Kanazawa, Japan

We flew from Seoul directly to a small airport south of Kanazawa, called Komatsu. It was a rather dated airport, but I knew I was back in Japan when I used the bathroom. The toilet not only had buttons for the bidet, but a privacy button to cover any embarrassing noises you might be making, and a deodorizer button to cover any smells. Thank you, Japan!

We took a bus for the one-hour trip to Kanazawa city, where we dropped our luggage off at our hotel (the Mitsui Garden Hotel Kanazawa), and then headed to the nearby Tourist Information office to plan our visits.

Kanazawa is known as the pearl of Japan and became the seat of refined culture in this country. Kanazawa flourished during the Edo period (1603-1867) as the seat of the powerful Maeda Clan, the second wealthiest feudal clan after the Tokugawa Shogunate. They built their wealth on the cultivation of rice. Instead of spending their wealth on military might, the Maeda lords strategically invested in the arts and culture to avoid provoking the Shogun and give the appearance that they were not a threat.

Security was still a concern, though, which led to the development of martial arts and ninja culture to hide the fact that they were developing defenses. For instance, the famous dragon dances actually helped train the towns-people how to fight with swords and be ready to protect the town without raising suspicions. Luckily, Kanazawa was never attacked by the Shogun. And more importantly, it was spared from destruction during World War II, meaning many of its historical districts and buildings remain beautifully preserved.

One of these districts was the Nagamachi Samurai District, where middle and high-ranking samurai once lived. It featured narrow cobblestone lanes, beautifully preserved earthen walls and canals, and impressive walled samurai residences. One of the highlights was the Nomura Samurai Residence, where a high-ranking family lived. It featured elegant rooms with artifacts, traditional sliding doors and amazing gardens.

We also explored the Nagaya-Mon Takada family house, another very well preserved place. We were lucky that the cherry and plum trees were blossoming as we walked around the quaint streets.

For supper, we ate at Ippudo Korinbo Ramen, which was comforting and delicious! It is a popular Japanese chain restaurant that specializes in tonkotsu (pork bones broth) ramen noodles. You order on tablets from your table, and there is an English menu which makes it much easier to know what you are ordering.

On our way back to our hotel, we walked along the outskirts of Kanazawa castle and through the Oyama-Jinja shrine. The streets were beautifully adorned with lights. Once back at our hotel, we were very pleased to find slippers and pyjamas waiting for us, such a unique Japanese treat.

After a quick stroll through the Ozaki Shinto shrine, we kicked off our second day right where the power of the Maeda Clan was most visible: Kanazawa Castle. Having admired the exterior the day before, we dedicated the morning to a deeper look, joining one of the excellent free guided tours. It was a nice sunny day and the castle grounds were quite busy.

Walking through the reconstructed Hishi Yagura (watchtower) and the Gojikken Nagaya (storage longhouse), we gained a true appreciation for the massive scale and sophisticated engineering required to construct this castle. The castle grounds were quite extensive and comprised a small garden area also.

We were particularly impressed by the tight stone foundations and the sheer complexity of the wooden joinery used on the roofing beams. The longhouse featured several models showing the joinery and how the buildings were constructed. The joints were fitted together with astounding precision without a single nail, showcasing the incredible structural ingenuity of the Edo-period master carpenters.

Immediately adjacent to the castle is Kenrokuen Garden, one of Japan’s “Three Great Gardens.” We joined a tour there as well to understand the principles behind its design. Named for its six attributes (spaciousness, tranquility, artifice, antiquity, abundant water, and magnificent views), it is a classic example of a stroll garden built during the Edo period. The cherry blossoms (sakura) were in full bloom throughout the garden, lucky us!

The sakura draped over the ponds and along the winding paths, lending a soft, festive glow to the already meticulous landscape. The gardens are an art form, carefully crafted to represent natural landscapes—every pond, stream, and teahouse is placed according to aesthetic and philosophical principles, making the experience meditative and utterly beautiful, especially beneath a canopy of perfect white and pink flowers. We really enjoyed the tour and soaking in some sunshine on this nice spring day.

