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Kanazawa
Located on the Japan Sea side in Japan’s Hokuriku region, Kanazawa offers numerous well-preserved cultural sites, beautiful lacquerware, embroidered silk and colorful ceramics, as well as excellent seafood – minus the busloads of foreign tourists. With Kyoto and Tokyo attracting the vast majority of foreign tourists, Kanazawa and its surrounding areas maintain a leisurely pace, with the exception of a few festival days each year.
Kanazawa is a castle town, founded officially in 1583 when the powerful Maeda clan took control from the militant Ikko Buddhist sect. The Maeda family ruled for three centuries thereafter, and they are credited with fostering Kanazawa’s subsequent development of traditional arts and craft-making. Noh theater, Yuzen silk dying, colorful Kutani pottery and its signature gold-leaf lacquerware are a few of the city’s considerable cultural assets.
Besides stand-alone temples and shrines, the city has tastefully preserved entire neighborhoods as historical treasures, including the Nagamachi, Teramachi, Higashi Geisha and Nishi Chaya districts. Nagamachi Samurai District is a well-preserved neighborhood where members of the samurai class resided during Japan’s feudal period. Its tile-roofed earthen walls, narrow lanes and water canals evoke a bygone era when this powerful ruling class dominated Japanese society.
Castle towns in the feudal era located temples and shrines in districts outside the city; Teramachi, literally ‘temple district,’ houses the many of the city’s shrines and temples, including the famous Myo-ryu-ji, or “Ninja-dera,” named for its numerous concealed tunnels, trapdoors and secret chambers. Entertainment districts were also located on the city’s outskirts; the Higashi Geisha and Nishi Chaya districts feature old teahouses and traditional ryokan (‘inns’) that evoke an atmosphere similar to Kyoto’s famous Gion district.
Kanazawa also has an impressive array of craft making centers, kilns, museums and other attractions which encourage interactive and hands-on learning among its visitors. At the Kutani Kosen kiln, visitors pay no admission and are treated to pottery-making demonstrations.
The Yuzen Silk Center features silk-dying demonstrations (500 yen admission), and museums like the Yasue Gold Leaf Museum offers workshops upon request.
Kanazawa’s most famous tourist attraction is Kenroku-en (pictured above), officially ranked as one of Japan’s three most beautiful gardens. The name ‘Kenroku’ refers to a Sung Dynasty Chinese garden which combined six components of perfection: seclusion, spaciousness, artifice, antiquity, running water and broad views. While it is well worth seeing, an early morning, mid-week excursion is highly recommended to avoid busloads of tourists.
And now for the food …
Kanazawa borders the Japan Sea, so delicious and abundant varieties of seafood come as no surprise. Restaurants feature seasonal delicacies such as steamed sea bream, chilled crab with soy sauce & vinegar, broiled yellowtail tuna and delicate sweet shrimp (ama-ebi). Many restaurants regularly serve seafood donburi teishoku – a variety of seafood on top of a deep bowl of rice, accompanied by pickles and miso soup. Delicacies like jibuni stew, which is duck or chicken floured and boiled with shiitake mushrooms and vegetables, are also popular.
Desserts in Japan usually take the form of colorful dumplings and rice cakes, usually paired with mattcha, a strong powdered green tea. Besides an unusually wide variety of traditional rice dumpling sweets, Kanazawa is home to a few varieties which are rare in Japan. One of my favorite traditional candy stores is a 170-year-old landmark called “Tawara-ya Ame,” the oldest candy shop in Kanazawa. Tawara-ya makes a sticky, hardened candy made only of high-quality rice and barley – absolutely no sugar is used. Visitors to the main branch are treated to a free sample and a pamphlet (in English) explaining the history and variety of its delicious (and habit-forming) candy.
While Kanazawa has a population of approximately 450,000, it is hardly a small town. Still, this is approximately one-third the size of Kyoto – many cultural attractions on a smaller, more manageable scale. Buses are Kanazawa’s chief mode of transportation, and its service is excellent. Access to major sightseeing districts is uncomplicated, and each district is easily covered on foot. Maps in English are very detailed, comprehensive and available at hotels and transit stations.
With myriad traditions thriving in such a small city, Kanazawa is a rare gem. Main sites can be done in 1-2 days. However, when combining any number of side-trips, Kanazawa makes for a comfortable, enjoyable alternative tour base for those who wish to explore beyond Kyoto and Tokyo.
- by Jennifer Hale, G H A Travel
Jennifer spent the summer of 1991 studying Japanese in Kanazawa. She returned recently to find this seaside city’s charm and hospitality as warm and inviting as ever.
For more information on G H A tours to Kanazawa, email us or contact us at 800.442.2240.
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