Enjoy wonderful nature and world heritage sites, just a short drive from Kanazawa!
Drive for an hour or two from Kanazawa and you will find many unique, attractive areas. Take an indulgent trip, admiring the beautiful sea and mountain scenery, strolling around a world heritage "gassho-zukuri" village, or visiting a temple or shrine for an extraordinary experience. Taking a day-trip bus tour or a sightseeing taxi (which is cheaper for groups) is recommended.
Perfect day trips from Kanazawa!
Head north from Kanazawa and you will find the Noto Peninsula, which has been designated as a Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Site. The morning market, which has been around for over 1000 years and has more than 200 stalls, provides a glimpse into the local life. In Noto, you can experience magnificent and beautiful landscapes that make use of the rural areas with their abundant nature rooted in the region and the terrain facing the Sea of Japan, and the warm personalities of the people who have carefully preserved and passed down these natural areas.
Head southwest and you will find Kaga Onsenkyo, one of the best hot spring resort areas in Japan. In addition, Tojinbo, with its spectacular cliffs overlooking the rough waves of the Sea of Japan, and Eiheiji Temple, a Zen training dojo that has existed for more than 700 years, are also nearby.
Heading east from Kanazawa, there is a sculpture town where the streets are covered in wood-carved art, an area boasting a 300-year-old festival, and the world heritage site of Gokayama and Shirakawa-go with their "gassho-zukuri" villages, where you can find the original rural scenery of Japan.
All of these spots can be reached from Kanazawa in about 1 to 2 hours, so why not visit them all!
