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Kanazawa escaped bombing during World War II and so has been able to preserve some of its traditional inner-city areas. Directly behind Korinbo, the Nagamachi quarter has a few twisting cobbled streets of samurai houses, protected by thick yellow and grey earthen walls, topped with ceramic tiles. It's an evocative area to wander around, although the graffiti scratched into the walls is somewhat distracting. Inside one of the old wooden houses is the kaga-yuzen (silk-dyeing) workshop Saihitsu-an (daily except Thurs 9-11.45am & 1-4.30pm; Y500), where a short lecture and demonstration in Japanese is given on this painstaking, highly detailed process of dyeing silk for kimono, and then you can wander around the house and see some of the artists at work behind a glass screen. A ten-minute walk south of Nagamachi flows the Sai-gawa, on the other side of which is Teramachi (Temple Town), an area of narrow streets and several temples. Religious buildings were often grouped together at the entrance to a city in an attempt to deter enemies, a defensive role that is clearly apparent at the unique Myoryu-ji , also known as Ninja-dera (daily: March-Nov 9am-4.30pm; Jan, Feb & Dec 9am-5.30pm; Y700), five minutes' walk south of the river. The temple, completed in 1643 and belonging to the Nichiren sect of Buddhism, is associated with the Ninja assassins because of its many secret passages, trick doors and concealed chambers, including a lookout tower that once commanded a sweeping view of the surrounding mountains and coast. To see around the temple you must reserve a place on one of several daily tours (call 0762/41-2877), conducted in Japanese but pretty self-explanatory.
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