The capital of Ishikawa Prefecture greeted me like it does most travelers: with a downpour. The train's rain-streaked windows blurred my first views of a city in a storybook setting. Kanazawa averages 178 soggy days a year, so it's fitting that the station's glass dome fans out like an umbrella.
A northern spur on Japan's Tokyo-Kyoto tourism axis, Kanazawa's geisha districts, samurai houses, manicured gardens, castle park and "Ninja Temple" are worth going out of your way.
I checked into a hotel near Hyakumangoku-dori, the artery slicing through the neon of Korinbo and Katamachi districts. These areas boast the most extensive dining, shopping and entertainment options in Hokuriku, which comprises Ishikawa, Toyama and Fukui Prefectures, even though they are rather tame compared to parts of Tokyo.