Instead of Tokyo: Kanazawa, the Japan of Samurai and Gardens Where Time Slows Down

Tokyo is a metropolis that overwhelms the senses: thirty million inhabitants, trains departing to the second, neighbourhoods that shift personality with every stop. It is a unique but also exhausting experience. If you're looking for the Japan of aesthetics, contemplation and tradition — the Japan of gardens, historic quarters and matcha tea drunk in silence — take the Shinkansen to Kanazawa.

Kanazawa is one of the few Japanese cities that was not bombed during the Second World War, and for this reason it preserves intact historic quarters that elsewhere were rebuilt from scratch. The samurai quarter — Nagamachi — is a succession of rammed-earth walls, wooden gates and hidden gardens where the warriors of the Maeda clan once lived. The Nomura residence is open to visitors and offers a miniature garden of breathtaking perfection.

The Kenroku-en is considered one of the three most beautiful gardens in Japan (alongside the Kairaku-en in Mito and the Koraku-en in Okayama). The name means 'garden of six attributes' — spaciousness, seclusion, artifice, antiquity, flowing water, panoramas — and every season transforms it: cherry blossoms in spring, iris in summer, maples in autumn, snow on the pines protected by yukitsuri (cone-shaped supporting ropes) in winter.

Higashi Chaya is the geisha quarter, with its wooden latticed houses where even today the geiko (as they are called in Kanazawa) entertain guests with music, dance and conversation. Several house-museums can be visited and tea ceremony demonstrations attended. The atmosphere is that of ancient Japan, without the crowds of Gion in Kyoto.

The Omicho Market — the 'belly of Kanazawa' — has been active for three hundred years and offers the freshest fish from the Sea of Japan coast: Kani crabs, sweet amaebi prawns that melt like butter, yellowtail sashimi that dissolves on the tongue. You eat directly at the market counters, with a bowl of rice and miso for a handful of yen.

The 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art is a circular glass building designed by SANAA that has redefined the concept of the museum in Japan: free entry to the public zone, interactive installations (Leandro Erlich's swimming pool is celebrated), and a relationship with the city that makes it a meeting place, not merely a destination.

Kanazawa is reached from Tokyo by Hokuriku Shinkansen in two and a half hours. The Japan Rail Pass covers the journey. The city is compact and best explored on foot or by bicycle. Accommodation ranges from traditional ryokan (with onsen and futon) to modern hotels in the centre. Prices are lower than in Tokyo and Kyoto.