Kanazawa: what to see, where to stay and how to get around

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Kanazawa was the castle town of the Maeda lords of Kaga, the richest domain in Japan after the shogun’s own, assessed at a million koku of rice. The lords spent their wealth on gardens, crafts and Noh theatre rather than war, and because the city was not bombed in the Second World War, its old quarters survived. Half a day; Kenroku-en opens early.

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A short history of Kanazawa

In 1583 Maeda Toshiie entered Kanazawa, and his family ruled the Kaga province from here until 1868. It was the richest domain in Japan after the shoguns themselves, and the Maeda invested their wealth in art, Noh theatre, lacquerware and gold leaf. In their time Kenroku-en garden was laid out, regarded as one of the three most beautiful gardens in Japan. The city was not bombed in the Second World War, so its samurai districts and geisha teahouses were preserved. In 2015 the Shinkansen from Tokyo reached it.

The ten best sights in Kanazawa

1
Tsuzumi-mon
The wooden drum gate of the station
2
Higashi Chaya
The geisha district of 1820
3
Kazuemachi
Teahouses along the Asano river
4
Umenohashi Bridge
A wooden footbridge between the districts
5
Utatsuyama
A hill of temples and iris gardens
6
Kanazawa Castle
The rebuilt turrets of the Maeda lords
7
Gyokusen-inmaru Garden
A castle garden lit at night
8
Kenroku-en
One of the three great gardens of Japan
9
Seisonkaku
A lord’s villa for his mother
10
21st Century Museum
A round glass museum of contemporary art

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What is an audio walk?

Tours in Kanazawa →

A guide in your headphones: open the walk on our site, walk from stop to stop, and at each one your phone tells its story. No guide, no group, and free. This is the first walk in Kanazawa:

Free walking tours in Kanazawa

The garden and the castle

Kenroku-en · One of the three great gardens of Japan, its name meaning the garden that combines six qualities, among them spaciousness and seclusion, artifice and antiquity. Its fountain, built in 1861 and driven only by the pressure of water from a higher pond, is said to be the oldest in Japan. In winter the pines are hung with cone-shaped ropes, yukitsuri, to stop snow breaking their branches.
Seisonkaku · A villa built in 1863 by a Maeda lord for his mother, beside the garden, with rooms painted in ultramarine and a ground-floor corridor with its eaves held up without pillars, so the garden could be seen unbroken.
Kanazawa Castle · The seat of the Maeda, burned many times; its long white turrets were rebuilt in 2001 with traditional joinery and no nails. The roof tiles are made of lead, which, legend says, could be melted into bullets in a siege.
Gyokusen-inmaru Garden · A garden of the castle with a pond and stone walls of many styles, abandoned in the Meiji period and recreated in 2015; it is lit in the evenings.
Noh Museum · The Maeda lords loved Noh so much that they encouraged everyone to learn its chants; it was said that in Kanazawa the songs fall from the sky, because even gardeners in the trees sang them. The museum shows masks and costumes, and visitors may try some on.
21st Century Museum · A round museum of glass opened in 2004 with no front or back, entered from all sides. Its best-known work is Leandro Erlich’s Swimming Pool, where visitors seem to stand underwater beneath a real layer of water.

Geisha and gold leaf

East of the castle, across the Asano river, are the teahouse districts where geisha still perform, and the shops of the gold-leaf beaters: Kanazawa makes almost all of Japan’s gold leaf. Two or three hours; best in the late afternoon.

Omicho Market · The city’s kitchen for about three hundred years, a covered market of around a hundred and seventy stalls of crab, sweet shrimp and nodoguro, the rosy seaperch of the Sea of Japan, with counters that serve it raw over rice.
Kazuemachi · A small row of teahouses along the riverbank, with narrow lanes behind, where in the evening you may hear a shamisen through the wooden lattices.
Umenohashi Bridge · A wooden footbridge over the Asano, on the path named after the novelist Izumi Kyoka, who was born near here in 1873 and set many of his ghostly stories in these streets.
Higashi Chaya · The largest geisha district, laid out in 1820, of two-storey teahouses with fine lattices. One, the Shima, is open as a museum. In the shops, the city’s gold leaf, beaten to a ten-thousandth of a millimetre, is sold on lacquer, cosmetics and even soft ice cream.
Utatsuyama · The hill behind the geisha district, lined with temples placed by the Maeda as a line of defence, with gardens of irises in June and a view over the roofs to the sea.
Tsuzumi-mon · Back at the station, a great wooden gate built in 2005, its twisting pillars shaped like the tsuzumi hand drum of Noh, under a glass dome nicknamed the umbrella of hospitality — because in rainy Kanazawa people say you may forget your lunch box but never your umbrella.

