in a small dirt lot. The view, like many others was outstanding.

This was an additional parking lot further down the highway. We took to the trail.

As with many places with such a long history; Þingvellir has a dark side as well.

Because of the wind and drizzle, we had driven down to Parking Lot 3 because it was the back way to this.

Öxarárfoss, a waterfall that might actually be man made. After returning from Iceland and doing a bit of background research for my posts, I found out that there's a claim that the Öxará river had its water diverted in order to provide drinking water to the Assembly, thus creating "Ax Falls".

Our next stop was quite easy to notice.......

As you could easily see the steam rising from the various geothermal vents in the Haukadalur Valley.

This is the home of the famous Geysir.

Unfortunately, Geysir is pretty much dormant these days. Luckily, Strokkur a few meters away still erupts every 10 minutes or so. After watching twice, it becomes rather easy to judge when Strokkur is ready to go.

It's quite fun to watch.

Also, as the sign says a few photos above, I guess there are a few common sense challenged folks out there. Better watch out or someone might be wearing your Necropants. Soemthing else I learned about in Iceland.

There's actually a hotel, gift shop, restaurant, etc, right across the street....in case you just can't get your fill of Strokkur and bubbling geo-thermal wells.

Soon enough, we were off to our last destination. With a few roadside stops along the way to admire the view.

Our final stop? Gullfoss, "Golden Falls". While the falls didn't look too "golden" on this afternoon, it was still quite nice.

Which our photos really couldn't capture.

We both loved this romantic story.

We hadn't eaten the entire day, so we decided to stop at the café connected to the gift shop and information center.

The café has sandwiches and other dishes, but I was after one thing. This little restaurant was well known for their Icelandic Lamb Soup (kjötsúpa). I was even told that there were free refills. The Missus and I shared a bowl.

It was actually much better than I thought it was going to be. Nice lamb flavor; pretty hearty, not too much meat, but it really warmed us up. I ended up going for half a second bowl. I didn't feel to bad about it since I think it cost somewhere around ($15 US) for the soup.

Yes, Iceland is expensive; but the people are so nice, the views amazing, and we were enjoying the food.

I looked around at the folks sitting and eating on this rather dreary day. And guess what? Seems like everyone was smiling and having a great time!

That's Iceland I guess!

Gullfoss Kaffi
Gullfoss
Blaskogabyggd 801, Iceland

Thanks for reading!

Koon Thai Revisited

A couple of more lunch revisits before we moved offices.

Koon Thai:

It had been just about a year since I'd last visited. So I decided to see what was up with Koon Thai. Looking over the menu, I decided to against my better sense and didn't order the dish I enjoyed the best here, the Karr Moo. I ended up ordering the Khao Nar Ped ($11.50). By the way, prices have gone up fairly quickly here....I'm thinking about a dollar a year.

I soon regretted my decision.

The duck was so tough and rubbery; severely over-cooked. There was very little duck flavor and this was rather bland overall. I actually thought the gailan was the best part of the dish as the rice was too dry and that sauce, which had a nice zip was very one-dimensional. This has me wondering how the other dishes that I had actually enjoyed here would be these days.

Koon Thai Kitchen
3860 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111

Kanazawa - Omi-cho Market and Jimonotei

Our next stop after Hida-Takayama was Kanazawa. Why Kanazawa? Well, I've heard the city called "Little Kyoto" several times. Kenrokuen Garden is considered one of the Three Great Gardens of Japan, the seafood is supposed to be great, there's Higashi-Chaya, a famous Geisha District, and did I mention the seafood is supposed to be great?

Also, I'd heard that Kanazawa was booming since the Shinkansen extension to the city was completed in 2015. So I thought this would be a fun diversion. We left Takayama, transferred to the Shinkansen in Toyama, and made it to Kanazawa at around noon. I was surprised at how reasonable hotel prices were in Kanazawa, so I figured "what the heck"? And booked us a nice room at the Hotel Nikko. Of course we arrived too early to check in, but were able to drop off our bags at the front desk, and headed off to get some lunch.

I'd decided that a nice place to start would be Omi-cho Market.

If you've read this blog long enough; you know we just love places like this; whether in Laos, Tunisia, France, Vietnam, or where ever, we just love to explore.

And Omi-cho was no exception. You get to see what's in season, what folks are eating, and sometimes other interesting things. Like this film crew......

There are quite a few restaurant in the market area. We just picked one; seafood of course, at random. This one named Jimonotei.

