Niahak's Place

A little about Shiroyama shrine: It is dedicated to a mountain that is nearby, and is tall enough (3000 meters) that it is usually in the clouds and is covered in snow (the name, Shiroyama, means “White Mountain”). The kami, or spirit, that resides in that mountain is a female spirit that is known as a kami of water, life, and matchmaking (tradition, however, holds that if you want a good relationship with a current partner, you should go separately to prevent the kami from becoming jealous).

This photo set contains pictures from fairly early on in the program – we went to Anamizu, which is along the northern coast (near the edge of the peninsula) and the Hyakumangoku festival sort of took place (iffy weather meant we missed it), but there were still some interesting things around.

The following pictures are mostly from Kenrokuen (a huge garden/park in Kanazawa by Kanazawa Castle), but the first few are from Kanazawa Castle and other places we visited.

Kanazawa Castle is one of the oldest castles in Japan, and only has the gate and a few walls remaining. If you’re interested in more castle pictures, set 6 has Himeji Castle, which has been restored and is considerably larger.

Quick overview and introduction to the KIT/Japan photos.
In the summer of 2005, I was lucky enough to study abroad for 6 weeks at Kanazawa Institute of Technology, which was a great experience. After the 6 weeks were over, I traveled to Kobe, Kyoto, and Tokyo. Most of the pictures here are of Kanazawa and the surrounding area, which seems to be considered sort of a country town (pop. around 500,000), much like my own hometown. Right around the north center of Japan, there’s a small peninsula. Kanazawa is a ways South of that.
This photo set contains pictures of Kanazawa and of Nishikawa Heights, where we stayed for the program.