Destinations

Kanazawa

"Kanazawa boasts a depth of attractions to compete with anywhere in Japan yet without the crowds. It's Japan's best kept secret."

Tom Orsman - Tour Leader

Slightly off the beaten track, Kanazawa was until 150 years ago the 4th largest city in Japan, its wealth built on high rice production and long periods of peace. However, left behind by mass industrialisation, the city has retained its charm with elegant, winding back streets, beautiful garden Kenrokoen, and the domineering Kanazawa castle - recently rebuilt it should be added!

From the mid-16th century, Kanazawa was the seat of the Maeda clan who ruled the city and Prefecture of Ishikawa for nearly three centuries. Recently dramatised for TV, the story of the Maeda Clan is one of wealth, excess, and violence alongside extensive patronage of the arts. The period of their rule became known as the “Hyaku man goku” period meaning one million bushels of rice - the way their wealth was measured and in anyone’s book, a lot of rice. The samurai are long gone but the legacy of the Maeda clan’s generosity can still be seen in modern day Kanazawa.

The city prides itself on its refinement and heritage. A wander into Higashiyama, the city’s geisha district, will transport you into another world where you can slip into a tea-shop and enjoy a few moments' rest and relaxation; in Nagamachi, remember the honour and dignity of the samurai; at Ninja Dera, taste the treachery and espionage rife in Kanazawa past. Numerous traditional crafts such as kutani pottery, kaga-yuzen silk dying, and gold leaf are still practised in small, localised work-shops all adding to Kanazawa's ambience of a city where the past and present exist happily side by side.

The Japanese love and appreciation of the four seasons is no more evident than in Kenrokoen Gardens. A profusion of fluffy pink blossoms in spring are fast followed by summer irises. In autumn, the Japanese maples take centre stage and in winter the trees of Kenrokoen are protected from heavy snow with “yuki zura,” ropes tied to the trees to protect the branches from heavy snowfall.

The arts enjoyed by the Maeda Clan are still very much alive; with a history of over 600 years, Kanazawa is one of the few places where Noh drama still flourishes. So ingrained is this theatre style within the culture of Kanazawa that gardeners in the famous Kenrokoen are purported to sing Noh chants whilst trimming the trees thus giving birth to the curious legend, “Noh chants fall from the heavens.”

It may lack the crowds of Japan’s bigger cities, but Kanazawa lacks none of the energy. Every morning, traders at the Omichio Market set up stall and sell an array of fish, which is famous Japan-wide for its freshness and quality; the weekends see busy department stores and lively bars and restaurants. Kanazawa is a look at the other side of Japanese city life, one where everything doesn’t happen at a hundred miles an hour and where people still have time to appreciate the finest elements of the Japanese tradition.