The prices seemed very reasonable and there seemed to be a rather short wait. The customers were a mix of Japanese (both tourists and some folks who seemed to be locals/regulars) and some larger parties of Chinese.

We got seats at the counter rather quickly because it was just the Missus and myself.

Deciding to order was pretty simple; we went with one sashimi combo (1500¥ - about $14 at the time) and an additional sashimi plate (1000¥ - about $9.50). With one "little" addition.

Soon enough the sashimi combo arrived.

Pretty generous for about 15 bucks US. The Missus didn't care for the Chawan Mushi; I think it was the dashi-forward flavor. I enjoyed it. She did enjoy the miso soup, as I never got a shot at it.

The sashimi was solid if not spectacular and at this price point, a bargain. The Amaebi was sweet, the hirame had a nice chew to it, salmon was buttery,  the maguro, while not the prime cuts, was passable. Best of all, everything was super fresh. After all, Omi-cho is called "Kanazawa's Kitchen" and has been around since the Edo Period.

As for the other sashimi; with the "special 100 Yen" upcharge?

Kanazawa' history with Gold Leaf goes back to the 16th century and the city now produces 99% of the gold leaf in Japan. The city attributes its mastery of gold leaf production to both craftsmanship handed down over generations as well as to the water in the area. We really weren't going to order gold leaf covered ice cream cones. But gold leaf covered sashimi; for less than a dollar upcharge? Count me in.

While it didn't add any additional flavor; it did give the dish a bit of "bling" don't you think? We couldn't help but laugh......

Jimonotei
Inside Omi-cho Market

After the nice lunch, we walked back to the Kanazawa Station Area. The Hotel Nikko is right across the street from the station. We checked in and it was nap time.

And tonight....well dinner awaited!

Trying to Beat the Heat - A Revisit to La Miche Kabobgee

**** Sadly, La Miche has closed

Good lord; triple digit temperatures. Just getting into the "100's" in Bay Park is bad enough....but at the end of October? What the heck is going on this year?

So, instead of doing a post on Pho and Bun Bo Hue; I thought I'd spare you and do a quick post on tonight's dinner. the mezze at La Miche is a favorite during hot weather and tonight was no different. We had the usual.

Baba Gannoush.

During our earliest visits, the Missus didn't care for the version. But over the years, She has grown a bit fond of it. Less smoky flavors, very smooth, a good amount of sesame paste. The pomegranate seeds add a nice tangy contrast.

Of course we got the Muhamarah.

Wonderful sweetness from the red pepper, nutty-earthy flavors from the walnut, slight tanginess from the pomegranate. Thickened with bread.....eaten with bread.

The Missus especially enjoyed this mixed with something new we tried. The Mujaddara.

A filling lentil and rice dish. Loved the fried onions.

And of course; the funky-salty-cheesy Shaankleesh.

I really like this dish.

So there you have it; a very satisfying meal, almost vegetarian, and just what we needed tonight.

La Miche Kabobgee
9350 Clairemont Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92123

What did you eat to beat the heat?

Reykjavik - Aurora Reykjavik and Dinner at Matur Og Drykkur

It was serendipity that brought us to Iceland. Well, perhaps to be perfectly honest, it was good pricing. In addition to some bargain Business Class tickets, we decided to take advantage of Icelandair's free stopover program. Basically, if you flew out of one of Icelandair's hubs you get up to a seven night extended layover with no additional charge. So, even though it was going to be the "off season", we thought it would be fun spending a few nights in Iceland. Which is how we ended up flying out of Seattle almost a year ago. We got into Reykjavik in the late afternoon; got our rental car and found our apartment; which was centrally located, spacious, and quite comfortable. By the time we settled in and headed off to dinner; it was pitch dark. And while we both knew that the chances of us seeing the "Northern Lights" on the nights we were to be in Iceland was basically nil because of the weather forecast.....overcast and rainy. When we ran early for dinner; I decided to make a stop at the quaint Aurora Reykjavik - The Northern Lights Center, which was basically right around the corner from our dinner destination.

The place was quaint and the folks very friendly. And we learned all about them Northern Lights.

And even though we didn't see any in person during our trip; we were mesmerized by the presentation in the little theatre.

One of these days!

Aurora Reykjavik
Grandagardur 2
Reykjavik 101, Iceland

Soon enough, it as time for dinner. We headed turned the corner and parked in the lot for the Saga Museum.

No, we weren't visiting the museum as it was already closed.

Rather, we entered the front doors and turned to our left.

