Kanazawa Castle was the home of the once powerful Maeda Clan, a lord of Kaga.

The most famous entrance to the castle is the Ishikawa-mon Gate, which is one of the only surviving original structures after the fires devoured the castle grounds in 1881. Unfortunately, aside from the gate and two storehouses, the structures that you see today are replicas.  But that does not take away from the beauty of the castle grounds.

I especially enjoyed walking around the circular path that surrounds the castle’s beautiful garden. There is a photogenic pond in the middle of the garden.

Make your way to the Kahoku-mon Gate, which was the former main entrance for the castle. Walk to its upper floor so you see some displays that showcase the history of the gate. Go to the two turrets, which are called Hishi and Tsuzuki Yagura. There is a long storehouse that links both turrets. The storehouse has displays of traditional carpentry. Take note that some parts of the castle are only accessible if you purchase a ticket. But what we saw for free was enough.

Castle Grounds Opening Times

From March 1 to October 15 – 7:00 to 18:00

October through February – 8:00 to 17:00

To gain access to all sections of the castle grounds, you need to pay a fee of 310 Yen

How to Get to Kanazawa Castle Park

Kanazawa Castle Park is located right in the center of Kanazawa. You can easily reach it by taking the popular Kanazawa Loop Bus, which is popular among tourists. When you board the bus, look for stop numbers LL9 and RL8.

If you have a Japan Rail Pass, you can take the JR buses, which run every hour from Kanazawa Station. To reach the castle, take the East Exit bus stop number 4.

Side Note: Just across from Kanazawa Castle is one of the city’s most treasured destinations, the Kenrokuen. This spectacular garden is considered one of the best landscaped gardens in the country. There are many who claim that it is in fact, the most beautiful. But I guess carefully manicured gardens are hard to maintain, so taking a look at Kenrokuen will cost you. But if you have some spare money to spend, why not? After all, you are already in the area. The Ishikawa-mon Gate is the one that faces Kenrokuen, so many tourists use this gate as the access point for both attractions.

2. Nagamachi Samurai District

If you are like me who is fascinated with the Japanese Samurai heritage, then the Nagamachi District makes an interesting visit. This neighborhood was where the samurai and their families used to live.  Today the houses are well-preserved. There is no entrance fee if you just walk around the charming narrow lanes and over the pleasant water canals. It is a picturesque district with many historical houses.  If you want to see individual attractions, make your way to the restored samurai-museum turned residence or the Shinise Kinenkan Museum. This museum highlights the history of the merchant class after the reign of the samurai. In our case, we were content just walking around Nagamachi taking photos of the houses and soaking up the atmosphere. The whole time I was happy to stroll around the same streets where the brave warriors of Japan used to walk.

How to Get to Nagamachi Samurai District

In our case, we took the Kanazawa Loop Bus, which stops at Korinbo bus stop. From Korinbo, you only need to walk 5 minutes to get to Nagamachi. You can also reach Nagamachi by taking the East Exit local bus line from Kanazawa Station and get off at stops 7 to 11.  Travel time is about 10 minutes.

A third option is to take the JR bus, especially if you have the Japan Rail Pass. Nagamachi is close to stop number 4. Even though we have a JR Pass, we did not choose to take the JR buses because they were not as frequent and convenient as the Kanazawa Loop Bus, which was designed for tourist sightseeing.