Kanazawa

Kanazawa needs 2 days: Kenroku-en Garden, considered one of Japan's three most beautiful landscape gardens, and Kanazawa Castle, on one, and the historic samurai (Nagamachi) and geisha (Higashi Chaya) districts, with 19th-century wooden houses, on the other. March-May and October-November bring the mildest weather. It's mid-priced, cheaper than Kyoto for a similar level of historic preservation. It escaped World War II bombing due to its low military value, which let it keep its historic districts intact, and today it's famous for producing over 98% of Japan's gold leaf, visible on sweets, cosmetics and even ice cream topped with edible gold.