The city of Kanazawa is very compact and you will be able to feel the appearance of the ancient samurai days in the feudal period as strolling the town and streets.
Your hotel or Kanazawa JR station in Kanazawa
Enjoy exploring Omicho Market where various kinds of fresh local fishes as well as vegetables are displayed. It will be fun to encounter what you have not seen before.
Enjoy seeing historical gates of the castle and castle related buildings in the Kanazawa Castle Park.
One of the most beautiful landscape gardens and also one of the best feudal lord gardens in Japan. Enjoy exploring!
You will immediately sense the ancient samurai days while walking the paths and visiting Nomura Samurai House with a full of history.
Stroll around historical area where Geisha have been entertaining people since the Edo period.
Your hotel or Kanazawa JR station
- Nagamachi Samurai Residence District & Nomura Samurai House:
The middle class samurai of the Kaga clan resided here about 350-400 years ago. The streetscapes of the Nagamachi district evokes you the life style of samurai. It is excited to stroll in the narrow alleys with earthen walls and classy gates which have retained since the Edo era. you can find the historical and cultural values in the traditional Japanese style construction structure of Nomural Samural House with a chamber room and an alcove. The beautiful garden has awarded 2 stars of the Michelin Green Guide.
- Kanazawa Castle;
Ishikawamon Gate was rebuilt in 1788 in the Edo period. Roof of Ishikawamon gate looks very white, sparkling and beautiful. Why white? It is because lead is used for the roof and it became weather white. It is nice to see panoramas of the castle from the gate.
- Kenrokuen Garden
The garden is one of the three most famous landscape gardens of Japan with ponds, streams, 8200 trees, stone lanterns, tea houses, small bridges, and etc. This garden is also called a "feudal lord garden" as it started to create about 340 years ago by the 5th lord Maeda of the Kaga clan. It is very enjoyable to stroll around the garden.
- Higashi Geisha Tea House District:
You can find traditional Japanese wooden tea houses with beautiful lattices along with the stone pavements. It is also a fun to look into small shops in tea houses selling genuine local handcrafts such as wooden lacquer wares, gold leaf jewelries, and Japanese sweets. It is just like you are in a small world which give you very different impression from the town you are living.
- Omicho Fish Market
It is fun to see a various types of fishes, veges, foods and souvenirs and people working at the fish market are quite energetic. The market has been operating over 300 years since the Edo era. You will find it very interesting atmosphere. If you wish, you will be able to eat fresh grilled seafood there.
guide fee and hotel pick-up
Expenses described below will incur besides the tour fee.
(below are fees per person & you and guide)
*Public transportation: ¥800 (no cost for a walking tour)
*Kenrokuen Garden: ¥320 (free for over 65 years old & a guide)
*Nomura Samurai House: ¥550 (free for a guide)
*Lunch
The itinerary and the hours of the tour can be flexible. If you have a particular place that you would like to go or change the starting time or duration of the tour, please feel free to ask me.
A responsive, responsible and excellent tour guide. Yoshie-san went out of her way to ensure that we enjoyed our day. Thank you so much.
Hi Ken, thank you so much for your review on my tour in Fukui. We happened to see monks chanting a sutra which made the entire temple very solemn. I am so pleased that you could enjoy viewing beautiful nature in Fukui. Will wait for you to come back! Thank you again. Yoshie
I give Yoshie a well deserved 5 stars! She is a very pleasant and kind person with perfect English! She is diligent and very organised in planning our itinerary. She was flexible in accommodating our last minute requests. I can tell she did a lot of research especially on her selection of lunch at a UNESCO heritage site. It was the most memorable lunch we ever had in Japan!! It was a grilled fish restaurant using the Shirakawago’s traditional grilling method in one of 9 Gassho Houses in Gokayama. The restaurant owner showed us a photo of his father who was a mountain hiker (?). The owner carried on his father’s legacy and runs this restaurant. At the end of the lunch, the owner did a short spontaneous performance for us: he played an instrument special to this region with singing and dancing!! Wow… what an unexpected bonus to the wonderful lunch! We owe this memorable experience to Yoshie for the fantastic planning and being the best tour guide! Next time In Kanazawa, I will certainly hire Yoshie again! Widdy
Hi Widdy, thank you so much for your overwhelming and thoughtful review. I am very pleased to receive it from you. Now I understand that your family loves eating Japanese food while traveling. Of course, you are so keen about the history and culture of each country too. I would be more than happy to find good food next time you come to see me! Thank you again.
We had a fantastic day with Yoshie, we never could have seen as much in our short time in Kanazawa without her. She was knowledgeable, friendly, and flexible—my husband, my 16 year old son and I all had a great time exploring, learning, and sampling all the delicious treats around town. Thanks again!
Hi Laura, thank you so much for your kind review on my tour. It was a beautiful sunny day to walk in Kanazawa. Everybody was so energetic walking, eating, seeing and talking. I liked seeing your family's big curiosity about everything! Thank you again. Yoshie
Yoshie was the perfect guide for us. Her knowledge and translation skills helped make our visits to washi, tansu and knife-making studios so interesting. She was willing to answer any questions we asked. Lunch was delicious and our conversation was broad-ranging. Highly recommend.
Hi Nancy, thank you so much for visiting the 'crafts town', Echizen and for your kind review. I am truly happy that you liked the time spent in Echizen and I enjoyed talking with you too. We have a large annual open workshops event in October in the widely ranged area. Hope you can come back some day! Thank you again. Yoshie