Living & Working in Ishikawa, Japan
The “2011 Flowers and Greenery: Nonoichi Camellia Festival ” (花と緑ののいち椿まつり2011) welcomes the spring by celebrating the end of tsubaki season.
The festival will be held on Sat., 19 March 2011, from 9:00-17:00, and Sun., 20 March 2011, from 9:00-16:00 at Forte (フォルテ).
I attended this festival last year, and it has a great atmosphere. There’s a variety of delicious foods–homemade jams, sekihan, camellia manju. The ikebana (生け花) exhibit showed a variety of gorgeous and creative arrangements that showed the dynamic range of the camellia. I participated in the origami activities, too, and made some decorations for my rather spare apartment.
If you come out to Nonoichi, you can also go to JoAnn Bakery, the Nonoichi BookOff, Second Street, Noppo-kun, and a variety of boutiques, so make a day of it and celebrate the end of winter!
Access
Regardless of how long you’ve been here, you’re always looking for ways of getting rid of things and adding things to your home. Sometimes it takes a long time to find the good places to find affordable items – from household needs and furniture to media and entertainment. With winter coming on, most people get a really strong nesting urge, because you start spending a whole lot more time in your house. Even if you are leaving at the end of your current contract, unsure how long you’ll be here, or staying for the long run – the winter lulls can be helped by a nice, welcoming, uncluttered home.
So here are some places to supplement your needs.
Getting rid of and finding stuff from the people you know!
The JET forum For Sale/Wanted Section
When you want to give folks a chance to buy your unwanted items – this is a good way to give those useable things a new home! Likewise, if you are looking for something, post your need and someone who may happen to just have that lying around can fulfill your need.
Here is our original post about what to do and guidelines for posting. Please read it before posting. There are items up now, take a look! Any thread on the forum that is locked is an old posting and the item has sold or the person has had found the item they needed.
Nonoichi
Nonoichi is *the place* for making your home a little lighter and brighter. Between the slew of affordable homestores, media stores, and recycle shops (the nomer for second-hand stores here in Japan), even from the Noto it can be your best bet for good items.
One of our former contributors also highlighted some of the more fun uber-boutiques to go to! http://ishikawajet.wordpress.com/2009/03/23/get-your-shop-on/
Here are the big ones to note!
We’ve all got these nearby, but the stock at each store has a lot of to do with the socio-economic demographic that the store is located in. I’ve got a bit of cheapskate streak and have been known to go to various locations all over Ishikawa just to see what I can find, so I have noticed that quality varies between the locations greatly. If your Second Street is located in an area filled with established families, you’re going to find a lot of higher end items – maybe some really great unidentified antiques to take back home when you leave Japan (which I’ve done!). If you are near one of the universities, you’re going to find some wacky décor items and a lot of cheap, ready-to-carry house items, clothes and shoes.
The two locations that I have found most of the larger items in my house are the Nonoichi and Kencho locations. Keep in mind, the closer you are to the location, the lower the delivery charge is for items larger than you are able to transport. If you live in the Noto and buy something large from the two following locations, it will be a lot more than buying from the Hakui Second Street.
In Nonoichi: 石川県石川郡野々市町本町６丁目２１−２１ 076-294-1622 (Google Map link)
Near the Kencho: 石川県金沢市戸水２丁目６４ 076-267-5070 (Google map link)
Something to keep in mind if you are trying to get rid of things from your house: you can take these (cleaned) items to Second Street and sell them. The staff will go through everything and ask you to wait in the store. If they are unable to take any of the items you’ve brought in, they will give them back to you. For large items, you can schedule a day for a staff member to come to your home and look at the items, and they will take what they think they can sell.
When getting rid of usable items, I would use Second Street as a last resort, because you will not get a lot of money for the items you are selling. It’s better to try the forum and people around you first.
http://www.mandaishoten.com/modules/contents9/
Wonderful Store of Wonderfulness
Located on Route 8, across from Nonoichi SATY is a place, when we didn’t know what it was really called, we referred to as ‘The Wonderful Store of Wonderfulness.” This place is not so much on the home furnishings, but where you go for the things to put in that new bookshelf, TV cabinet and wardrobe you just found for cheap on the forum. They have every gaming system ever created for sale, games, game guides, new and used CDs and DVDs, new and used manga and books, musical instruments, clothes, shoes, sporting goods (I got a pristine Burton snowboard there for 6000 yen, for example), toys, pop-culture goods, posters, gaming cards, some electronics, phones, crane games (UFO), and a other random finds! (Google map link)
Nitori
Nitori is where you go to buy new furniture, from the inexpensive to the really nice amazing couch that everyone vies for sitting rights on when they come to your place. They pretty much have everything you need for your house. Right now they also have Christmas decorations, a huge selection of kotatsus, and clearance items!
http://www.nitori.co.jp/en/index.html (yay! English!)
Ishikawa locations: http://www.nitori.co.jp/en/shop/hokuriku/index.html#ishikawa
Other ideas for your home: Ikea
No, unfortunately there is not an Ikea location in Kanazawa (though, there bloody well should be!!!). The nearest and easiest location to get to is Amagasaki (Osaka). It makes for a great road trip to Osaka if you haven’t been yet and is pretty much exactly like every other Ikea in the world. Ikea will help you set up delivery to Ishikawa for large furniture items. The floor staff isn’t as knowledgeable about the options as the shipping staff you talk to after the cash register.
