076-172-3315

One of the most convenient ways to see Kanazawa is by using the Hokutetsu company, Kanazawa Loop Buses. It runs daily every 15 minutes from 08:30 - 18:00; the orange route goes clockwise, and the green route goes counter-clockwise around the city. They both depart from the Kanazawa Station, East Gate Bus Terminal, Bus Stop "#7".

Hokutetsu bus fares are JPY200 per ride, but you can purchase a One-Day Pass for hop-on hop-off privileges on the Loop Buses for JPY500, in advance, at their office at the Bus Terminal.

You can certainly drive around this route yourself, but you will then have to contend with finding convenient parking and usually paying for it. For a group of only 1-2 people it is probably easier and less expensive to take the Loop Bus.

Operates daily 08:38 - 18:05 from Bus Stop #7.

076-172-3315

076-231-7210

076-221-3553

The Nomura Family Samurai Residence is the restored residence of the Nomura family which held high-level posts in the Kaga clan. It is the only samurai house open to the public. There is a room with a raised floor, a coffered ceiling made entirely out of Japanese cypress, and stained glass-fitted paper sliding doors. You can also enjoy fusuma-e (paintings on sliding-door panels) of landscapes by Senkei Sasaki, the greatest painter of the Kano school. You can also take a look at the garden which has a Japanese Bayberry tree and Shiinoki tree, both over 400 years old.
Courtesy of Association for the Protection and Care of the Nagamachi Samurai Residences District.

Open Daily 08:30 – 16:30

076-172-3315

According to one theory, Naga-machi is said to have been named after the former resident Choshi (whose name contains the kanji character “Naga” ), an elite council member of in the feudal period whose descendants remained here for generations. The Nagayamon (row house gates ) of the Ohya and Araie residences remind us of the vassals’ glory days to this day. The inner grounds are closed to the public since people still live here, but you can nonetheless admire the artisanal skill that went into the Tomuro stones stacked in the kikozumi method, the bay window-styled musha-mado (lattice windows of a samurai house), and the copper sheets on the dashi-geta ( protruding beam ).

Samurai houses of various sizes depending on their class or kokudata (stipend) lined the streets of Nagamachi during the feudal period. A living space of 160 to 170 tsubo (a tsubo is roughly 3.3 sq m or 35.5 sq ft, equivalent to the area of two tatami mats) was allotted for every 100 koku (a unit of volume, about 180 litres/48 gallons/5 bushels) provided as a stipend. The average living space of a Heishi ( middle class samurai ) was about 236 tsubo (780 sq m or 8,396 sq ft, or 470 tatami mats).

The earthen walls used to be made by pounding and hardening the mud with a pestle layer by layer in the same way as the Tsuiji-bei (roofed mud wall). However, they are now built by first putting up boards all around. Then the surface is coated with mud and hardened. Unlike those in Kyoto and Nara, the mud walls of Naga-machi aren’t so high, giving visitors a feeling of openness and warmth. You can enjoy the charms of each season by looking over the walls and enjoying the trees and their beautiful branches.

The Nomura Family Samurai Residence is open to the public daily from 08:00 - 17:30.
Courtesy of Association for the Protection and Care of the Nagamachi Samurai Residences District.

Open daily 24/7

076-233-1561

The Maeda Tosanokami-ke Shiryokan Museum preserves and displays approximately 9,000 historical articles, including around 6,000 pieces of ancient writings, along with armor, weaponry, arts and calligraphy handed down through the generations in the Maeda Tosanokami family.

