Food memories from two train journeys to Kanazawa
A train to Kanazawa, then seafood, sushi and something sweet. Haruru's accounts from 2016 and 2022 remember different meals in the same city, from her first taste of nodokuro sashimi to a very satisfying seafood bowl at Omicho Market.
Two separate personal journeys, shared in June 2016 and July 2022.
Setting off in 2016, with lilies in bloom
The departure-day account in June 2016 begins with pink lilies. Many flowers had opened and buds were still waiting; Haruru hoped she could enjoy them for a long time.
She was setting off that day for one night and two days in Kanazawa on the Hokuriku Shinkansen. The flowers and the coming trip shared the same small note of anticipation.
Her first nodokuro sashimi and the meals of 2016
The grilled mackerel sushi she ate on the train was rich and particularly delicious to her. In Kanazawa, she tried nodokuro sashimi for the first time. Its flavour reminded her of fatty tuna, and she wondered if she liked it even more.
White shrimp tempura and the firm texture of baigai sea snails also stayed in her memory. She enjoyed the soft pufferfish milt tempura and beef steak cooked on a hot stone. A single collage brings together the different dishes, recording a trip with both seafood and meat on the table.
The seafood bowl on that journey was less to her taste. She was still looking forward to the following day, when she hoped to enjoy Japanese sweets in Higashi Chaya.
Omicho seafood bowls and strawberry-milk ice in 2022
The overnight journey in 2022 again began with a train to Kanazawa. Her photo shows Kagayaki on the destination display. The morning mackerel sushi was less to her taste, and she left some of it. Its box carries the name 日本ばし大増 and the product name 金華さば棒寿司. The seafood bowl after arriving, however, made her very happy.
She went straight to Omicho Market. The food photos show a large seafood bowl with shellfish, shrimp and crab legs, as well as another bowl with sea urchin and fish roe. The entrance of 近江町市場寿し appears among the pictures of this market stop.
Haruru loves shaved ice, and chose strawberry milk next. The shop signs carry the name すゞめ, with いちごみるく on the shaved-ice poster. Her photo shows white ice with pale pink strawberry colour. She enjoyed it more than its first appearance had led her to expect.
After the bowls and shaved ice, she was still far from hungry. She was already thinking about where to go for the evening meal.
More meals to remember, then the train home
Her account the following day brings together nigiri sushi, grilled fish, a dish served in a crab shell, fried food and a plate of noodles. The curtain and entrance of 寿しと手造り料理 長八, with CHO-HACHI on its sign, are part of the journey's photos too.
There is another shaved ice in green and white, accompanied by small square sweets dusted with powder. It is a different sweet memory from the earlier strawberry milk. Between the food pictures, a stone wall and white-walled gate appear beneath leafy trees.
Apart from the first mackerel sushi, Haruru felt that the journey had been full of delicious food. The weather had been comfortable for her, without feeling too hot. Waiting for the train home, she was already wondering where to go next after a very satisfying overnight trip.
Sources for this account
Haruru's separate personal accounts shared in 2016 and 2022, edited and shared with her permission.