We didn’t visit every spot in the city since we only had a day and half there, but I’ll give my
best recommendation in order that I think that works out the best if you only have a short time there (highlighted by the stars in the map).
best recommendation in order that I think that works out the best if you only have a short time there (highlighted by the stars in the map).
- Omicho Market
- Kanazawa Castle Park
- Kenrokuen
- 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art
- Higashi Chaya (Eastern Tea House District)
- Myoryu-ji Temple
- Nishi Chaya (Western Tea House District)
- Nagamachi Samurai District
- Oyama Jinja Shrine
OMICHO MARKET (近江町市場)
If you are coming from Tokyo area, the train ride takes about 2.5 hours. If you leave in the morning you’re likely to arrive around lunch time. Let’s go grab some food at Omicho Market (近江町市場). From the main entrance of the Kanazawa station, you’ll want to board the LL route at Bus Stop #7 and get off the first stop at LL1.
Omicho market has been around for close to 300 years and carries a huge variety of seafood and produce.
The seafood stands had all types of fish we don’t usually see in the U.S. As Kanazawa is close to the Japan Sea, it is known for its abundance of seafood varieties. One really cool thing we saw was when the fishmonger scraped tuna meat off its bone to give to the crowd.
Besides food stands, there are also flower shops and various stands that carried local specialty.
For lunch, we went to the highly reviewedYamasan (山さん) and the sushi was fantastic.
The seafood was super fresh and the fish tasted sweet. Kanazawa is famous for its seafood and we weren’t disappointed.
By the time we left the restaurant, there was a line with over 10 people waiting to get their fill. If you are not looking for a full meal, there are stalls in Omicho market that sell little bites.
One of the unique skewer we had was blow fish! My son’s been fascinated with blow fish since he was a little boy so he was super excited to try, and definitely a bit worried about being poisoned.
KANAZAWA CASTLE PARK (金沢城公園)
From Omicho market, you can easily walk over to the Kanazawa Castle Park (金沢城公園).
There is no actual castle on the ground today, as it was built and burned down many times throughout history. However the Ishikawamon Gate (石川門) and the Gojikken Nagaya (五十間長屋, 90-yard-long warehouse) are both structures built over 100 years ago.
One unique thing about the castle is its white lead tiles compared to black tiles you typically see on Japanese castles, which gives it more strength against snow.
Many of the building recreated on site was built using the traditional method by specialized craftsmen, and you can see the example of the castle wall dissected.
There are free guides in English available on site and I highly recommend using them, as they can tell you about the history of Kanazawa and the powerful Maeda family that ruled it during Edo period.
KENROKUEN (兼六園)
The castle and the garden are connected by a sky bridge. After walking on the grounds of the castle, let’s move on to one of Japan’s 3 great gardens, Kenrokuen (兼六園). Kenrokuen was Maeda Family’s private garden, started sometime in the 1600’s.
The garden got its name from having all 6 characteristics of a a great garden. It’s a large garden at 25 acres and the signature icon is the 2 legged lantern in the corner of Kasumigaike (霞ヶ池) (see the picture below).
There is quite a bit of history to the garden itself so I won’t go into in detail, but you can read more here for details.
21ST CENTURY MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART (金沢21世紀美術館)
After browsing the garden, head over to 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art (金沢21世紀美術館) right next door. The unique circular museum functions both as a gallery and community space.
It was closed on the day we visited but we still enjoyed some of exhibits inside the building and the outdoor displays.
Besides running around the yard, my family thought the Men In Black glass elevator was super cool.
You can learn more about the exhibits on display on the museum’s website.
By now it’s getting late so head back to Kanazawa station and find a delicious izakaya to enjoy your meal. I’ll talk more about the meals we had later on in the post.
For day 2, I recommend starting at Higashi Chaya first, as it’s really popular and gets crowded with tourist early.
HIGASHI CHAYA – EASTERN TEA HOUSE DISTRICT (東茶屋街)
From Kanazawa station, get on the RL bus and get off at RL5 for Higashi Chaya (東茶屋街).
What is a Chaya? Chaya are traditional tea houses where Geisha used to perform since the Edo period (and still do).
As you walk on these streets between the machiya-style structure (traditional wooden townhouses), it takes you back in time.
There are a few buildings where you can pay and enter such as the Ochaya Shima (志摩) to see what a Geisha’s life was like working in these buildings at that time (we didn’t have time…).
Majority of the buildings have been turned into restaurants and stores which you can browse through. Most of them showcase the art and crafts of Kanazawa.
