About this location: Kanazawa
Kanazawa is the castle town of the Kaga domain's one-million-koku wealth. Kenrokuen (one of Japan's Three Great Gardens), Kanazawa Castle Park, the Higashi Chaya geisha district, Nagamachi samurai house ruins, Omicho Market, and the 21st Century Museum pair Edo streets with modern art. The evening tea district is magical.
Key features
- Kenrokuen — landscaped from 1676, one of Japan's Three Great Gardens and a Special Place of Scenic Beauty; the winter rope-suspended pines (yukitsuri) and the Kotoji Lantern at Kasumigaike Pond are emblematic
- Kanazawa Castle Park — the seat of the Kaga domain's Maeda clan, with white-stucco namako-kabe walls and dramatic evening illumination
- Higashi Chaya District — established in 1820 as a major tea-house district, a Designated Important Preservation District, with red-lattice machiya and lanterns at dusk
- Kanazawa Station Tsuzumi Gate — opened 2005, fusing a 13.7 m traditional drum-shaped gate with a modern glass dome, beautifully lit at night
- 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art — opened 2004, designed by SANAA as a circular glass building, including Leandro Erlich's «Swimming Pool»
