Kanazawa

Kanazawa escaped the bombing of the war, so its samurai lanes and teahouse streets are still made of wood and earth. In winter the pines in Kenroku-en wear rope supports against the snow, like tents.

This is a craft city. You can watch gold beaten thinner than a petal, sit with a lacquer artist, or eat crab that came off a boat at Kanazawa Port that morning.

It is close enough to Kyoto by train to pair with it, and different enough to feel like a second country.