Like Takayama, Kanazawa is a city that is a little bit off the beaten path. Kanazawa is said to have the best preserved Edo-style districts in the country. If you love food, especially seafood, then Kanazawa is the right place for you. Besides exploring the Edo-style districts, Kanazawa is most famous for it’s beautiful white castle and Kenroku-en Garden which is considered one of the top 3 gardens in Japan. Visiting Kanazawa should be included on any itinerary when visiting Japan.
Kanazawa is a large city located in Ishikawa Prefecture. With access to the Sea of Japan to the West, Kanazawa has done remarkably well throughout history and continues to grow into a modern and well developed city.
Train travel is not as prevalent in western Japan as it is along the east coast, so getting to Kanazawa does take time and effort. The Kanazawa train station is serviced by West Japan’s Hokuriku Line.
We rented a car in Nagoya and drove north toward Kanazawa. Renting cars in Japan is easy and fairly cheap. I recommend going this route as it allows more freedom to explore and can be cheaper in the long run especially if traveling with multiple people.
Once in Kanazawa, getting around by bike or on foot is recommended. Most attractions are within walking distance.
Can't Miss Attractions and Things to do While Visiting Kanazawa
We were visiting Kanazawa for two days while road tripping through central Japan. I’ve heard tremendous feedback about Kanazawa from other travelers and resources, so both Jill and I were excited to explore Kanazawa at a slower pace.
The main attractions we wanted to see were definitely Kanazawa Castle, Kenroku-en, and the historic districts of Higashi Chaya and Naga-machi. We managed to fit a lot more into our itinerary for Kanazawa and visited many more sites. Below are the attractions and things we did around Kanazawa.
Omicho Market
According to japan-guide, Omicho Market has been the largest and most popular fresh food market in Kanazawa since the Edo Period.
Today, Omicho Market consists of around 200 different vendors and restaurants selling a wide variety of fun and tasty food items from wasabi shoots to delicious and fresh seafood.
My recommendation for visiting Omicho Market is to come early and come hungry. Unfortunately, our hotel had an amazing Japanese breakfast, so I only had room to try a few fresh pieces of tempura and fresh fruit. We had plans to come here later in the day for a late lunch or early dinner. Again, we didn’t do our research and most restaurants closed at 3:00 pm here. By the time we came back to Omicho Market, most vendors were sold out for the day.
Oyama Shrine
Oyama Shrine is a Shinto Shrine near Kanazawa Castle. Prior to entering the grounds of the shrine, visitors can view and walk through the western-style gate, designed by a Dutch architect. Other then the shrine itself and unique gate, there is a nice park within the complex consisting of a few ponds. There are also some interesting sculptures scattered around the shrine’s grounds.
Nezumita-mon Gate
Nezumita-mon Gate is one of the main gates to Kanazawa Castle. Nezumita-mon Gate is on the west side of Kanazawa Castle, right behind Oyama Shrine. The appearance of the Nezumita-mon gate is unique given its black plaster tiles and namako walls. The gate and bridge have been restored as it was damaged due to fire over a hundred years ago.
We walked over the bridge to Nezumita-mon several times while visiting Kanazawa. I found this spot to be particularly photogenic, especially at night.
Gyokusen-inmaru Park
This small Japanese garden is located in Kanazawa Castle Park. Situated between the Nezumita-mon Gate and Kanazawa Castle the Gyokusen-inmaru park has a large lake with three islands connected by bridges. There is a tea house/information center here. They offer a brief “English” if interested. I have “English” in quotation marks, because we stood on the houses balcony and a sweet older gentleman tried his best to explain the garden and its history in English.
Kanazawa Castle
Kanazawa Castle was home to the Maeda Clan from 1583 until the final years of the Edo Period. Kanazawa Castle has burnt down several times since then, with the latest fire being in 1881, only one gate and a couple storage houses remained.
The castle area was being used as a headquarters for the Japanese army during the Meiji Era. Afterwards, until 1996 it was being used by Kanazawa University. After 1996, the castle has gone through extensive renovations. A major project is currently underway. This project is focusing on building the castle from the ground up using original techniques. Kanazawa Castle is particularly beautiful with its white outer walls and decorative tiles.
Admission and Hours for Visiting Kanazawa Castle
Admission Fee
Adults ¥320
Children ¥100
Hours
9:00-16:30 Daily
Kenroku-en
Kenroku-en is considered one of the Three Great Gardens of Japan, along wih Koraku-en in Okayama ad Kairaku-en in Mito.
Kenroku-en became a garden in 1620 and was owned by the Maeda Clan until the 1840’s, before ultimately opening up to visitors in the 1870’s.
The garden is massive and deserves several hours to explore. There are various parts to the garden which includes large ponds, various plant species, trails, tea houses, restaurants, and other shops.
While walking around Kenroku-en we couldn’t help but notice the beautiful landscapes and gigantic old trees. In Japan they take good care of their trees and help them grow properly in any way possible as illustrated in the photo below.
We also discovered a beautiful tea house on Kasumiga-ike Pond. We were served delicious matcha tea and a sweet treat. The tea house was so relaxing, we lost track of time here.
Admission and Hours to Kenroku-en
Admission
¥320 for Adults
Hours
7:00 to 18:00 March until October 15
8:00 to 17:00 October 16 until February
Higashi Chaya District
Higashi Chaya District is the largest of the three Edo period districts in Kanazawa. This historically preserved area has several streets and alley ways lined with beautiful wooden buildings on either side.
Chaya means “teahouse” and this district was considered to be an entertainment district. Wealthy customers would visit the tea houses mainly for entertainment.
Today, the Higashi Chaya District is full of cute shops, sake breweries, and restaurants. We simply walked around the district taking any alley possible. The district wasn’t to big so there was no getting lost.
Kazuemachi District
Just across the Asano River from the Higashi Chaya District is the smaller but my favorite district, Kazuemachi District.
This district is basically one long road that follows the Asano River for a few blocks. The front of the buildings were gorgeous, but I preferred walking the small street behind the buildings. It was a small network of local homes. There are no real places to visit within the Kazuemachi District and you don’t need but 10 minutes to explore the area, but I found it to be very charming.
Nagamachi District
The Nagamachi District is a good walk from the other two districts. This one is closer to the Oyama Shrine. Nagamachi was considered the samurai district. Being in close proximity to Kanazawa Castle, the samurai along with their families lived in this district. Many of the homes in this area are still lived in today by locals, so be polite.
Nagamachi district is made up of several roads and canals. There is a museum and restored samurai house that can be visited. We visited this district twice but both at night, unfortunately we did not visit any attractions within the district. I loved the quietness there was here at night. We didn’t see a single person or car both times.
Dining and Drinking around Kanazawa
Being so close to the Sea of Japan, Kanazawa is known for their seafood, especially crab. If you don’t like seafood, you can still find all your favorite Japanese dishes in Kanazawa. We had some of the best Indian food we’ve ever had in Japan here and found a decent omurice restaurant in the basement of a department store.
Kanazawa also has several sake breweries within the historic districts that are fun to try. We even found a beer brewery near the Higashi Chaya District that brewed up spectacular beers. Below are some of the places we found ourselves eating and drinking at while visiting Kanazawa.
Dining
Aashirwad (Indian Food)
Probably some of the best Indian Food I’ve had while in Japan. People probably won’t believe me, but Indian Food here outside of India is probably some of the best on the planet. The curry at Indian Restaurants and Naan bread is out of this world.
At Aashirwad I had my favorite garlic cheese naan with lamb curry and was blown away by the amount of food and flavors. The staff spoke English and were extremely polite. I was very satisfied with Aashirwad and think it might just very well be my favorite Indian restaurant in Japan.
勝乃屋 金沢エムザ店 (Japanese Food)
Sorry, no translation for the restaurant name. We were on our way back from the Higashi Chaya District and were starving. We figured we’d grab dinner at Omicho Market plus I was craving seafood. To our surprise, most restaurants at the market closed at 3:00 pm. So we browsed around the area and found a shopping mall. In Japan, even shopping malls have amazing local restaurants. So don’t let a mall scare you into thinking they just have a food court with chain fast food restaurants.
Right across from Omicho Market is the M’za department store. Jill and I found a nice restaurant called 勝乃屋 金沢エムザ店 that served omurice and other Japanese dishes. I got the omurice with tempura and was quite surprised. For those that don’t know Omurice is a Japanese dish that is a Japanese omelet over rice. Jill had a stir fry, we were both pleasantly surprised, especially since our bill was under ¥2000 for dinner.
Drinking
Oriental Brewing
Right in the Higashi Chaya District is Oriental Brewing. After walking all day in a new place, one of my favorite things to do is to find a local brewery to take a much needed break.
Oriental Brewing was a fantastic brewery serving up delicious beer. You can order beer flights here or by the pint.
I had a total of 5 beers here, including tasters and ranked all their beers pretty high according to my Untappd app. They had a Barleywine that I was a fan of. I also liked their Yuwaku Yuzu Ale, Noto Sea Salt Saison, and their Single Hop Citra beer.
福光屋 ひがし (sake brewery)
We came across this sake brewery in the heart of the Higashi Chaya District.
I am not a huge sake guy, I like sake, I just don’t know it as well as I do beer. I do know that good sake can be found all throughout mainland Japan, so I had to at least try one sake brewery in Kanazawa.
We stumbled upon 福光屋 ひがし based on their sign hanging outside the wooden brewery for sake tastings. The inside was modern, we sat at the bar and ordered a set of three different sake’s to try. They gave us generous pours.
Along with the sake, we got a small miso paste dish that was supposed to complement the sake. It had a very unique flavor. Lets just say, I used the sake to wash this dish down and get the flavor out of my mouth.
Where we Stayed and Other Lodging Options
Like any other city in Japan, you can find a wide range of hotel and lodging options from onsen resorts to hostels.
While visiting Kanazawa, we stayed at a hotel named Hotel Resol Trinity Kanazawa and it was very nice, their breakfast was superb. Next door was an Italian restaurant and the breakfast buffet was hosted at the restaurant. We choose this hotel based on location and price as it was within budget, I’m talking like ¥70000 or less and it was within walking distance to all major attractions in Kanazawa.
There are many hotels along Route 157 in Kanazawa which is close to Kanazawa Castle and the historic districts. We use Agoda for many of our Japan hotel bookings, including our stay at Hotel Resol Trinity Kanazawa.
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