The capital of Ishikawa prefecture is often referred to as little kyoto.
Because there are indeed a lot of Japanese heritage that is in a place that is famous as a producer gold leaf here in Japan.
Starting from the samurai district, geisha houses, to Japan’s most beautiful castles and gardens still stand tall. This post will take you to places you can visit while on vacation in Kanazawa. Let’s gooo ikuzoo!
1. Higashi Chaya District
Chaya means tea shop. But in the Edo period, chaya meant a restaurant with a geisha performing in it.
Geisha is a kind of traditional Japanese singer and dancer. They can be easily recognized because they wear kimono and make-up oshiroi.
There are many misconceptions that Geisha are sex workers. Though they are high-class artists who need years of practice to become a professional Geisha.
At Highashi Chaya you can visit several chayas. One of them is the Shima Teahouse, which used to be a place for geisha to perform, but has now been converted into a geisha museum. All the tools used by geisha are here. From make-up to tools for the tea ceremony, you can see and learn.
Because Ishikawa is famous for its gold leaf, here there are also shops that do sell gold leaf crafts, for example at the Hakuza Gold Leaf store. They even had one room covered in gold leaf!
For those who like unique cuisine, you can try ice cream or takoyaki covered in gold leaf. The gold leaf used is edible, don’t worry.
Soy sauce flavored ice cream may sound strange. But it turns out that the taste actually makes the sweet milk from the ice cream balance. So you can eat that much.
Besides takoyaki, ice cream in Ishikawa is also usually covered in gold leaf. Actually, there is no special property of this gold paper, other than looking fancy. When are you going to eat gold? HA HA
2. Omicho Market
Since the Edo period this market has existed. Just like traditional markets in Japan, we can find a lot of seafood here.
Hundreds of shops selling seafood, restaurants, clothes, kitchen utensils, and anything you can find in the market here.
Morning is the best time to visit Omicho. Many street food and restaurants that can be tried. I ordered a sashimi bowl for my breakfast that morning.
Its location close to JR Kanazawa station makes it very crowded!
3. Kenrokuen Garden
Kenroku-en in Kanazawa, Koraku-en in Okayama, and Kairaku-en in Mito are the three most beautiful gardens in Japan (Three Great Gardens of Japan) or sanmeien. The Japanese consider this garden a symbol of the beauty of snow, moon and flowers.
These gardens were originally a place of relaxation for the ancient Japanese upper class. Or as a royal private garden. But now, of course, it is a public park that anyone can access for free.
Each season of Kenroku-en has a different scene and they are all beautiful! Cherry blossoms? Checked. Colorful leaves falling? Checked. Snow plus winter illumination lights? Checked!
4. Kanazawa Castle
This castle has been around since 1538. Several times it was burned and rebuilt. Some of the buildings have been restored, but the main castle has not been rebuilt.
Therefore, I suggest stopping by the garden area of the castle and heading over to the Gyokusen Rest House to stop by and have a tea ceremony.
Calm down, calm down, it’s not some kind of ceremony. There will be no heat in the field haha. This ceremony is held to enjoy the procession of drinking tea. The tea used is usually made of matcha powder which is quite thick, very bitter. So there will be a sweet little cake to accompany it.
5. Nomura Clan’s Samurai House
The samurai houses and castles of course were mostly destroyed by the war. However, there are some that still remain, such as the samurai house of the Nomura clan.
The architecture is very Edo, traditional Japanese. A small, zen-inspired and very beautiful Japanese-style garden is in the middle of the house. At the entrance there is a real samurai suit that looks very antique, and kinda chills…
Inside there are also several tatami rooms to welcome guests, of course, the place for guests will be different depending on the class. If the guest of honor, will definitely be entertained in the main room which is spacious and many beautiful paintings.
If you’re walking around the area or the higashi chaya, my suggestion is to rent a kimono to take pictures as it fits perfectly into the background. I rented it at a rental called kokoyui kimono rental near Kanazawa station (the lady here is really pretty haha!)
Create by ipadguides in category of Travel Story