These articles have been thoroughly preserved through the generations, and little has been lost or destroyed. Many of these pieces are preserved in good condition, with the majority of the items being ancient writings collected from the Warring States (Sengoku) period (1467-1615) through the Meiji period (1868-1912). The museum introduces the history of the Maeda Tosanokami family and the world of the upper-class Kaga Clan samurai through exhibitions, rearranged four times a year, showcasing around 80 items each.
Courtesy of Maeda Tosanokami-ke Shiryokan Museum

Open Daily 09:30 - 17:00

076-247-8110

The Nishi Chaya Shiryokan Museum is located in an old chaya house at the end of the block-long Nichi Chaya District. It is the only building in the Nishi Chaya District that is open to the public. It is next door to the blue, Western-style building that houses the Nishi Chaya District geisha association office.

Open Daily 09:30 – 17:00

076-241-0888

Myouryuji Temple, commonly known as Ninjadera ("Ninja Temple"), was built by the Maeda lords, rulers over the region during the Edo Period. While not actually associated with ninja, the temple earned its nickname because of its many deceptive defenses.

Since the shogun imposed strict building restrictions as one way of weakening his regional lords, Myoryuji was designed to circumvent the restrictions and serve as a disguised military outpost. It was built with considerable defenses and escape routes, so that its defenders could alert the castle in the event of an attack.

The temple's defenses aimed to guard against intruders or attack, and include hidden tunnels, secret rooms, traps, and a labyrinth of corridors and staircases. These can be viewed by guided tour (reservations recommended) held in Japanese, although good English guidebooks are available.

Myoryuji is located in the Teramachi District in the south of the city. Populated by numerous temples, this area was originally located outside of the city limits as were the entertainment districts.
Courtesy of Japan-Guide.com

Open Daily 09:00 - 16:00. Reservations strongly recommended.
Tours run every hour on weekdays; every 1/2 hour on weekends.
Reservations by phone only, even on day of arrival, if space is available.
Please arrive at least 10 minutes prior to tour start time.

076-220-2800

The 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art was designed by Japanese architects Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa of the architectural office SANAA in 2004. In October 2005, one year after its opening, the Museum marked 1,570,000 visitors. The museum's collection is focused on works produced since 1980 that "propose new values". Artists in the collection are encouraged to produce site-specific installations that become "closely associated with the Kanazawa area".
Courtesy of Wikipedia

Open daily 10:00 - 18:00. Closed Mondays.

076-234-3800

Kenroku-en is one of Japan's "Three Most Beautiful Gardens." It is a beautiful Japanese garden with an area of 11.4 hectares/28 acres located on the heights of the central part of Kanazawa and next to Kanazawa Castle. The Maeda family, who ruled the Kaga Clan (the present Ishikawa and Toyama areas) in feudal times, maintained the garden from generation to generation. From its scale and beauty, it is regarded as one of the most beautiful feudal lords' gardens in Japan. Kenrokuen, which means "having six factors", was given the name because of the six attributes that bring out the perfect landscape of the garden: spaciousness, tranquility, artifice, antiquity, water cources, and magnificent view from the garden.

Kenrokuen Garden has a big artificial pond, and hills and houses are dotted in the garden. The big pond called "Kasumigaike" was compared to an open sea, and an island, on which an ageless hermit with miraculous power was believed to live, was constructed in the pond in hope of the long life and eternal prosperity of the lord. There is a stone lantern designed in the image of the Japanese koto (harp) by the pond, which has become the symbol of Kenrokuen Garden. There is a fountain created using the natural pressure of water flowing from the higher pond. Visitors can enjoy the beauty of the flowers and trees, such as plum and cherry blossoms in spring, azaleas and irises early in summer, and colorful red and yellow leaves in autumn.
Courtesy of Kanazawa City Tourism Assn.

Open daily 08:00 - 17:00

076-234-3800

Kanzawa Castle, a National Historic Site, was originally a fortified temple complex of the Kanazawa Mido, a religious school founded in 1546 and controlled by local priests and those from Hongan-ji Temple in Kyoto, part of the Jodo Shinshu (Pure Land) sect.

The first feudal lord Maeda Toshiie took control of the area in 1583 and started building the castle. He was almost always away from the castle until he died in 1599, because he was working in Kyoto or Osaka as an important liegeman of Toyotomi Hideyoshi. Fourteen lords of the Maeda family lived in the castle until the Meiji Restoration. During the Maeda reign, many buildings of the castle were repeatedly burned down and rebuilt.

A big fire in 1759 destroyed almost the entire castle. The existing lshikawa-mon is a reconstruction built in 1788. Most recently the Hishi Yagura. Gojukken Nagaya, and Hashizume-mon and Tsuzuki Yagura were reconstructed.

The castle site adjoins the famous Kenroku-en Garden, formally part of the outer garden of the castle.

Open daily 09:00 - 16:30.

076-234-3800

Gyokusen-in Maru Garden was re-opened in Kanazawa Castle Park on March 7, 2015. Maeda Toshitsune, the third lord of the Kaga domain, originally created it in the space once occupied by the residence of Gyokusenin, Maeda Toshinaga’s wife, the second lord of the Kaga domain. It was subsequently removed when the Kaga domain was abolished.

However, due to its historical value as a unique Daimyo (Japanese feudal lord) garden built in Chisen-kaiyu style (with a path around a central pond and spring), also containing stone walls and the remains of old gardens, full reconstruction work began in 2013. Based on old picture maps, ponds, islands, and a group of seminal stone walls were reconstructed above the ruins of the original garden buried in the ground. The difference in height from the bottom of the pond to the top of the stone walls is 22 meters, and “Dan-ochi-no-taki,” a 7 m/23 ft waterfall, was also re-formed.

A lounge, “Gyokusen-an,” has a Japanese style room where you can try Matcha (green powdered tea) and Japanese seasonal sweets while overlooking the garden. On weekends, there are illuminations in the theme of a scroll painting projected onto the stone walls. The illuminations create images of sunset, evening, and the moon, and their colors change from orange, to yellow, and to white. There are also seasonal illuminations with images such as spring and cherry blossoms. The illuminations are on Friday, Saturday, and on the day before a holiday, from sunset to 21:00.
Courtesy of visitkanazawa.net

Open Daily 07:00 – 18:00

076-221-2397

The Ohi Ware with 350 years of history, does not use any wheel, but is formed by hand, and is characterized by its amber glaze. It is said that family was invited to come to Kanazawa by one of the early lords to make pottery, in particular for tea ceremonies. The current master is Ohi Chozaemon XI (Toshio), the 11th generation of his family to make this pottery. The museum also houses a gallery showing current work as well as work by the previous generations. There is a shop and a tea room as well.

Open Daily 09:00 – 17:00

076-172-3315

Kazue-machi is an old geisha district located along the river between the Asanogawa Ohashi Bridge and Naka-no Hashi Bridge. The Kazue-machi Chaya District is one of the three geisha districts of Kanazawa. Chaya is a traditional place for feasts and entertainment, where geisha perform dances and play Japanese traditional musical instruments, such as the shamisen (a three-stringed musical instrument), bamboo flute, and drum.

Even now, many chaya houses and restaurants are located in this neighborhood, and people may hear the sound of the shamisen from the twilight hours. When you stroll around this area, you can see very Kanazawa-like and Japanese-like scenes and atmospheres, such as the view of the area from Asanogawa Ohashi Bridge, the rows of chaya houses in Kazue-machi, the appearance of Naka-no Hashi Bridge, and Kuragarizaka (a dark slope), which connects to the Owari-cho hill area. The historical rows of this tea house district have been designated a Japan Cultural Asset since 2008.
Courtesy of Kanazawa City Tourism Assn.

076-251-8950

Gold leaf has been made in Japan since ancient times, and presently, Kanazawa is the largest producer of gold leaf in all of Japan. Throughout history, gold leaf has been used for decorating temples, shrines, palaces, Buddhist statues and altars, as well as paintings and craft works. Even today, it is applied to accessories, or in cosmetics and food. It also plays an important part in the restoration of cultural properties.