There is also the Yasue Gold Leaf Museum (金沢市立安江金箔工芸館) where you can see how gold leaves are made. 99% of gold leaves in Japan are made in Kanazawa today, including the ones used on Kinkakuji (金閣寺) in Kyoto. At the museum, you can see how the artisans make the golf leaf. Here is a video on YouTube showing their work.
If you like to experience dinner with Geisha, you can check out more details at Kaikaro (懐華樓).
The highlight for the Higashi Chaya for us? Gold leaf covered ice cream! How did it taste? Just like regular ice cream! But it’s a nice way to feature what Kanazawa is famous for.
MYORYU-JI TEMPLE – NINJA DERA (妙立寺)
Time for more exploration! Jump on to loop bus at RL5 and get off at RL12 to visit Myoryu-Ji (妙立寺), aka Ninja Temple.
The temple was built in 1585 by Lord Maeda Toshiie and moved to current location by his son. Besides being a praying location for the Kaga Family (founded by Maeda Toshiie), the temple also served as a military outpost. Due to this reason, there are quite a few hidden trap doors and mechanisms built to confuse intruders.
I recommend making a reservation beforehand because it’s a guided tour and they only accept certain number of visitors per tour.
To be completely honest, the temple was a strange experience for us. When you arrive, there is no reception area or a place to purchase ticket. You walk towards the temple from the main entrance and make a left at the end to find a small white intercom. You let them know you’re there for your appointed time and they’ll ask you to wait if you’re early.
At your appointed time, you’ll remove your shoes and enter the temple. They’ll collect the admission fee from you at the time (cash only). If you have young children, you will need to bring their passports to prove they are elementary school age to qualify for children’s price. They asked me 3 times (during the phone reservation, on the intercom, and when purchasing the ticket) about the children’s passport which I thought was strange.
There are no photos allowed inside during the tour and they said no translation of Japanese to English is allowed during the tour to my children (weird right?).
For each time slot, they break the large group into smaller groups so folks can fit in the various spots during the tour as some areas are quite small. The tour is in Japanese only but they do give English speakers a binder with the explanation of each interesting spot.
My children really enjoyed it and it was fascinating to think of why there was a need to build such deceptive mechanisms at the time.
NISHI CHAYA – WESTERN TEA HOUSE DISTRICT (西茶屋街)
After the temple, it’s a short breeze to Nishi Chaya (西茶屋街). This is another tea district but much smaller than Higashi Chaya (東茶屋街). The bright spot however is that there are also less people around so you can take some good pictures.
We stopped by a chocolate boutique and cooled off by enjoying chocolate ice cream.
Check out the shoe made out of bitter chocolate and gold leaf!
You can visit Nishi Chaya Shiryokan Museum (西茶屋資料館) on the street, where you can see what a Chaya was like inside. Admission is free!
NAGAMACHI SAMURAI DISTRICT
After visiting the Chaya, how about seeing some Samurai houses in Nagamachi Samurai District (長町武家屋敷跡)? Jump back on to RL12 and get off at RL14.
Back in the feudal days, the very top is the Shogun, who ruled the Daimyo from each region. Under each Daimyo are samurai warriors, and in Nagamachi area, there are several Samurai houses that are restored.
The Onosho Canal (大野庄用水) runs through the Samurai District. This oldest canal of Kanazawa was an important waterway that carried goods from the harbor to the castle town.
Of the samurais’ houses, the one we visited was the Nomura-ke (Nomura Family’s Residence, 野村家).
We can walk inside the house to admire the Edo artifacts of the Nomura family, who lived here for ten generations. The house has ceilings made of Japanese cypress and exquisite paintings on sliding door panels were painted by the Maeda family’s personal painter.
The Nomura house has a beautiful garden that was ranked one of the best in Japan by Michelin Guide. The garden is small, but features many characteristics of Japanese gardens, including a 400-year-old Japanese bayberry, waterfall and pond, and various stone features like bridge and lanterns.
As you walk around between the mud walls of Nagamachi and tour Nomura House, you can imagine the life of a samurai during that time.
OYAMA JINJA SHRINE (尾山神社)
You can either walk to the Oyama Jinja Shrine (尾山神社) or take the loop bus at RL14 and get off at RL15 and walk backwards.
Oyama Jinja Shrine is known for its unusual gate. The towering gate was designed by a dutch architect back in 1875, with a mixture of Japanese, European, and Chinese elements.
There is also a beautiful garden with ponds and bridges on site that dates back to late 1500’s. Oyama Jinja Shrine is dedicated to Maeda Toshiie, with a large statue of him as well as his wife’s image carved into a stone on the grounds.
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