Compared to other cities, I do not think that Kanazawa is the most gorgeous city to visit. However, the city has many fantastic sights, such as several very old neighbourhoods and districts, museums, a great garden and way more. These are fantastic sights, and that makes this city very interesting to visit. Keep reading to find more interesting things to do in this city!

Tourist occurrence: Medium

How to get here: 2 hours by train from Kyoto and 3 hours by train from Tokyo

How much time needed: 1-2 days

How to get around in Kanazawa?

In Kanazawa there are two bus loops, which go past all the highlights of the city. There is a Left Loop and a Right Loop, showing the direction they are going. The Loops are not riding the exact same route, so a small map can be convenient to know where to go exactly. You can buy day tickets for both loops. 

1. Find the impressive Tsuzumi-Mon Gate when you enter Kanazawa

The moment you enter the city of Kanazawa, you can find yourself in a very cool train station. The coolest part of the station is the impressive Tsuzumi-Mon Gate. The parts are made of wood, and it is almost 14 metres high. Behind the cool gate, you find the modern station, which gives a very cool combination.

Price: Free

Tourist occurrence: Low

How much time needed: 10-20 minutes

2. Visit the gorgeous Kenrokuen Garden

Kenrokuen Garden is a very beautiful garden and named one of the three most beautiful in Japan, together with Okayama's Korakuen and Mito's Kairakuen. The garden is perfect and gives different cool parts with lovely lakes, flowers, tea houses, fish, and many more. This is one of the big sights you cannot miss in Kanazawa.

Price: ¥320

Tourist occurrence: Medium

How much time needed: 1-2 hours

3. Have a stroll besides the Kanazawa Castle

The Kanazawa Castle is the next highlight of the city, with the building and its gardens. It lies very close to the Kenrokuen Garden, but the gardens of Kenrokuen are way better. I did not enter the castle, but you can walk around for free. This is not my favourite part, but it's fun to see. There are more interesting castles in Japan and better sights in Kanazawa, but it is nice to see. 

Price: ¥320 (but I did not get in, so you can walk for free in the gardens). 

Tourist occurrence: Low

How much time needed: 20 minutes

4. Have some food at the Omicho Market

I love markets when I am travelling, and especially when it is about food.  There are many food stalls, mostly focusing on fish. A personal fun stand was a stand of a brewery. The market is covered and has several streets. There is a floor above with some restaurants, but the ground floor is nicer and also has some very tasty restaurants. 

Price: Free

Tourist occurrence: Medium

How much time needed: 1-2 hours including some food

5. Visit the small Kazuemachi Chaya district

The Kazuemachi Chaya district is a very small but authentic geisha district. It is close to the Higashi Chaya district (see number 6), but I think you should absolutely visit both. This one has some very cool alleys with nice houses. In all geisha districts it is uncommon to see a geisha, but when you do, do not harm them or take pictures of them. Do not miss this cool area in Kanazawa.

Price: Free

Tourist occurrence: Low

How much time needed: 20 minutes

6. Visit the bigger Higashi Chaya district

The Higashi Chaya district is the biggest geisha district in Kanazawa. However, in Kanazawa, geishas are named 'Geigi'. This district is one of the most famous sights in the city. Walking in this district is very cool. It also holds some geigi/geisha houses, which are very cool to see but not very impressive to visit. This district is pretty big, as there are cool alleys and some bigger streets and a nice square. 

Price: Free, but a geisha cost some money

Tourist occurrence: High

How much time needed: 1 hour, including a geisha house visit. 

7. Eat some gold leaf ice cream

One of the weirdest things to eat in Kanazawa is gold leaf ice cream. Kanazawa boasts almost all production of gold leaf in the whole country of Japan, and you can taste it on an ice cream! It is a bit more expensive in comparison to normal ice cream, but it tastes very good and very cool!

8. Visit the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art 

If you want to see some cool modern art, head to the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art. The most important piece of art is a pool without water, but it was closed when I was there. Unfortunately, I could only visit the main exhibition, as the temporary exhibitions (and the pool) were closed because I was late on the day. There are some free pieces of art I have visited, and that was pretty nice as well. 

Price: Free, but some exhibitions cost money. 

Tourist occurrence: Low

How much time needed: 30 minutes for the main exhibition. 

9. Have some drinks and food in Korinbo

Kanazawa is not the most thrilling city in Japan, but you can visit the area of Korinbo. Although we were here on a Tuesday, there were some nice restaurants and bars to have a nice time, but the streets were not very crowded. This is a nice area to go in the evening in Kanazawa.

Price: Free

Tourist occurrence: Very low

How much time needed: An evening

10. Walk through Namagachi Samoerai district 

The Namagachi Samurai district is one of my personal highlights in Kanazawa. The district has some very cool streets, where you can walk alongside lovely walls. The cobblestone streets are also very pretty. One of the highlights in the district is Nomure-ke House; here you see a traditional samurai house with a cool costume and a gorgeous garden.

Price: Free, but the Nomure-ke House is ¥550

Tourist occurrence: Medium

How much time needed: 1-2 hours, including the samurai house

11. Find the Nishi Geisha district

You cannot believe it, but there is a third geisha district in Kanazawa! It is the Nishi Geisha district, which is a very cool one. It is only one big street and an alley, but it feels very authentic. It is the only one where I heard the geisha flute. They flute during their performances or for training.

Price: Free

Tourist occurrence: Very low

How much time needed: 15 minutes

Things I have not do, but could be cool

To be honest, I think I saw the most important highlight of Kanazawa, and there are not many sights that I have not seen. 

Final Thoughts

Kanazawa may not be the most atmospheric city in Japan, but it holds some very important sights that I would never want to miss in Japan, like a samurai district, geisha districts, and a classic Japanese garden. If you put it in that light, I would always recommend visiting this city. There are more important areas to visit in Japan, but it is absolutely worth visiting in Japan.

If you want to know more about Japan, check out: