Ishikawa · KanazawaNo.482★★★Open in map →
Kenrokuen Garden
The Kaga lords' strolling garden on the height beside Kanazawa Castle, extended over generations into ponds, streams and teahouses. It is one of Japan's three great gardens, and it opens free of charge before the ticket booths do.
- FromKanazawa Station
- ~20 minHokutetsu bus, frequent
- Get off atKenrokuen-shita / Kanazawa-jo (Hokutetsu bus)
- On foot
- Kenrokuen Garden
Where it is
16 more notes in Ishikawa · open the map →What to look for — in walking order
- The fountaina jet of water rising in the western part of the garden, below the level of the pond above it
- Kotoji lanternthe small stone lantern standing on two unequal legs at the north edge of the pond
- Kasumigaikethe garden's largest pond, with the main paths circling it and the teahouses set back from the water
- Karasaki pinethe broad black pine spreading over the pond's south shore, roped against snow each winter
- Neagari-matsua pine held clear of the ground on a tangle of exposed roots, near the garden's eastern side
How to actually get there
- Kanazawa Station east exit → Kenrokuen-shita / Kanazawa-jo (Hokutetsu bus or Loop Bus, about 12 min).
- Walk up the slope about 5 minutes to the Katsurazaka gate.
- Take the path past the fountain and up to Kasumigaike, then circle the pond by the Kotoji lantern and the Karasaki pine.
- Leave by Mayumizaka for the Hirosaka museum quarter, or cross back to Kanazawa Castle Park.
- Hokutetsu bus from Kanazawa Station
- Kanazawa Station east exit →(Hokutetsu route bus or the Kanazawa Loop Bus, about 12 min)→ Kenrokuen-shita / Kanazawa-jo. From the stop it is about 5 minutes on foot up the slope to the Katsurazaka gate, the entrance nearest the castle. Buses on this corridor are frequent enough that there is no timetable to plan around.
- Return to Kanazawa Station
- Buses back to the station leave from the stop on the castle side of the road, and the ride takes about as long as the way out. Services continue into the evening, but they are less frequent than during the day, so check the board at the stop if you stay past closing.
About the place
Kenrokuen lies on the plateau immediately east of Kanazawa Castle, separated from it by a moat and joined by a bridge. Successive lords of the Kaga domain enlarged it over generations, adding ponds, streams, a hill and teahouses until the grounds ran from the castle wall to the edge of the terrace. It is built as a strolling garden, which means there is no single correct vantage point: the path keeps turning and reframing the same water. Kasumigaike, the largest pond, carries the small two-legged stone lantern that has become the standing image of Kanazawa. The garden is a national Special Place of Scenic Beauty and is counted with Kairakuen and Korakuen as one of Japan's three great gardens.
How to enjoy it
From 1 March to 15 October the garden runs 7:00 to 18:00, and from 16 October to the end of February 8:00 to 17:00. Before those hours it opens for nothing: from 4:00 in high summer, 5:00 or 6:00 in the other seasons, until 6:45 or 7:45 depending on the date. Enter at Katsurazaka in that window, walk straight to Kasumigaike, and the pond is yours before the first coach reaches the car park.
Background & history
The garden began in 1676, when the fifth Kaga lord, Maeda Tsunanori, built a villa on the slope below the castle and laid out grounds around it. Later lords kept extending the site, and in 1822 it was given the name Kenrokuen. In the mid-nineteenth century the wall dividing the older and newer sections was taken down and the grounds became a single garden, close to their present shape. Kanazawa's people were let in from 1874, and the state raised the garden to a Special Place of Scenic Beauty in 1985.
Before you go
- Cash
- Admission is 320 yen for adults and 100 yen for ages 6 to 17, collected at the gates during opening hours. During the early-morning opening, before the paid day begins, there is no charge at all. Bus fares are paid on board.
- Before you go
- The garden opens every day of the year, though the Shigure-tei teahouse keeps its own schedule. Paths are gravel and slope, and they are slippery after rain or snow. The ropes that protect the pines from snow go up for the cold months and change the shape of the garden entirely.
- Another way
- From Kanazawa Station you can also take the bus to Hirosaka / 21st Century Museum, about 10 minutes, and walk up to the Mayumizaka gate on the garden's south-west side. That approach puts the museum quarter at the start of your walk instead of the castle.
- After you get off
- From the Kenrokuen-shita / Kanazawa-jo stop, cross toward the castle side and climb the slope for about 5 minutes to the Katsurazaka gate. Kanazawa Castle Park is directly across the road, so the two can be walked in one go.