After a fairly long day and really wanted some food and drink; which is what Matur Og Drykkur literally means, "food and drink". Matur Og Drykkur is also the name of a classic Icelandic cookbook that was originally published in 1947. The concept at "MOD" is to find classic Icelandic recipes and recreate them with a modern and local twist.

One of the first things I did when we finalized our itinerary was to try and hunt down some restaurants that would serve local specialties. 

 

Along with am a la carte menu; there were three tasting menus on this evening. I chose the Game Menu, while the Missus went with the Seafood Menu.

First off; let me tell you about the wonderful moist and substantial bread and the awesome creamy whey butter.

Whoa, this was some great way to start a meal!

We both started with the Herring, micro potatoes, salted angelica seeds, and mustard.

Very nice, the Angelica Leaves had a nice celery like flavor; very clean. The fish was super fresh, with a nice toothsomeness. The potatoes were lovely and full of flavor.

We both also had Trout smoked in sheep's dung.

Before you freak out; I think this was smoked "over" dried sheep poop. It tasted like a very nice, perfectly smoked, lean fish. Very tender; the horseradish sauce wasn't too pungent and everything went together well.

I also had the Cured Reindeer, Sunchokes, and Bilberry Chutney.

In spite of looks a fairly mild dish overall.

The Missus's Halibut soup was very tasty.

The fish and the mussels were excellent; though I'm still not sold on raisins in soup.

The Goose Heart was delicious; chewy but with a very nice, mildly offal flavor. The smoked buttermilk took this to another level.

As did the peppery watercress, the endive, and slightly floral bay leaf vinaigrette. And yes, those are edible rose petals.

The Missus's Langoustine and cauliflower was also very tasty.

We both really enjoyed the cauliflower with the horseradish sauce. The tarragon added that slight bit of anise-like flavor to add complexity to the dish.

The Missus poached almost all the kale, which was really flavorful from my Starry Ray with Rutabaga and lamb jus.

I thought the lamb jus would really play havoc with the mild flavor of the skate, but this was nicely balanced; slightly rich, the skate cooked perfectly as it just melted in my mouth.

Meanwhile, we both watched the chef break out the torch.

It was for this.

Fish head, something that's treasured in Chinese cuisine. This was so good, the cheek meat buttery, the Missus loves the eyeballs. This was amazing. Though the Missus didn't care for the texture of the tongue, which was fried with almost a tempura like batter. Part of the tongue has a jelly-mushy texture that the Missus didn't care for. The other part is a bit tougher. The flavor is a bit more assertive than the cod head.

We were also provided with a very tasty potato salad.

There was a very enjoyable but assertive flavor in the salad and what I initially though was pickled shallot was definitely not. Our really friendly Server told us it was lovage; both the leaves in the salad and the pickled roots.

My main was Seared Mallard, which was surprisingly tender.

Loved the flavor; the wild mushroom sauce really deepened the savory factor in the dish. The Missus loved the beets.

and then dessert of course; the crowberry granite, was refreshing, though very mild, and with a slight bitteness to it.

And this was my first exposure to Skyr which I instantly loved.

I told the friendly Server to bring us just one Cookie to finish because I was stuffed.

I love meals like this. Not only was it delicious and well executed, the service was friendly and laid back. But I also learned quite a bit about some of the local food products....my favorite way, via my tastebuds. It's a meal I'll never forget.

Matur Og Drykkur
Grandagardur 2
Reykjavik 101, Iceland

Sunday Sandwiches - Bistro 24

**** Bistro 24 has closed

Since we moved offices a few weeks ago; I've been trying to find a dependable lunch stop.....it seems the world around here is mostly about sandwiches. And the closest place is located on the first floor of One La Jolla Center, in a glassed off area of the first floor - Bistro 24.

According to Eater, Bistro 24 is a "mini-chain" of eateries which has five existing locations in OC.

There are sandwiches, burgers, salads, and even entrees on the menu. What's quite interesting is that in the short while wince we've moved up here, the menu has changed a couple of times.

Take the Steak Sandwich for example.

On my first visit; this was a short steak sandwich. It was nicely browned though a bit over-cooked and on the tough and stringy side. nice flavors though; I enjoyed the pickled onions and while there was a shortage of veggies, the crumbled feta added a nice touch. The roll was decently toasted and crisp. At almost twelve bucks, I'd say this was on the high side pricewise.

I added a pasta salad to make it a combo; which was dry and pretty bland, like stuff form the supermarket salad bar.

A couple of visits later I noticed that it had changed on the menu. So this is what it looks like now.