If you cannot get to Osaka yourself, there is this option through the Yoyo Market personal shopper: http://www.yoyomarket.jp/Articles.asp?ID=151
If you have any other ideas for making your home a little more home-like, please post them in the comments!
-t
Looking for a great place to chill out? Virginia, a 2nd year JET in the Noto, wrote this awesome guest post about a beloved-gelato joint up in the Noto (and also in Nonoichi — the town right next to Kanazawa and Matto!) By coincidence I just went to the Nonoichi location, and the gelato is delicious.
Photo: Virginia Middleton
Sitting here in the sweltering school staffroom during summer vacation got me thinking how nice a Gelato would be right now… especially one of the delicious flavours from ‘the Gelato place’ in Noto Cho.
Last year (my first year) I was taken to Malga Gelato by the current JETs and enjoyed the Cream Cheese and Roasted Almond flavours – both were to die for!!! Personally I didn’t enjoy the Salt or Ginger flavours but I know they are a big hit with other Noto JETs!! This weekend I am going back and this time I hope to try both Pumpkin and Edamame!
Malga Gelato (or the shop more commonly known as ‘the Gelato place’ serves all the usual suspects ( strawberry, orange, blueberry,mango, rum and raison, banana, matcha, peach, chocolate, vanilla and caramel) but it is more famous for the not-so-usual flavours it creates.
Photo: Malga Gelato
Staple Flavours (served all year round)
natural salt, pumpkin, cream cheese, ishiri (fish sauce), sweet potato, black sesame, roasted almonds
Seasonal flavours (not served all year)
Kanazawa watermelon, pistachio, edamame, soy milk, cider, black sesame and red wine, sake, Kaga cucumber and apple, honey, Kanazawa pear, ginger, champagne (made with Spumante), Kaga tea, Kaga plum wine, miso, brown sugar, soybean
Single scoop (cup or cone): 300円
Double: 420円 (including tax)
…but why stop there when you can upgrade to the Gelato box for 1050円 or one-step further to the take-home packs of either 8 (3200円) or 12 (4400 円) small punnets?
Photo: Malga Gelato
The store provides a dry ice service which will keep your Gelato frozen for at least 2 hours. They can also organise shipping of their products anywhere within Japan (for an extra fee of course).
They also serve soft crème, crepes, fresh cheeses and coffee and the shop also runs Gelato-making sessions in Kanazawa from time-to-time so if you’re interested, ask the staff for more information.
Noto (Main Store)
Open: 10:00 ~ 18:00. March – October daily. November – February closted Thursdays.
Address: 石川県鳳珠郡能登町字瑞穂163-1 (tip: copy/paste into Google Maps to see where this is)
On-site parking available.
Phone/Fax number: 0768-67-1003
Nonoichi Location (same products, but slightly more expensive).
Open: November to February 11:00 ~ 19:00, March to October 11:00 ~ 20:00.
Address: 石川県石川郡野々市町野代1-20-101 Take the 40, 41, or Terai Public Office bus to the “Inari” bus stop. (370 yen from Kanazawa Train Station). If you’re coming from Kanazawa, cross the street and walk about in the direction the bus just came from. Cross the street at the pedestrian crosslight (you’ll end up under a tall building that says “Takai” on it). Turn left and walk for about 10 minutes (7 blocks or so). (After you pass an elementary school field you’ll see a small shopping center on the right.) The gelato shop is in the shopping center!
(You can see the Nonoichi location on the Ishikawa Google Map — anyone can add to this map. Use Ctrl + F to search for text on the page for text, such as “Malga Gelato” and see where it is in relation to other things that Ishikawa JETs have put on the page!)
Phone/Fax Number: 076-246-5580
Website: http://malgagelato.petit.cc/
So, the next time you’re in the Noto (or Nonoichi) drop in and say hi, and check out one of Malga Gelato’s delicious gelato flavours! You’re sure to be refreshed and your taste buds, tantalised!!
Too many plates of curry rice and katsu left you feeling a little icky and/or like a deep fried hunk of goo?
*nodding my own head*
Alright, then why not head down to Nonoichi’s one and only Noppokun for a dose of the best tasting health food this side of the Mississippi? Why not indeed.
Noppokun is an organic grocery and fair trade store with a cozy cafe upstairs that serves yummy doses of goodness. After you browse through the real samples of dishes on display, grab one of the small baskets and place the colored balls in front of said samples in your basket. Rice, soup, and dessert are tiny cards (rice comes with free second helpings!). Choose your drink from the menu at the register, hand over your basket, give the nice lady your money, and then have a look around at all the cool fair trade stuff while waiting for your food which will look something like this:
Here we have some kind of potato salad, a veggie burger, greens, and the best brown rice ever (really). This is the kind of food that will remind you of what real food tastes like. Slow down and savor it.
-Dena
To get to Noppokun from Kanazawa, take the 40, 41, or Terai Public Office bus from Kanazawa station. Get off at 野々市中央 (Nonoichishi-chuuou), the stop in front of V10. (Edited to add: V10 is a gym/health club. It’s big and grey.) Turn right on the corner where V10 is and walk down about two blocks where you’ll see a strip of two story shops on the right. Noppokun is about 5 shops down. By car, take the 157 and turn left at the V10 corner. There’s parking available behind Noppokun by the library.
Hours: Cafe: 10:00-19:00; lunch: 11:30-14:30
Closed Mondays.
921-8815 石川県石川郡野々市町本町2-1-24
921-8815 Ishikawa-ken Ishikawa-gun Nonoichi-machi Honmachi 2-1-24
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