Kanazawa

The name Kenrokuen (兼六園) translates to “Garden of the Six Sublimities”, Kenrokuen is regarded as one of Japan’s “three most beautiful landscape gardens” along with Mito’s Kairakuen and Okayama’s Korakuen. The spacious grounds used to be the outer garden of Kanazawa Castle and were constructed by the ruling Maeda family over a period of nearly two centuries. Opened to the public in 1871, Kenrokuen’s grounds are teeming with water features, bridges, teahouses, trees, flowers, stones, viewpoints and hidden nooks to discover.

Ninjadera (“Ninja Temple”), more formally known as Myoryuji Temple, was built by the Maeda family during the Edo Period. While not actually associated with ninja, the temple earned its nickname because of its many deceptive defenses. These defenses include hidden tunnels, secret rooms, traps, and a labyrinth of corridors and staircases. The temple can be viewed by guided tour (reservations recommended) held only in Japanese, although good English guidebooks are also available.

A chaya (teahouse) is an exclusive type of restaurant where guests are entertained by geisha who perform traditional song and dance. Kanazawa has three, well preserved chaya districts. Higashi Chaya District is the largest and by far the most interesting. Two chaya, the Shima Teahouse and Kaikaro Teahouse, are open to the public. Other buildings along the central street now house cafes and shops. One of the shops, Hakuza, sells gold leaf products, a specialty of Kanazawa, and displays a tea ceremony room which is completely covered in gold leaf.

Nagamachi (長町), the area located at the foot of Kanazawa Castle, was the residential district for the samurai serving the castle. The area preserves a historic atmosphere with its remaining samurai residences, earthen walls, private entrance gates, narrow lanes and water canals. One of the district’s main attractions is the Nomura House, a restored samurai residence displaying the lifestyle and artifacts of the era. The Nomura family was a high-ranking retainer for the Maeda family.