Visited a neighborhood where several Samurai used to live, and went inside one house. After that we headed over to 兼六園 (Kenroku-en), a huge garden continuously maintained near Kanazawa Castle since the 17th century. I am so glad to have experienced this with HRT in my system... on a spring day, with parents I had previously assumed would reject my transition. I can't quite adequately describe the beauty of this experience.
After lunch in the town's market area we went to Higashi Chaya, the Geisha counterpart to a Samurai neighborhood.
We went inside Shima Teahouse which has a well preserved 200 year old interior.
My first trip to Japan was 1969 and I have been here many times but this is the first time I've rented a car. Trains are normally the best way to get around, but a few rural areas are out of reach by train. We drove all the way around the Noto Peninsula - a combination of great ocean scenery and meticulously maintained fishing villages.
The following day we took the Shinkansen train from Kanazawa to Hakodate, on Japan's northern island where my mother was born. I had made the trip by ferry in the 1970s. For this trip we took a tunnel under the ocean. 15 miles (23km) of this train route is 800 feet (250m) below the ocean's surface.
In Hakodate I experienced two great things I had never imagined before coming out. Last night my mom and I went to a public women's-only hot springs bath. She was planning go and was surprised when I said I'd go too. Once there, everything felt normal and right. Thanks to many hours of electrolysis, GCS, and increasing effects of HRT I blended in just fine.
This morning my dad said "we should have had a daughter sooner." I had to look away so they wouldn't see me quietly cry with happiness in a restaurant. Moments I'll remember.
