As an architecture student studying abroad in Kyoto, much of my learning happens through traveling to different cities and experiencing spaces firsthand. A weekend trip to Kanazawa became more than just a visit. It became an opportunity to understand how architecture interacts with climate, time, and atmosphere.
Our first day was quiet. After arriving and settling into our Airbnb, the city felt calm and unfamiliar, holding a different rhythm from Kyoto. It was a transition period, allowing me to begin observing the subtle differences in scale, material, and pace that define each place.
The next morning, we visited the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, designed by SANAA. Experiencing the building in person revealed qualities that drawings and photographs cannot fully capture. The circular form and transparent glass walls dissolved clear boundaries between interior and exterior. Instead of presenting itself as an isolated object, the museum felt integrated with the city. Movement through the space was fluid, shaped by curiosity rather than prescribed paths. It challenged my understanding of what a museum could be, not just a container for art, but an extension of the public realm.
From there, we walked toward Kanazawa Castle and Kenrokuen Garden. As we moved through these historic landscapes, snow began to fall. At first it was light, but gradually it transformed the environment. Surfaces softened, edges blurred, and the city became quieter. The snow revealed how architecture and landscape respond to seasonality. Materials carried the weight differently. Spaces felt more enclosed, more intimate.
Later, we visited the Higashi Chaya District, where we stopped for matcha as the snowfall intensified outside. Sitting inside a traditional wooden structure, watching snow accumulate on the street, I became aware of how architecture frames experience. The interior provided warmth and stillness, while maintaining a visual connection to the changing environment.
The following morning, Kanazawa had completely transformed. A heavy snowstorm covered the city, altering how people moved and interacted with space. Walking became slower and more deliberate. The built environment was no longer static; it was actively reshaped by weather.
Before leaving, we spent time exploring vintage clothing stores, spaces that, like the city itself, carried layers of history. Each object reflected another time, another context, reinforcing the idea that the past continues to exist within the present.
The city rewritten overnight. Familiar paths made unfamiliar by snow.
This weekend reinforced something I’ve begun to realize while studying abroad: architecture cannot be fully understood through representation alone. It must be experienced. Weather, movement, material, and atmosphere all shape how space is perceived.
Kanazawa showed me that architecture is not fixed. It changes with season, light, and time. Experiencing the city during snowfall made me more aware of how architecture participates in everyday life, not just as form, but as environment.
Studying abroad continues to teach me to slow down and observe more carefully. These moments of direct experience are reshaping how I think about architecture, not just as something to design, but as something to live within.
Experiences like this remind me why studying abroad is such an important part of architectural education. Being able to see, feel, and move through these spaces has changed my perspective entirely. Visit Temple’s Architecture Program in Japan to learn more about opportunities to study abroad.