The Yasue Gold Leaf Museum presents the history of gold leaf in Kanazawa, including the process of making gold leaf and the tools involved. Also on display are art and craft works embellished with gold and gold leaf. The museum has collected around 300 pieces, most of which are Japanese works from the early modern period, the Edo era, to the present day. The collection includes paintings such as byobu (folding screens) and kakejiku (hanging scrolls), Kutani-yaki (a local style of ceramics), Kaga-maki-e (a local technique of lacquerware sprinkled with gold powder), Wajima-chinkin (a local technique of lacquerware inlayed with gold leaf powder) and Kaga-zogan (a local technique of metal inlay). Additionally, Noh costumes, examples of maki-e techniques and Kanazawa Buddhist altars which are a traditional craft art representative of Kanazawa are part of the collection.
Courtesy of Yasue Gold Leaf Museum

Open Daily 09:00 - 17:00

076-220-2194

Chaya are traditional places of feasts and entertainment, where geisha (traditional female Japanese entertainers) have been entertaining guests by performing dances and playing Japanese traditional musical instruments since the Edo period. The central part of Kanazawa was dotted with a number of chaya houses in the past. These chaya houses were moved into three districts distant from the central part in 1820.

The largest chaya district in Kanazawa is the Higashi Chaya district. The construction of two-story houses except chaya houses was prohibited in the Edo period. A chaya house is characterized with a beautiful lattice called "kimusuko" on the outer side of the first floor and Japanese-style guestrooms located on the second floor. When you enter back streets, you will soon find a maze of continuous alleys.

The historical rows of this tea house town along with Kyoto's Gion and Kanazawa's Kazue-machi have been designated as Japan's cultural assets. There are no other chaya districts designated as Japan's cultural assets. The district includes facilities where you can see the interior of a chaya house that was built almost 200 years ago. Besides, quite a few old buildings have been renewed into restaurants, teahouses, and souvenir shops.
Courtesy of Kanazawa City Tourism Assn.

Open daily 24/7

076-252-5675

An "ochaya" which literally means "tea house" was actually a place for customers to be entertained by Geishas as they drank sake. As a rule, an "ochaya" such as Shima would have been exclusively patronaized by upper class merchants.

Shima was constructed 182 years ago and except for the electric lighting and modern toilets, remains much the same today as when it was built. In the feudal period, when Shima was built, there were many restrictions on building construction. One restriction was on the height, and Shima is one fo the few buildings of the time allowed to have a second story, one indication as to how luxurious it was.

In an "ochaya", a "zashiki" guest room is always paired with a "hikae-no-ma" waiting room. The customers would sit in the guest room and the waiting room would serve as the "stage" for the Geishas to perform their song and dancer routines. The guest rooms were all on the upper floor, while the proprietress quarters and Geishas dressing room were on the ground floor.

A part from the annex, all the wood surfaces in this building have been lacquered, and the door catches are cloisonne ware. Shima has been designated as an important cultural properties by the Japanese government.(the only building so designated).
Courtesy of Ochaya Shima

Open Daily 09:00 - 18:00

076-253-0591

With over 200 years of history, Kaikaro is the largest chaya in the Higashi Chaya-gai District and is registered on the city’s historical buildings list. Chaya are traditional places for exclusive parties, where geiko or geisha have been entertaining guests by performing songs and dances since the Edo period. Being built in 1820, this well-preserved chaya district has been designated as Japan’s Important Preservation District for Groups of Historic Buildings.

The Kaikaro features fine examples of classical chaya architecture such as kimusuko, large, barred panels that let in the sun but prevent outsiders from looking into the building. The rows of two-story houses can only be seen in these chaya districts, since such constructions were a rare privilege for the nobility during the Edo period.

Some evenings Geisha performances are scheduled and open to the public with reservations.

Open daily: 09:00 – 17:00