One of my favorite stops on the J-land circuit is Kanazawa. Located due west of Tokyo on the Sea of Japan, Kanazawa always offers calm and repose to one wearied by the throngs and choreographed stampedes of Tokyo. The town of just over 450,000 inhabitants boasts one of Japan's finest gardens (Kenrokuen), a new museum of modern art, and the famous Higashiyama area, known for teahouses, folk crafts and high-end gifts made of gold from the area.
As I wound up my stay in Japan recently, I headed to the Sabô Isshô teahouse 茶房一笑, one of my favorite spots in Kanazawa's Higashiyama Chayagai (Highashiyama District Tea Avenue). Named for local poet Kosugi Isshô (1653-88), Sabô has become a favorite of mine for its tranquility, as well as for its Bocha, a specialty of the area. Tea in Japan is usually served with something mildly sweet, like the green adzuki bean confection pictured on the lower left of the tray below. The sweets are actually more appealing to me than the tea--although it's easy to see why the sometimes-bitter teas would be served with something soft and slightly sweet, so they make a good combo.
To be honest, I don't really know (or care) enough to discuss the subtleties of tea, nor am I likely to ever learn much about it. The thing is, the tea's great and all, but the ambiance of these places is what's really worth the price. The aged wood ceiling beams, unassuming garden courtyards, and peace of Highashiyama tea shops are a nice change of pace from the fluorescent lights, ubiquitous power lines and scurrying crowds that typify some public spaces around here. Unlike Kyoto and other tourist Meccas, Higashiyama is rarely crowed. I had thought this trip might be different, what with a popular festival taking place in the area, but nope. As you can tell from the picture, the streets were mostly empty.
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