Kanazawa, Ishikawa
One Circle Around Kanazawa Castle
One circle around Kanazawa Castle, each stop taken at the hour that suits it — starting inside a garden while the ticket booths are still shut, ending on the lawn of a museum that stays lit long after its galleries close.
4 stops · one day
The route
- 01
Ishikawa · Kanazawa · From Kanazawa Station · ~20 min · Better early
Kenrokuen Garden
Japan's most famous strolling garden, and it is free for the two hours before it opens.
What to look for
- The fountain — a jet of water rising in the western part of the garden, below the level of the pond above it
- Kotoji lantern — the small stone lantern standing on two unequal legs at the north edge of the pond
- Kasumigaike — the garden's largest pond, with the main paths circling it and the teahouses set back from the water
- 02
Ishikawa · Kanazawa Higashiyama · From Kanazawa Station · ~20 min · Better early
Higashi Chaya District
A whole teahouse town, kept as one piece of street.
What to look for
- Asanogawa Ohashi Bridge — the balustraded bridge from the castle side onto the east bank
- Kanazawa Yasue Gold-Leaf Museum — a city museum of gold-leaf craft, standing just short of the teahouse lane
- The main teahouse lane — matched two-storey fronts with kimusuko lattice, the stretch every photograph is taken on
- 03
Ishikawa · Kanazawa · From Kanazawa Station · ~5 min · Better early
Omicho Market
Kanazawa's covered market — go on a weekday morning, before the aisles fill.
What to look for
- The Musashigatsuji entrance — the corner opening in front of the bus stop, where the covered lanes begin
- The fresh-fish lanes — crab, shrimp and Sea of Japan fish sold over ice, straight across the counter
- Omicho Ichiba-kan — the newer block on the corner, shops at street level and eating places above
- 04
Ishikawa · Kanazawa Hirosaka · From Kanazawa Station · ~15 min · Better early
21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art
A museum with a free half that stays open until late.
What to look for
- The lawn — open grass around the building, holding outdoor commissions and a view of the white gallery boxes
- Colour Activity House — Olafur Eliasson's spiral of coloured glass walls, where the colours mix as you walk between them
- The glass outer wall — a continuous curved pane that lets the corridor and the grass read as one space