Samurai and ninja temple

West and south of the castle lie the old samurai quarter and, across the Sai river, the temple town and the second geisha district. Two or three hours; book the Myoryu-ji tour ahead.

Oyama Shrine · The shrine of Maeda Toshiie, founder of the domain, built in 1873. Its gate, designed with a Dutch engineer’s help, mixes Japanese, Chinese and European styles and has stained-glass windows at the top, where a lamp once shone as a lighthouse for ships out at sea.
Nagamachi · Lanes of earthen walls and canals where the middle-ranking samurai lived. In winter the walls are covered with straw mats, komo, to protect them from snow and frost.
Nomura Samurai House · A restored samurai house with a small, deep garden of a pond, a waterfall and old trees, squeezed into a narrow plot and seen from the veranda.
Saigawa Bridge · An iron bridge of the 1920s over the Sai river. The poet Muro Saisei, who grew up beside it, took his pen-name from the river.
Nishi Chaya · The western geisha district, smaller and quieter than Higashi, where a few teahouses still train geisha.
Myoryu-ji · Nicknamed the ninja temple, though no ninja ever lived here: it was built as a hidden outpost, at a time when the shogun limited castle building, with many small rooms, false staircases, trapdoors and secret exits. Visits are by guided tour only.

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Getting to Kanazawa and getting around

Kanazawa Station · The shinkansen from Tokyo, about two and a half hours

Cheap eats in Kanazawa

Kanazawa eats the Sea of Japan: kaisendon, a bowl of raw seafood over rice, at the market counters; nodoguro, the rich rosy seaperch, grilled; and in winter kobako crab. Its homely dish is Kanazawa curry, thick and dark, served on a steel plate with a pork cutlet and shredded cabbage and eaten with a fork. A curry costs about seven dollars, a seafood bowl fifteen to thirty.

Omicho Market · Seafood bowls at the counters
Higashi Chaya · Gold-leaf ice cream
Kanazawa Station · Curry shops and sushi

Museums in Kanazawa

Kanazawa’s museums range from contemporary art to Noh masks, Kutani porcelain and a Zen philosopher.

21st Century Museum · The swimming pool
D.T. Suzuki Museum · The man who brought Zen west
Ishikawa Prefectural Art Museum · Kutani porcelain
Ishikawa History Museum · The red-brick warehouses

Nature and day trips near Kanazawa

A city of gardens between two rivers, with snow-hung pines in winter.

Kenroku-en · The great garden
Gyokusen-inmaru Garden · The castle garden
Utatsuyama · Irises and the view

Things to do in Kanazawa with kids

With children: a pool to stand under, a temple of trapdoors, and gold-leaf ice cream.

21st Century Museum · Under the pool
Myoryu-ji · The trick temple
Noh Museum · Try on a mask

Holy places in Kanazawa

Shinto shrines of the Maeda lords and Buddhist temples placed as the city’s defences.

Oyama Shrine · The stained-glass gate
Myoryu-ji · The hidden outpost

Nightlife in Kanazawa

Kanazawa’s nights are the izakaya of Katamachi and Kigura-machi, local sake, and the lit teahouse lanes.

Saigawa Bridge · Katamachi bars nearby
Kazuemachi · Teahouses by night
Gyokusen-inmaru Garden · Evening illumination

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Frequently asked questions about Kanazawa

What is there to see in Kanazawa?

The top sights in Kanazawa are Tsuzumi-mon, Higashi Chaya and Kazuemachi. The full list on this page has 10 sights, each with a photo and a short note.

How many days do you need in Kanazawa?

Three to four days are enough to see the best of Kanazawa without rushing, including at least one walking tour.

Is there a free walking tour in Kanazawa?

Yes. sleepntrip has 3 free audio walks in Kanazawa, with no guide and no group: your phone tells the story at every stop. The first one: The garden and the castle.

How do you get to Kanazawa and get around?

The main ways are Kanazawa Station. Full details are in the transport section on this page.

Where to stay in Kanazawa, and for how much?

sleepntrip shows only rooms in Kanazawa that meet nine conditions: a good location, high guest scores, cleanliness, and a price of up to $80 a night for two. Pick your dates and see what is free.

Looking for a hotel in Kanazawa for your dates?

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