Kanazawa
Japan · East Asia
A feudal castle town that was never bombed: Kenrokuen garden, teahouse districts, gold leaf workshops and SANAA's 21st Century Museum, two and a half hours from Tokyo by shinkansen.
Why visit
Why visit Kanazawa
Go for a compact historic city that can be seen on foot. Almost everything of interest lies within two kilometres of the castle park: the garden of Kenrokuen, three districts of wooden teahouses, a quarter of samurai houses and a covered food market.
Go also for what is new and what is still made. The 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, a glass circle by SANAA opened in 2004, is one of the best-known contemporary art museums in Japan. Kanazawa produces nearly all of the country's gold leaf, and the painted porcelain of Kutani is made in the towns to the south; our guide to the city's crafts explains both.
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What to see
Kenrokuen. The garden laid out by the Maeda lords between the 1620s and the 1840s, counted among the three great gardens of Japan. It opens early in the morning and is at its best then. See our walk through the garden and the teahouse district.
Higashi Chaya. The largest of three preserved districts of chaya, the houses where geisha entertain. Two of the old teahouses, Shima and Kaikaro, are open to visitors.
21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art. A circular building 112.5 metres across with no front or back, part free public space and part ticketed galleries.
D.T. Suzuki Museum. Three small pavilions around a sheet of water by Yoshio Taniguchi, dedicated to the Kanazawa-born writer who explained Zen to the West. See our piece on the museum.
Nagamachi and Omicho. Nagamachi is the quarter of samurai houses, with earthen walls along narrow lanes. Omicho Market has sold fish since the Edo period.
Beyond the city. The shinkansen extension of 2024 continues to the hot-spring towns of Kaga and to Fukui, the station for the Zen monastery of Eiheiji.
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Before you go
Practical information
Best time to visit
Kanazawa is wet in every season and snowy in winter. Cherry blossom comes to Kenrokuen around mid-April and autumn colour from mid-November to early December. Winter has its own appeal: the garden's pines are tied with cones of rope, called yukitsuri, to protect them from the weight of snow, and it is the season for crab.
Getting around
The Hokuriku Shinkansen runs from Tokyo in two and a half to three hours, and since March 2024 continues to Fukui and Tsuruga; see our report on the extension. From Kyoto and Osaka, travellers take a limited express to Tsuruga and change to the shinkansen there. In the city, a loop bus links the station with the garden, the museums and the teahouse districts, and most of the centre is walkable.
Practical notes
Two days cover the city without hurry; a third allows a night in one of the hot-spring towns of Kaga. Carry an umbrella whatever the forecast. Museums generally close one day a week and the days differ, so check before planning a museum day. The teahouses of the chaya districts that still operate in the evening do not accept guests without an introduction.
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