It has "graduated" to become a short rib sandwich on a very nice buttermilk bun. The roll really didn't hold up well on the short walk back to the office. The short ribs had quite a nice beefy flavor, but was dry and stringy. The melted gruyere was ncie as it added a light milky-saltiness to the sandwich. I would have appreciated something to cut the richness of the sandwich.

The potato salad suffered from mayo overload.

For my third visit; I went with the Green Chili Chicken ($8.45) and some fries (with a drink, and $3.45 upcharge).

In terms of overall flavor, this as decent, a slight bit of heat, nice acid from the semi-roasted tomatoes, which I could have done with more of. The aioli, pepper jack cheese, and roasted pasilla peppers gave this sandwich a bit of zip. There's a reason I usually don't order grilled chicken sandwiches; the dryness factor, which unfortunately, was the case here.

The fries were crisp, though on the dry side as well. Very routine.

Service was very courteous and efficient. The vibe and product is very "corporate". The prices on the high side. Not terrible, but every item fell short of enjoyable.

I'll probably get around to the salads and burgers one of these days. After I search around a bit more.

Bistro 24
4655 Executive Drive
San Diego, CA 92121
Hours:
Mon - Fri 7am - 4pm

Hida-Takayama - The Morning Markets, a Walk Around the Old Town, and Ranka Coffee

Hida-Takayama was one of those places that we wished there was bit more time for visiting. While we'd be leaving that day, we decided to get up early to wander around town a bit before all the day trippers arrived.

As I mentioned in my first post, it had snowed just a few days before we'd arrived. So, even though it was spring, the air was quite crisp. And oh so clean and refreshing.

There are two morning markets in Takayama. We headed first to the Miyagawa Market, located along the river in part of the old town. It was still a bit early and the vendors were either just arriving or just getting set-up.

We decided to stroll on over to the Jinya-mae Market, which is located in front of Takayama Jinya.

The historic streets of Takayama look like something out of a movie set during this time of the morning.

Even the more modern shopping areas have something fun to offer....I've mentioned how charmed we were with seeing Sarubobo everywhere around town.

We crossed over the stunningly beautiful Nakanishi Bridge.

To where the Jinya-mae Market is located. While things were just getting started here as well. It seemed that folks were all set-up for the morning and just waiting for customers.

Along with the usual handicrafts and souvenirs, there were some interesting local products available. We found the varieties of miso to be very interesting.

As well as the local produce.

We decided to return to the hotel and grab a quick breakfast. Which was a very simple western style meal.

We got a kick watching the television show....it featured the "Cherry Blossom" craziness and the news crew was filming from Ueno Park which we had just visited a few days prior.

Since our train didn't leave until 11, we decided to check-out, store our luggage at the hotel, and head back out. While our previous morning walk had been in a clockwise direction, we headed out in the opposite direction this time.

And decided to walk through the more modern shopping street this time. We stopped in at one of the grocers to have a look around.

Boxed Hobamiso ready to take home.

The produce in Japan always looks so beautiful......

One of the souvenir stores was open and we did some browsing. We both got a kick out of the Sarubobo "photo spot".....they wanted you to take photos here!

It was such a nice morning for a walk....though I don't think this pooch agreed.

And then back on over to the market......

The Missus suddenly remembered that She needed to purchase chopsticks for some coworkers. So we headed on over to Sanmachi Suji one of the historic streets in Takayama.

There was a chopstick shop we had seen the previous day. The shop wasn't open yet, but there was a coffee shop across the street, so we decided to get a little caffeine boost.

This was a pretty classy looking coffee shop.

And the prices were no joke, either.

We were in such a good mood that we decided on splurging a bit and getting that ten-dollar cup of coffee. Which was really smooth. We were instructed to have a walnut with the coffee which really changed the flavor of the coffee, bringing out a bit of acid.

It was a nice little break.

Ranka Coffee (藍花珈琲店)
93 Kamisannomachi
Takayama 506-0846, Gifu Prefecture, Japan

We managed to purchase some nice chopsticks for the Missus's friends and visited some of the shops on the street.

I ended up making a couple of purchases for later on and ran into two older women in one of the stores. They were AJA from Torrance and we chatted for a bit while the Missus shopped. They asked us what tour we were on and were quite surprised when I told them that no we weren't on any tour, we don't speak and Japanese, and we just travelled here ourselves.

By now, things were starting to pick up, and the Miyagawa Market was bustling.

It was also time to pick-up our bags and head to the train station.

We'd miss Takayama; but Kanazawa beckoned!