Three days in Kanazawa with no plan
I booked the trip two days before leaving, which is unlike me, and arrived with a list of four things and a general willingness to abandon all of them. It rained for most of the second day. That turned out to be the best part.
Day one — wandering the wrong way
I walked out of the station in the wrong direction and ended up in a residential grid of narrow streets with drainage channels on both sides. Nothing to see, which was the point. A woman was drying fish on a rack outside her door and did not look up. I bought a rice ball from a shop with no sign and ate it standing in an alley, and it was better than most of what I ate afterwards.
Day two — the garden in the rain
Kenrokuen in the rain is quiet in a way I did not expect. Fewer people, darker greens, the pines looking black instead of green. There is a tea house near the water and I sat in it for an hour doing nothing with a bowl of matcha and a sweet that was too sweet, which I think is the intended experience.
Then I went to the market and ate too much. The crab was worth it. The sea urchin was fine and I understand now that I just do not like it very much, which is a liberty I did not feel able to take at home.
Day three — the gold leaf and the noodle shop
Every guide says the same thing about the gold leaf district, and it is right: it is small, it is a bit touristy, and it is still pleasant for an hour. I bought nothing. Then I found a standing noodle shop with six seats and a cook who shouted at the regulars in a friendly way, and had the best thing I ate on the trip for the price of a coffee back home.
My advice, unsolicited: pick two things a day, not five. Leave the afternoon open. The rain is not a problem.