Kanazawa may be compact, but we were blown away by how much there is to experience here.
Samurai and geisha districts, one of Japan's Great Gardens, a 300-year-old food market, a centuries-old pottery tradition, contemporary design and a seriously good jazz scene are all packed into this small city.
Our 3 day Kanazawa itinerary brings together the must-sees with unique discoveries from our trip, plus the tips we learned along the way.
Overview: 3 Days in Kanazawa
Day 1: Eat lunch at Omicho Market, explore Kenroku-en Garden, experience Zen-inspired architecture, browse indie shops, and dine at an izakaya in a traditional machiya. Day 2: Explore Kanazawa's samurai district, discover its 350-year-old pottery tradition, eat at a local favourite, hear the evolution of recorded sound, and finish the night at a jazz kissa. Day 3: Step inside a 200-year-old geisha house, shop contemporary Japanese design, tour a historic sake brewery, and catch live jazz at a Kanazawa institution. |
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3 Day Kanazawa Itinerary
Day 1
Stay in the heart of Kanazawa
For your 3 days in Kanazawa, we recommend staying around the central Korinbo and Katamachi districts or near Omicho Market.
You'll be within walking distance of many of the city's main sights.
We stayed at Korinkyo, a historic art gallery that's been converted into a boutique hotel and fragrance distillery.It's one of the most architecturally unique places to stay in Kanazawa with its soft Brutalist aesthetic, original arched concrete walls, and minimalist interiors.
🛏️ Browse more stays in Kanazawa.Eat lunch at Kanazawa's 300-year-old market
Head to Omicho Market for lunch. Dating back to 1721, it's been Kanazawa's main market for over 300 years!
You'll find more than 170 shops and stalls selling everything from fresh seafood to local sweets.
We went for two rounds of deep-fried crab legs, sampled plenty of local specialties and tried a fancy gold leaf ice cream cone.
Explore one of Japan's Three Great Gardens
Kenroku-en Garden
Spend the afternoon exploring Kenroku-en Garden. It's considered one of Japan's Three Great Gardens, with a history dating back to the 1670s.
Its name, Kenroku-en, means "Garden of the Six Sublimities" and refers to the six qualities of a perfect landscape garden (spaciousness, seclusion, artifice, antiquity, abundant water, and broad views). It has them all.
Admire the centuries-old pine trees and don't miss Miyoshian Suitei Teahouse for a bowl of matcha overlooking the pond.
We put our name on the list and waited about 15 minutes for a table.
Experience D.T. Suzuki's Zen philosophy through architecture
From Kenroku-en Garden, it's a pretty, 10-minute walk to the D.T. Suzuki Museum.
Designed by renowned architect Yoshio Taniguchi, the museum's minimalist architecture reflects D.T. Suzuki's Zen Buddhist philosophy of direct experience.
The highlight is the tranquil Water Mirror Garden and Contemplative Space, where we sat quietly and took in the surroundings.
Shop around the Kakinokibatake neighbourhood
Walk towards downtown Kanazawa and explore the Kakinokibatake neighbourhood, where you'll find quiet streets with contemporary fashion boutiques, cafes and indie shops.
We loved Library Records, a small record shop run by friendly staff with a great mix of classics and releases from local artists. I ended up picking up a techno record here.
We also stopped into Fudge Up Nothing, which had a unique selection of contemporary menswear.
Dine at an izakaya inside a traditional machiya
For dinner, head to Fuwari. It was hands down one of our best meals in Japan.
Tucked away inside a renovated machiya townhouse on a quiet street, the izakaya serves seasonal dishes, many cooked over binchotan charcoal.
Every single thing we ordered was delicious!
Come hungry, because you'll want to try as much as possible. The staff were friendly, and it's popular for good reason, so make sure you book ahead.
Day 2
Explore Kanazawa's preserved samurai district
Next, wander through Kanazawa's Nagamachi Samurai District, once home to the city's middle- and high-ranking samurai.
What's so unique about this area is how much of it has survived. It escaped the major fires and WWII bombing that destroyed many historic districts in Japan.
Much of the layout dates back to the Edo period, making it easy to imagine what life here would have looked like when samurai families called it home.
As you walk through the narrow streets, make a stop at CERAMICA - 本田屋食器店. It had one of the best selections of artisanal housewares we found. We ended up leaving with wooden miso soup bowls and chopsticks.
Step inside a high-ranking samurai family's home
Nomura-ke Samurai Heritage Residence
While you're in the Samurai District, visit the Nomura-ke Samurai Heritage Residence.
It belonged to a high-ranking samurai family who served the powerful Maeda clan and gives you a glimpse into how a wealthy samurai family would have lived during the Edo period.
The garden alone is worth seeing, with a koi pond and a Japanese bayberry tree that's over 400 years old.
🏯 If you want to learn more about the history of Kanazawa's historic districts, consider booking a walking tour with a local guide.Eat fresh sushi at a local favourite in Omicho Market
Make your way back to Omicho Market for lunch at one of its popular local spots, Yamasan Sushi Honten.
They offer lunch sets and seafood bowls, or you can order rolls and nigiri by the piece. Everything we had was fresh and delicious, and the staff were nice.
Discover Kanazawa's 350-year-old Ōhi pottery tradition
After lunch, walk over to the Ōhi Museum to learn about one of Kanazawa's most fascinating pottery traditions.
Ōhi ware has been made by the same family for more than 350 years, passed from one master to the next.
We loved seeing how each generation put its own spin on the tradition, reflecting changing tastes and artistic movements over the centuries.
