Kanazawa City Ishikawa Prefecture

Kanazawa in Ishikawa Prefecture is a city with lots of history and well preserved architectural heritage. There is a shinkansen (bullet train) between Kanazawa and Nagano City which takes just over an hour, so it’s easy to visit Kanazawa as a side trip in conjunction with a ski or snowboard trip to the ski resorts near Nagano. Kanazawa makes a nice alternative to Kyoto because it’s not crazy busy and the attractions are within a compact area, so logistics are easier.

The rich history of Kanazawa stems from it becoming the capital of the Kaga province, which was the largest in Japan in the 16th century as well as one of the wealthiest provinces. Around the Kanazawa Castle were impressive samurai houses, warehouses, temples and ateliers. During the Edo period (1603 to 1868), Kanazawa developed a very refined culture. Miraculously Kanazawa has survived all these years, and like Kyoto, it was mostly spared from the bombing during World War II, and the architectural legacy has been well preserved including the geisha districts, the old market, and samurai quarters. Naturally Kanazawa also has modern elements blended in with the city’s very rich heritage and history.

Where is Kanazawa?

Kanazawa is in the Ishikawa Prefecture on the west coast of Honshu, bordering the Sea of Japan. It is about 400km by road to the northwest of Tokyo, and just 2.5 hours from Tokyo on the Shinkansen. Kanazawa is 2:10 hours from Kyoto on JR Express train or 3:30 hours by car, whilst the city of Nagano is just over an hour away on the Hokuriku Shinkansen.

Skiing Near Kanazawa

Kanazawa is not a classic Japanese ski resort region, and if you’ve got the opportunity to go snowboarding or skiing in Nagano, that would highly preferential over skiing in Kanazawa if you’re looking for the famous Japow. There are a handful of ski resorts near Kanazawa that are mostly low elevation and OK for beginners and piste skiers. Hakusan Ichirino Ski Resort is probably the pick of the bunch for Kanazawa skiing, whilst Ski Jam Katsuyama is better if you’re willing to travel further afield.

Some of the little ski areas have a weekend bus that runs from the Kanazawa train station to the ski resort.

Ski Area Near Kanazawa - Stats
Ski Area	Top (m)	Base (m)	Vertical (m)	Runs	Lifts	Max Pitch °	Location *
Hakusan Ichirino Onsen	1,050	550	500	10	6	32	45km S
Hakusan Seymour	1,030	300	730	9	4	38	30km S
Iohzan	540	390	150	4	2	37	14km SE
IOX Arosa	850	350	500	7	6	28	34km SE
Ski Jam Katsuyama	1,320	610	710	15	6	37	80km S

* distance relative to Kanazawa train station

If you're on a road trip back towards Nagano, a few of the Gifu ski resorts such as Dynaland are along the way.

Hakuba is 182km (2:30 hours) and Myoko is 209km (2:30 hour) by road to the northeast of Kanazawa.

Kanazawa Accommodation

The Kanazawa accommodation options cover the whole gamut including deluxe western hotels, mid-range hotels, guesthouses, and the full traditional Japanese experience at a ryokan.

See the where to stay in Kanazawa page for a map of the attractions and good districts to stay in to be amongst all the action.

Kanazawa Hotel Listings

Activities

If you arrive via train into Kanazawa, your first stop should be the information centre at the train station so that you can get some inspiration about what you’d like to see. Or you can download Kanazawa tourism brochures here. 

There are lots of areas to wander around to absorb the history and traditional architecture. Stroll through the geisha districts where the streets are lined with traditional geisha houses that retain the atmosphere of the Edo period: Higashi-Chiya; Kazue Machi Chaya; and Nishi Chaya.

The Nagamachi Samurai District is where the middle class samurai families lived during the Edo period, and you can walk the cobblestone streets lined with earthen walls that look particularly cool when it’s snowed.

Being a castle town, you’d better at least take a glance at the Kanazawa Castle and the adjacent Kenrokuen Garden that is the centrepiece of the city.

With a history associated with plenty of wealth, Kanazawa has a strong crafts culture so you’ll find opportunities to see lots of traditional Japanese crafts including lacquerware with gold leaf.

The preserved old Omicho Market is a good spot to indulge in some of the local food specialities, with a key one being the abundant seafood.

And there are various little villages for onsen in the nearby mountains if you haven’t had enough opportunities during your skiing time in Japan.

You can also do sightseeing day trips from Kanazawa. Shirakawa-go is located in the nearby mountains of Gifu and is a highly photographed attraction of Japan because of its steep thatched-roof houses that look pretty cool covered in snow. Living World Heritage Gokayama Nanto and Takayama are also popular day trips. You could do the whole Three-Star Road route which showcases traditional Japan with world heritage sites, national treasures, onsen, snow covered mountains and plenty of Japanese cuisine. In addition to Kanazawa, Mitsuboshi Kaido includes Matsumoto in Nagano Prefecture with its impressive castle, Takayama, and Shirakawa-go.