From Kanazawa's traditional culture to the best gourmet food. A women's trip by car!
You can experience traditional Kanazawa crafts such as Kaga mizuhiki and Kaga temari, and pray for love fulfillment at a shrine related to the Maeda family. In addition, we will guide you on a women's trip to fully enjoy the charms of Kanazawa, including cafes where you can enjoy a course of sweets, night view spots, and delicious meals served in an old private house. Why not enjoy a relaxing tour of Kanazawa while also enjoying a drive?
Useful Information for Driving
Hyakumangoku Street, which circles around central Kanazawa, connects major tourist attractions such as Korinbo at "Omimachi Market", Hirosaka where "21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa" is located, and Hashiba near "Higashi Chaya-gai". As a result, there is a lot of traffic and morning and evening traffic jams can occur. Many of the nearby spots do not have private parking, but coin-operated parking is plentiful.
The area around Hirosaka Green near "Kanazawa Castle Park" on the east side of Korinbo is an area where you can enjoy a refreshing drive surrounded by tree-lined streets. The path between the Saigawa Bridge and the Sakura Bridge upstream is called "Saisei no michi," a scenic route lined with cherry trees along the Saigawa River.
＜Recommended Driving Spots for a Women's Trip to Kanazawa
1Jiyuukajin
Enchanted by modern items made of mizuhiki, a traditional Kanazawa craft
Mizuhiki store and workshop stands in a peaceful location along the Saigawa River. Mizuhiki is a decorative knot used to tie gift bags. In Kanazawa, mizuhiki has been a traditional craft since the Edo period (1603-1867), and is well known as a beautiful three-dimensional decoration for gift-giving. Mizuhiki is a traditional craft that has been familiar since the Edo period (1603-1868), and is used to decorate three-dimensional, beautiful wedding gifts. While based on the traditional "Awaji-knot," the shop offers modern items that are not bound by the traditional mizuhiki craftsmanship.
There is also a "Mizuhiki Museum" next to the store, where lampshades made from original Mizuhiki are a fantastic and photogenic place to visit.
Dainty mizuhiki accessories as souvenirs
Popular gifts for friends include earrings, earrings, and pendants made of mizuhiki beads. They are colorful, lovely, and easy to wear. Flower baskets with glass cups make picture-perfect interior decorations by simply placing a vase of wild flowers in it.
For those who would like to make their own baskets, workshops are also available. The workshop takes about 30 minutes to 2 hours and costs from 2,750 yen. It is also recommended to purchase original mizuhiki materials and kits in more than 200 colors to make your own at home.
- Jiyuukajin
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7-9 Kiyokawa-cho, Kanazawa City, Ishikawa Prefecture MAP
15 minutes drive from JR Kanazawa Station
Take a bus from JR Kanazawa Station, get off at Sakurabashi bus stop, and walk 5 minutes.
10:00-16:00
3rd Friday of the month, year-end and New Year's holidays
Admission to the Mizuhiki Museum: Adults (18 years and older): 500 yen, Elementary to high school students: 200 yen
Mizuhiki Experience Class: 2,750 yen and up (minimum of 1 person; please call to make a reservation)
076-244-6441
Free of charge
2Muroo Saisei Memorial Museum
A memorial museum in the birthplace of Saisei Muroo, one of Kanazawa's three great writers.
As soon as you leave "Nishi-chaya-gai" and head toward the Saigawa River, you will arrive at the memorial hall located on the site of the birthplace of Saisei Murou. Saisei's literature, which spanned a variety of fields including poetry, haiku, novels, and essays, is filled with his love for the nature of his hometown Kanazawa and his compassion for small lives.
Upon entering the memorial hall, visitors will find a small garden inspired by the flow of the Saigawa River that Saisei loved so much. The stone pagoda and Tsukubai, which were actually used by Saisei, are placed in the garden, and the sight of birds playing in the water is soothing. On the wall of the atrium space, the covers of the first editions of all his books are displayed in chronological order. The retro artwork is a real treat to behold.
Full of exhibits to learn more about Saisei, the cat-loving writer.
The exhibition room on the first floor introduces visitors to his manuscripts, letters, and drawings he made on postcards addressed to his children. In addition to cats, which appear in many of his works, Saisei also kept dogs, small birds, and insects, and the " Saisei's Dog and Cat Chronology," produced by the museum, shows his love for these small creatures.
On the second floor, limited time-only exhibitions such as "Food and Saisei" and "Traveling Saisei" are held. In addition, there are school songs written by Saisei, a corner where visitors can listen to Saisei's voice, and a handwriting corner where visitors can Experience the use of letters and brush strokes, allowing them to immerse themselves in the world of Saisei Muroo.
- Muroo Saisei Memorial Hall
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- 3-22 Sennichimachi, Kanazawa City, Ishikawa Prefecture MAP
- 15 minutes drive from JR Kanazawa Station
- From JR Kanazawa Station, take a bus (leftward route). 6 min. walk from Katamachi Bus Stop.