Ōhi ware is formed by hand and known for its glossy glaze. The pieces can look simple at first, but up close you'll see the complex textures and colours created during firing.
The coolest part was getting to choose an Ōhi bowl made by one of the master potters to drink matcha from afterwards.
These bowls can sell for thousands of dollars, so actually getting to drink from one felt pretty crazy. Make sure you add the matcha experience to your ticket!
Hear the evolution of recorded sound at the Kanazawa Phonograph Museum
If you love music, the Kanazawa Phonograph Museum is a very unique experience.
A few times throughout the day, they hold demonstrations where you actually get to listen to gramophones from different decades and hear how the sound evolved.
The presentation is in Japanese, but they gave us an English pamphlet to follow along, and it was fascinating.
The museum has a great story too. Local record-store owner Hiroshi Yokaichiya began rescuing and repairing phonographs, and his collection eventually grew into the museum you can visit today.
Check their website for demonstration times. When we went, they were at 11am, 2pm and 4pm.
Dine at a local favourite and end the night at a classic jazz kissa
For dinner, ask your hotel for one of their favourite spots. It’s a great way to tap into local knowledge and discover somewhere you might not have found on your own.
Afterwards, enjoy a nightcap at one of Kanazawa's classic jazz kissas, where the focus is on sitting back and listening to records played through a serious hi-fi sound system.
Our favourite was Jazz Spot Bokunen, a tucked-away listening bar that's been around since 1992.
Grab a seat at the bar, order a drink and enjoy the incredibly crisp jazz.
We loved that they displayed each record as it played, so we could make note of our favourites to add to our collection. Check out our Jazz Kissa playlist on Spotify.
Day 3
Step inside a 200-year-old chaya in Kanazawa's historic geisha district
Start your morning exploring Higashi Chaya, Kanazawa's largest historic geisha district.
Established in 1820 as a designated entertainment district, its streets are lined with traditional wooden chaya (teahouses), where geisha entertained wealthy guests with music and dance.
Amazingly, it is still a working geisha district today.
Shima Geisha House
During the Edo period, most townhouses weren't allowed second-story rooms, but chaya were an exception. They were allowed large upstairs tatami rooms where geisha could perform for guests.
Make sure you visit Geisha House Shima, which dates back to 1820 and has survived with very few alterations.
It's now designated an Important Cultural Property of Japan, and you can explore the original upstairs rooms where geisha performed, and guests were entertained.
🍵 Top Tip: Before you leave, stop at the small tearoom at the back of Shima for matcha and a traditional sweet overlooking the garden.
Shop contemporary boutiques in Higashi Chaya
So many small boutiques in the Higashi Chaya district
What surprised us about Higashi Chaya was how amazing the shopping was.
Many of the old machiya and chaya have been converted into small boutiques, where you'll find handmade contemporary pieces using traditional Japanese techniques.
You'll see gold leaf everywhere, which makes sense considering Kanazawa produces around 99% of Japan's gold leaf.
The process involves repeatedly beating gold until it's incredibly thin (around 1/10,000th of a millimetre), before it's applied by hand to everything from lacquerware and jewelry to food.
We bought edible gold leaf to bring home from Hakuza Hikarigura Store. It makes a great gift!
Our favourite shop in Kanazawa was Enishira. It had some of the most unique ceramics and metalworks we came across, all by contemporary Japanese artisans.
There were some serious showstopper pieces. We bought a sake pitcher by Takeshi Kudo and a metal sake cup by Hiroshi Kise.
Tour Kanazawa's oldest sake brewery
Next, take a tour of Fukumitsuya, Kanazawa's oldest sake brewery, founded in 1625.
We learned so much about the sake-making process, but one of the most fascinating parts was tasting the water from the brewery's well.
The water begins as rain and snow around Mt. Hakusan and spends more than 100 years filtering underground before reaching the brewery, picking up minerals along the way that help with fermentation.
The tour ends with a guided tasting of different sakes paired with small bites. It was a lot of fun.
✔️ Top Tip: If you don't see any tour dates available on their calendar, send them an email. We did this, and they were able to open up a time for us.
Grab a slice and catch live jazz at a Kanazawa institution
For dinner, change things up from Japanese cuisine with a very satisfying slice from Pizza Horizon.
Their New York-style pizza makes the perfect quick bite before heading to Mokkiriya for a night of live jazz.
Mokkiriya has been part of Kanazawa's music scene since 1971, with everyone from local musicians to big-name artists performing in its intimate space.
The night we went, it was packed with a mix of locals and travellers, and it ended up being one of the best live jazz shows we've seen. If you love jazz, this is a must-do!
Check their schedule before your trip and book a show in advance. We made our reservation through their inquiry form online.
✔️ Top Tip: Bring cash, and save enough in case you want to pick up one of the artists' CDs after the show. We did!
Enjoy your 3 days in Kanazawa!
Get started on planning your trip to Kanazawa
- 🌃 Book your accommodation: in Kanazawa
- 🏯 Browse guided tours: through GetYourGuide. Most experiences offer free cancellation up to 24 hours in advance.
- 🚄 Book the high-speed train: We found Klook easy to use for booking our train tickets in advance.
Don't forget about travel insurance
👩⚕️ For affordable travel insurance: go with SafetyWing - it's budget-friendly and you can even buy it while abroad, but note the max medical coverage is $250,000 USD. 🏥 For comprehensive travel insurance: go with World Nomads - it's more expensive, but the max emergency medical coverage is $5-10 million, depending on the plan.Don't miss our other Japan itineraries:
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