VISIT KANAZAWA, JAPAN - Official Travel Guide

First is the Tsuzumi-mon gate just outside the Kenrokuen Exit of Kanazawa Station. Every night, the gate is illuminated from sunset to midnight, and every hour during that time (20:00, 21:00, etc.), it changes colors for two minutes to reflect five colors called "Kaga Gosai" (enji, indigo, grass, ochre, and ancient purple).

Tsuzumi-mon(Kanazawa Station)

Oyama Jinja Shrine's main gate, designated as a National Important Cultural Property, is built in three different styles, Japanese, Chinese, and Western, and at night the colorful stained glass into the top floor of the gate come to life.

Oyama Jinja Shrine

Across from Oyama Shrine, the Gyokusen-inmaru Garden in Kanazawa Castle Park, where a light and sound show unfolds mainly on Saturdays, is a favorite for nighttime Kanazawa sightseeing.

Gyokusen-inmaru Garden(Kanazawa Castle)

The Ishikawa-mon Gate (designated as a National Important Cultural Property) in Kanazawa Castle Park can be called a symbol of Kanazawa's nighttime sightseeing. Its appearance in the darkness, along with the surrounding stonewalls, leaves a lasting impression.

The Asanogawa Bridge, a retro-modern triple-arched bridge built in the Taisho era (1912-1926). Together with Tenjin bashi Bridge and Ume-no Hashi Bridge upstream and Naka-no Hashi Bridge downstream, visitors can enjoy an emotional riverside stroll.

Asanogawa Ohashi Bridge

For those who want to see the night view of Kanazawa from a high place, here are some night view spots that are easy to get to.

First, there is an observation lobby on the 19th floor of the Ishikawa Prefectural Office, which is an 8-minute bus ride from the west exit of Kanazawa Station. The view of the Sea of Japan, the Hakusan Mountain range, and even the Tateyama Mountain range in Toyama Prefecture is a great attraction. The building is open until 20:00 at night (19:00 on weekdays from January to March), and on a clear day, you can watch the beautiful sunset over the Sea of Japan.

Ishikawa Prefectual Office

Utatsuyama, which runs behind Higashi Chaya District, is famous as one of the best viewpoints in Kanazawa. There are three recommended viewing spots: Boko-dai Observatory, Miharashi-dai, and Chobo-no oka Hill. Since local buses only run during the daytime, you can either take a cab or walk up to the hill with a view, which is closest to Higashi Chaya District, in about 20 to 30 minutes. The attraction is not only the lights of the city, but also the starry sky depending on the weather and, if you are lucky, the fishing fires on the Sea of Japan.

Utatsuyama Park

Furthermore, from Kigoyama Mountain, a nature-rich galaxy village about 30 minutes by car from Kanazawa Station, you can see the lights of the city, fishing fires, and twinkling stars above them, too, if the weather is fine. Moreover, if you look back, the sky is full of stars, making it a very luxurious place to enjoy the night view plus astronomical observation.

Here are five areas in the city where you can enjoy a night stroll. First, from Korinbo to the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa area.

From Korinbo, a dazzling downtown area at night, walk along Hirosaka Street toward Kenrokuen Garden, and you will see the classic brick-built Ishikawa Four High School Memorial Cultural Exchange Center and the Shiinoki Cultural Complex,Ishikawa Prefecture on your left, and the stone walls of Kanazawa Castle lit up in the distance. The 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa is also surrounded by permanent outdoor exhibits illuminated by the museum's lights and streetlamps.

Ishikawa Four High School Memorial Exchange Center

Shiinoki Cultural Complex

The 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art

The Retro Experience Room and other facilities of the Ishikawa Four High School Memorial Cultural Exchange Center are open until 9:00 p.m., and the Shiinoki Cultural Complex, Ishikawa Prefecture and 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa Interaction Zone are open until 10:00 p.m., both of which are free of charge. We recommend taking a break when you are tired from walking.

The Higashi Chaya District is crowded with tourists during the daytime, but after 5:00 p.m., many of the cafes and general merchandise stores close their doors, and the atmosphere turns magical with the gas lamps. If you venture into the alleyways, you will find restaurants and bars that blend in with the old townscape and create a mood that will make you enjoy a chic evening.

In the Kazue-machi Chaya District facing the Asanogawa River, an atmospheric slope called "Kuragarizaka(a dark slope)" or "Akarizaka(a light slope)" appears at the end of a maze of alleys. In this area, the Asanogawa Ohashi Bridge, a registered tangible cultural property, the wooden-style Ume-no Hashi Bridge and Naka-no Hashi Bridge, the flowing curved Tenjin Hashi Bridge, and the bridges over the Asanogawa River are all lit up with their own atmospheric lights, making them a pleasure to visit.

At night, the Nagamachi District will make you feel like you have stepped back in time, as if a samurai might come out from around the corner. Although this area is adjacent to the downtown area, it is located in a quiet residential area. Heading toward Oyama Jinja Shrine from the Nagamachi District, the "Shinmon" gate, with its five-colored Guillaman (stained glasses) shining from a distance, catches the eye. It makes sense that the shrine once served as a lighthouse for ships passing through the Sea of Japan.

Cross the illuminated Nezumitamon Bridge from Oyama Jinja Shrine and pass through the Nezumitamon Gate, and you will find yourself in Kanazawa Castle Park and the Gyokusen-inmaru Garden. The surrounding stone walls and the Sanjikken Nagaya, designated as a National Important Cultural Property, are illuminated in a variety of colors to the accompaniment of music for about seven minutes, making this an enjoyable evening sightseeing experience.

Light up of Gyokusen-inmaru Garden

Adjacent to Katamachi, Kanazawa's most popular nightlife district, this neighborhood is deeply associated with writers who established an era, including the great writer Saisei MURO, the best-selling author of the Taisho era (1912-1926), Seijiro SHIMADA, Chuya NAKAHARA, and Yasushi INOUE. You may enjoy a memorable evening stroll as if you had wandered into the world of a novel.

The path leading from the illuminated Saigawa Ohashi Bridge to the Sakura Bridge one upstream is named Saisei no michi (Saisei's Path), a walk that Saisei MURO loved so much. Along the way, you will find a nostalgic atmosphere along the riverside lined with cherry blossom trees lit by lamps. W Slope, which appears in Yasushi INOUE's autobiographical novel "Kita no Umi" (The North Sea), is also illuminated, and from the top of the slope, a night view of the center of the city can be seen. Nishi Chaya District, where Seijiro SHIMADA lived and often appears in Saisei's works, also takes on a bewitching mood as the evening twilight falls.

The Honda Park area is attracting attention with the opening of the National Crafts Museum, the first national art museum on the Sea of Japan coast and the only national art museum in Japan dedicated to crafts. The chalk-white building of the National Crafts Museum is a reconstruction of two former army facilities built in the Meiji era (1868-1912), which are registered tangible cultural properties of Japan.

The adjacent Ishikawa Red Brick Museum (Ishikawa Prefectural Museum of History and Kaga Honda Museum), a former army armory, is a designated National Important Cultural Property. It too is illuminated, creating a striking contrast with the National Crafts Museum. Seisonkaku, the Maeda family's palace in front of the National Crafts Museum and adjacent to Kenrokuen Garden, will also be lit up from the end of 2021, with its sea Namako (sea cucumber) walls creating a graceful appearance in the darkness.