Kanazawa was a pleasant surprise for us after the intensity of Tokyo. The city is graced with many canals, and the sound of running water is never far away. The Kenrokuen gardens in Kanazawa are renowned in Japan but not so well-known to foreigners, possibly because Kanazawa is quite a long way away from the tourist trail. On the day we visited the sky was a perfect blue, the leaves were just starting to turn and the atmosphere was great. Seriously, it would be almost impossible to take a bad photograph at this place!