The first thing that stands out about Kanazawa is how clean and well-ordered a city it is. Not only does homelessness appear to be non-existent, but there is no litter to speak of and the train stations, parks and even public bathrooms are almost immaculately clean. Which gives us great confidence as we eat our first meal, a sashimi breakfast at a hole in the wall in the Omicho Market where customers tape their orders to the front window and wait for one of the dozen seats at the counter.

We were joined by this family, whose son was more focused on staring down the raw shrimp than eating them.

Fortified, we spend the day walking through the Kanazawa Castle and Kenrokuen Garden, where tree branches are meticulously supported to promote horizontal growth, and the downtown shopping district, where we happened upon an amateur (!) acappella festival, an Octoberfest in boisterous full swing (evidently getting a jump on it with the August date), and a hedgehog cafe. Yep, hedgehogs and coffee.

Setting off on our bikes, we find great infrastructure and a gorgeous seaside path that takes us into the countryside of the Noto Peninsula.