Kanazawa
The castle town of the Maeda lords on the Sea of Japan, with its great garden, its old tea-house streets and nearly all of the country’s fine gold leaf, two and a half hours from Tokyo by Shinkansen.
- Arrival
- Komatsu · KMQ
- To the city
- About 40 minutes by bus from Komatsu
- Private jets
- Komatsu, by prior arrangement
- Best time
- April to May · October to November
The city
The Maeda capital, kept intact.
For more than two centuries Kanazawa was the seat of the Maeda, whose Kaga domain was the richest under the Tokugawa shoguns. Their money went into crafts and gardens: Kenroku-en began as the outer garden of the castle, the geisha houses of Higashi Chaya still line the far bank of the Asano River, and the city beats out almost all of Japan’s high-quality gold leaf. Since 2015 the Hokuriku Shinkansen has brought it within two and a half hours of Tokyo.
The coast here is wet the whole year round, so plan by the season. April brings the cherry blossom in Kenroku-en; October and early November are comfortable for walking, and by the middle of November the gardeners are tying the pines with yukitsuri ropes against the snow. Winter is the time for snow crab.
- Kenroku-en Counted among Japan’s three great gardens, laid out by the Maeda family beside their castle and enlarged over two centuries.
- Higashi Chaya Edo-period geisha houses with latticed fronts, across the Asano River from the centre.
- Kanazawa Castle The Maeda stronghold, burnt more than once and partly rebuilt, its park next to Kenroku-en.
Arriving
By the coast airport or the bullet train.
Komatsu Airport, about forty minutes by bus south-west of Kanazawa Station, is the city’s airport. Most visitors from Tokyo now take the Hokuriku Shinkansen instead: the fastest Kagayaki trains run from Tokyo Station in about two and a half hours.
- Tokyo 45 min
- Shanghai 2 h 15
- Hong Kong 3 h 50
- Singapore 7 h 00 long-range jet
- London 12 h 25 long-range jet
When to go
April to May, and October to November.
Wet in every season, with more than 2,400 mm of rain a year. Spring and autumn are the comfortable seasons, with highs of 16 to 22 °C in April, May, October and November. The rainy season runs from mid-June to mid-July, August passes 31 °C, and from December the snow comes in off the Sea of Japan.
- 7° J 256
- 8° F 163
- 12° M 157
- 17° A 144
- 22° M 138
- 26° J 170
- 30° J 233
- 31° A 179
- 27° S 232
- 22° O 177
- 16° N 251
- 10° D 301
Where to stay
Four rooms in town, ryokan in the spa villages.
Shown for information. We have no arrangement with any of these hotels.
- Tsuruko Four rooms with their own living rooms and open-air baths, about five minutes from Kanazawa Station, new to the MICHELIN Keys in 2026.
- Beniya Mukayu Sixteen rooms in modernist buildings, every one with a private outdoor hot-spring bath.
- Araya Totoan A ryokan of seventeen rooms with spring-fed cypress baths, where the calligrapher Rosanjin once spent a year.
- Hitotsu Notojima Eight rooms on the island of Notojima, each with tall windows on the water, and sushi made from the local catch.
Where to dine
The best tables in town.
The MICHELIN Guide last covered Kanazawa in a 2021 special edition. These tables hold 2026 awards from Tabelog, Japan’s leading restaurant guide.
- Kataori Tabelog Award 2026, Gold Japanese $$$$ Namiki-machi
- Kisanuki Tabelog Award 2026, Silver Japanese $$$$ Tokiwa-machi
- respiracion Tabelog Award 2026, Silver Spanish, creative $$$$ Hakuro-machi
- Makinonci Tabelog Award 2026, Bronze French $$$$ Yamanokami-machi
- Otome Zushi Tabelog Award 2026, Bronze Sushi $$$$ Kigura-machi
- Sushi Kibatani Tabelog Award 2026, Bronze Sushi $$$$ Hikoso-machi
Elsewhere in Japan
More reasons to come.
- Tokyo The capital, with Haneda airport close to the centre.
- Kyoto Some sixteen hundred temples, the bamboo of Arashiyama, and kaiseki dinners.
- Osaka The kitchen of Japan, and the airport for Kyoto.
- Hakone Hot springs and ryokan, with views of Mount Fuji.
- Niseko Deep snow from December to March, and an onsen after the slopes.
Flying to Kanazawa?
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A Business or First Class seat on a scheduled airline, or an aircraft of your own. Tell us the date and how many are travelling, and we reply with one final price, our margin included.