Kanazawa and Kaga Onsen

Kanazawa, a city on the Sea of Japan coast, is about 2 h 30 from Tokyo on the Hokuriku Shinkansen (high-speed train) and 2 h from Kyoto or Osaka; two or three nights are enough, often followed by a night in the hot-spring villages of Kaga, further south. Visitors come for Kenrokuen Garden, for the teahouse streets where geiko (traditional entertainers, known elsewhere as geisha) still perform, for the booby-trapped Myoryu-ji temple and for gold-leaf crafts. In Kaga, Yamashiro Onsen and Yamanaka Onsen keep their ryokans (traditional Japanese inns) and their hot-spring baths, the onsen. It is a stop for travellers who have already seen Kyoto or who want a quieter Japan, as a couple or as a family.

Two stops in one

The region splits into two quite different stays.

The simplest order is Kanazawa first and Kaga last, before taking the train on to Kyoto or towards Takayama.

Kenrokuen, from dawn to dusk

Kenrokuen Garden, next to the castle park, opens every day, from 7 am to 6 pm between 1 March and 15 October and from 8 am to 5 pm between 16 October and the end of February, last entry 30 minutes before closing. Adult admission is 320 ¥ (about 2 €).

The garden can also be visited free early in the morning, through the Hasuike-mon and Zuijinzaka gates only. Early opening starts at 4 am from April to August, 5 am in March and from September to October, and 6 am from November to February; visitors must be inside before this window ends, 15 minutes before paid opening.

The garden also opens in the evening, lit up, during the cherry blossom and autumn foliage seasons; Ishikawa Prefecture announces the dates each year. All times on this page are local time.

Higashi Chaya, Nagamachi and the Ninja Temple

Higashi Chaya is the district of chaya, the wooden teahouses where geiko entertain their guests. Its streets also have shops selling gold-leaf objects, or kinpaku, the city's speciality, and the Yasue Gold Leaf Museum is close by. On Saturdays from May 2026 to March 2027, a geiko performance of about an hour, with tea and sweets, is held in a teahouse in one of the three districts, Higashi, Nishi or Kazue-machi, giving visitors a chance to see their dance and music.

Nagamachi, the former samurai quarter, lies near the castle park. The Nomura samurai house is open to visitors.

Myoryu-ji, nicknamed the "Ninja Temple", was founded in 1643 by the Maeda family as a defensive outpost. It has two storeys seen from outside and four inside, with trapdoors, hidden rooms and secret stairways. Visits are guided only, with booking required, from 9 am to 4 pm, for 1,200 ¥ (about 7 €).

Museums and the tea ceremony

The 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art opened in 2004; its Swimming Pool work is viewed by reservation. It will close from 6 May 2027 until March 2028, the planned reopening date: a trip to Kanazawa during that period will go without it.

The D. T. Suzuki Museum, designed by architect Yoshio Taniguchi, is devoted to the Zen Buddhist thinker. It opens from 9.30 am to 5 pm, except on Mondays, for 310 ¥ (about 2 €).

At Gyokusen-en Garden, the Saisetsu-tei teahouse offers a tea ceremony for 5,000 ¥ (about 29 €) per adult, garden admission included, to be booked at least three days ahead: you watch the first bowl being prepared, then make the second yourself. The garden opens from 9 am to 5 pm, 10 am to 4 pm in December; it is closed on Wednesdays and from 25 December to the end of February.

The hot springs of Kaga: Yamashiro and Yamanaka

Yamashiro Onsen is a hot-spring village whose spring is said to have been found more than 1,300 years ago. At its centre, the Ko-Soyu public bath recreates an old-style bathhouse, with tiles of Kutani porcelain, the painted ceramics of the area, and no showers. Two ryokans from Umika's selection are in Yamashiro.

Yamanaka Onsen, the next village, is crossed by the Kakusenkei Gorge, 1.3 km between the Korogi and Kurotani bridges. The S-shaped Ayatori Bridge is lit in the evening from April until the end of the snow season, and the Basho-do hut commemorates the visit of the poet Matsuo Basho.

Bathing rules, from washing before getting in to keeping the small towel out of the water, are explained in the guide to onsen, ryokan and etiquette in Japan.

Getting to and from Kanazawa

• From Tokyo: Hokuriku Shinkansen to Kanazawa, about 2 h 30.
• From Kyoto or Osaka: Thunderbird limited express to Tsuruga, then the Hokuriku Shinkansen; about 2 h in total, with a compulsory change at Tsuruga.
• To Kaga Onsen: shinkansen to Kaga-Onsen, about 15 min, then about 10 min by taxi to Yamashiro.
• To Shirakawa-go and Takayama: express bus to Shirakawa-go, about 1 h 30, then about 50 min on to Takayama; the Hida, Takayama and Shirakawa-go page covers the next stage.
• By air: Komatsu Airport is 10 km from Beniya Mukayu.

JR West, one of the Japan Railways companies, sells a Kansai-Hokuriku regional pass that covers Kyoto, Osaka and Kanazawa; the guide to trains and the Japan Rail Pass compares the passes.

When to visit Kanazawa

The climate table, drawn from the 1991-2020 normals of the JMA (Japan Meteorological Agency), reads in four seasons. Highs climb from 12 °C in March to 17 °C in April and 22 °C in May; according to the same agency, Kanazawa's cherry trees start flowering around 3 April and reach full bloom around 8 April on average, a few days after Kyoto's. The Hokuriku rainy season runs on average from 11 June to 23 July; August reaches an average high of 31 °C. Autumn is mild, with 27 °C in September, 22 °C in October and 16 °C in November. From December to February highs stay between 7 and 10 °C: the season for ryokans and the baths of Kaga.

Where to stay in Kanazawa and Kaga

Kinjohro, in Kanazawa. Founded in 1890, Kinjohro is first of all a ryotei, a traditional restaurant serving kaiseki (a multi-course meal) of Kaga cuisine, which also lets six Japanese-style rooms. Each has its own bath in hinoki (Japanese cypress) or granite, and three look onto the garden of the former residence of Maeda Tsushima-no-kami. The house stands on the Asano River, the starting point for walks to Kazue-machi and Higashi Chaya, 12 minutes by bus from Kanazawa Station.

Beniya Mukayu, in Yamashiro Onsen. This Relais & Châteaux ryokan has 16 rooms and suites, each with its own open-air onsen bath on a forest garden. It also has two shared baths with sauna, a spa using medicinal plants and three libraries. It takes children from age 7 and holds a Michelin Key.

KAI Kaga, in Yamashiro Onsen. This 48-room ryokan of Hoshino Resorts' KAI brand faces the Ko-Soyu public bath. Its baths are decorated with Kutani porcelain, kaiseki dinner is served at 5.30 pm or 7.30 pm, and the staff perform the Kaga lion dance every evening. Children are welcome, and the FA4 room sleeps up to four.

The Kanazawa, Shirakawa-go and Takayama in 10 days itinerary includes three nights at Kinjohro.