At the far edge of the garden was Seisonkaku Villa. This villa was built in 1863 by the 13th Lord of the Kaga Domain for his mother to live in comfortable retirement. It was a shingle-roofed mansion with two levels and unparalleled elegance. We were not allowed to take pictures inside the house, but we took some of the gardens outside. After leaving the park, we spotted a stand serving fried sweet potato spears. Since we were starting to get hungry, we took a quick pause to enjoy this traditional Japanese treat, like a lot of other people around us.

Our exploration of Kanazawa’s artistry continued with a visit to the Nishida Family’s Gyokusen-en Garden. Often overshadowed by the grandeur of Kenrokuen Garden, it is a quieter and more intimate gem. Being more of a traditional Japanese garden, it featured small waterfalls and a meticulous arrangement of stones and moss.

Next we walked through the Higashi Chaya District. Chaya means “teahouse,” and these historic districts were the places where merchants and samurai would come to be entertained by Geishas (female Japanese entertainers who perform dances and play traditional Japanese instruments). The wooden houses were interesting, but the streets were almost a bit sterile after spending the day in the beautiful gardens.

We ended the day at the modern Kanazawa train station that features a massive, wooden Tsuzumi-mon Gate. It is shaped like a Japanese hand drum used in Noh theater (one of Kanazawa traditional arts), and uses modern timber engineering that is reminiscent of the complex joinery we saw earlier. Kanazawa Station was chosen as one of the world’s 14 most beautiful train stations. Since the city sees a lot of rain and snow, the glass dome behind the Tsuzumi-mon Gate was designed to be an umbrella for all the visitors.

Like the other train stations in Japan, this was a massive one with many levels underground and lots of shops and restaurants. We decided to eat supper there and chose a conveyor belt sushi joint (one of our favorite things to do in Japan). Unfortunately the belt was out of order that night, so they just hand delivered your selections. It still was a great experience and we loved trying all the exotic sushi options without spending a fortune! It was all delicious!

Our last day in Kanazawa was rainy. We started at the Omicho Market which was near our hotel. This is known as “Kanazawa’s Kitchen” and is full of seafood, local crabs, oysters and bright vegetables. Then we ventured into the Nishi Chaya District, the city’s quieter, more westerly geisha area. Like its eastern counterpart, its architecture is dominated by preserved wooden lattice structures, but there the atmosphere was distinctly more intimate.

We had reserved a tour of the Myouryuji Temple – often referred to as the Ninja Temple or Ninja-dera. This was so intriguing! The temple was a strategically designed, heavily disguised fortification for the Maeda Clan. The rain outside made the interior feel even more secretive as we took our tour.

This temple was moved from its former location near Kanazawa Castle in 1643. Toshitune from the Maeda Clan constructed many temples around the castle so that many soldiers would be able to stand by for battles. This temple, located in the center of this group of temples, was a lookout point from which to observe enemies. Myouryuji Temple has braved the elements for more than three hundred and fifty years and also survived World War II. The Maeda lords prayed there for good fortune and happiness, and maintained the family crest of the plum blossom we observed while visiting the castle.

This building is an architectural marvel of defensive deception. Built with an incredible network of trap doors, hidden chambers, secret tunnels, and confusing staircases that lead nowhere, it was designed to confuse and trap any unwelcome visitors, specifically the Shogun’s spies. It showcases the high-stakes political environment of the Edo period, where even a place of worship had to function as a final, brilliant safeguard against invasion. The tour was fascinating and a testament to the Kaga Domain’s strategic brilliance. Unfortunately, they prohibited pictures on the inside of the temple, so we are sworn to secrecy. We highly recommend this tour to anyone visiting the Kanazawa area!

Keeping with the theme, we next ducked into the nearby Ninja Weapons Museum. It was full of weapons, armor and gadgets that Ninjas used to spy for and protect their samurai employers. We saw everything from samurai swords, grappling hooks, hidden claws, blow darts, and even throwing stars that I got to try my hand at throwing. We ended our rainy afternoon at a tea house where we had the traditional thick, green matcha tea with some pretty-looking “sweets” that are never really sweet in Japan.

We walked back towards our hotel under the pouring rain, stopping in a shopping mall along the way to purchase a few souvenirs and find a place for supper. We studied the restaurants displays to figure out what we wanted to eat. I settled on a Tonkatsu dish (fried pork) and Sophie tried a seaweed soup with plum. We washed it down with some refreshing Sapporo beer, another good meal in Japan!