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Like several other historic cities on the Japan Sea coast,
KANAZAWA
, the modern, refined capital of Ishikawa-ken, south of Toyama-ken, has become something of a backwater. Only 150 years ago, this old castle town was the fourth largest city in Japan, with a sophisticated population whose riches rested on the area's abundant production of rice and long periods of peace. Today, despite being a sprawling city with artistic pretensions, its main attraction is the lovely
Kenroku-en
, one of Japan's top three gardens, within which you'll find the elegant Seison-kaku villa. The city also has many museums, a compact area of
samurai
houses and the fascinating "Ninja" temple
Myoryu-ji
. There's also a conscious effort made to make
gaijin
welcome, demonstrated by Kanazawa's many international centres.
Kanazawa's history stretches back over seven hundred years to when the region was known as Kaga, a name which is still applied to the city's exquisite crafts, such as silk-dyeing and lacquerware, and its delicately prepared cuisine. The city's heyday was a golden century from 1488, when the ruling Togashi family was overthrown by a collective of farmers and Buddhist monks, and Kanazawa became Japan's only independent Buddhist state. Even though autonomy ended in 1583, when the
daimyo
Maeda Toshiie was installed as ruler by the warlord Oda Nobunaga who unified Japan, Kanazawa (which means "golden marsh") continued to thrive as the nation's richest province, churning out five million bushels of rice a year.
You'll still see plenty of rice growing on the way out to the
Noto Hanto
, a rural peninsula north of Kanazawa, and a great place to kick back in a charming fishing village and enjoy a slower pace of life. Also possible as a long day-trip south of Kanazawa, in the hills of Fukui-ken, is
Eihei-ji
, one of the Japan's most atmospheric temples, surrounded by forests and still an active monastery. You can also stay in the temple overnight and experience part of the monks' daily routine.
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