- 9:30-17:00
- Closed on Tuesdays (or the following day if Tuesday is a national holiday), year-end and New Year's holidays *Closed during exhibition changes three times a year
- 310 yen *210 yen for those aged 65 and over, free for high school students and younger
- 076-245-1108
- Free of charge
3Aoki
9 obanzai dishes. Beautiful Japanese lunch
This Japanese-style restaurant is located in a residential area near the Saigawa River, just a few steps from the Saisei Muro Saisei Memorial Museum. The 90-year-old house was renovated to create a simple, modern atmosphere with large beams, and the restaurant seats about 10 people comfortably. The owner, who was born and raised in Kanazawa and trained in Kyoto for 10 years, serves delicious seasonal obanzai using local ingredients. The most popular dish is the "Lunch", a nine-course meal served in a checkered bowl, which includes a small bowl of cooked food and chawanmushi (steamed egg custard) for a reasonable price.
Relax after dinner with homemade desserts.
The ingredients are purchased by the owner at the Omimachi Market. Most of the obanzai dishes are made with seasonal Kaga vegetables and local fish. The chawanmushi (steamed egg custard) that accompanies every lunch is served cold in summer, showing the owner's thoughtfulness in wanting customers to enjoy the seasons.
The after-meal desserts are also well received. In addition to the standard desserts of shiratama (white rice balls), lotus root rice cakes, and yokan (sweet bean jelly), there are also homemade desserts such as pumpkin and sweet potato pudding in the fall. The chewy shiratama, made with azuki beans simmered according to the owner's grandmother's recipe, can be served either hot (oshiruko style) or cold with ice cream on top.
- Aoki
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- 5-2 Sennichimachi, Kanazawa City, Ishikawa Prefecture MAP
- 15 minutes drive from JR Kanazawa Station
- Take a bus from JR Kanazawa Station, get off at "Katamachi" and walk 5 min.
- 11:30-13:30 (last entry), 18:00-20:30 (L.O.) *Reservations are required for lunch.
- Wednesday, Thursday
- 076-287-3126
- None
4Kaga Temari Mariya
Discover the colorful and beautiful traditional crafts of Kaga
Kaga Temari" and "Kaga Yubinuki" specialty stores are located along Hyakumangoku Street near Oyama Shrine. Kaga temari is a ball with a bell in its core, which is made of silk threads in a pattern. It is said that even today, there is a custom to give a Kaga Temari to a bride-to-be to wish her happiness. The store offers a wide variety of colorful handmade temari, including those with glossy chrysanthemum patterns.
There is also a wide variety of Kaga yubinuki, which were made by Kaga yuzen seamstresses from leftover silk threads and cotton. The colorful and beautiful patterns created by layering silk threads one by one are impressive.
Experience making temari and yubinuki (traditional Japanese ornaments) as a memorable part of your trip to Kanazawa.
Inside the store, you will find an array of works by artists active in Ishikawa Prefecture. Practical items such as needle piles made from small temaris and accessories using yubinuki are ideal as souvenirs. Experience classes in Kaga temari and Kaga yubinuki are also available.
Kaga temari is a delicate "two chrysanthemum pattern" challenge. Kaga yubinuki, made from a base of rolled cardboard and cloth, can be made in "two-color scales" or "yatara stripes" patterns. Since the yubinuki can be made in any color, even the same pattern can be made into a unique piece with original colors. Both are recommended for beginners as the artist will teach you how to make them in detail.
- Kaga Temari Mariya
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- 5-7 Minami-cho, Kanazawa City, Ishikawa Prefecture MAP
- 10 minutes drive from JR Kanazawa Station
- Take a bus from JR Kanazawa Station, get off at "Minamimachi, Oyama Shrine" and walk about 1 minute.
- 9:30-18:00
- Tuesdays and Wednesdays
- Experience: Temari 6,500 yen, Yubinuki 2,900 yen and up
- 076-231-7660
- None
5Le Musee de Ashe KANAZAWA
Enjoy sweets at the museum's café surrounded by greenery
From the "Oyama Shrine" area, pass by Korinbo and the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa, and drive about 5 minutes. Located at the Ishikawa Prefectural Museum of Art, this store is the perfect place to take a break after viewing art. As you enter the store, you are greeted by the year-round abundance of greenery outside the large, ceiling-length windows, which is a soothing sight.
Lined up in the showcase are about 20 kinds of fresh pastries. Produced by a famous patissier from Ishikawa Prefecture, the sweets are made with delicious local ingredients such as milk, eggs, azuki beans, fruits, salt, and sake.
The aroma of freshly roasted hojicha tea is superb!
In a private room in the café, a full course of sweets and Japanese tea called "Concept G" is available upon reservation by the day before, with G standing for Gyokuro, a Japanese green tea from Uji Prefecture that offers a perfect balance of aroma, flavor, and astringency. First, a cup of seasonal tea, such as lemon myrtle, is served. The first, second, and third cups of Hon Gyokuro offer different flavors. The concluding tea is a richly fragrant hojicha, which is roasted by yourself using a tea incense burner. The three desserts that accompany each tea are sure to make for an elegant teatime experience.
- Le Musee de Ashe KANAZAWA
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- 2-1 Dewa-machi, Kanazawa, Ishikawa MAP
- 10 minutes drive from JR Kanazawa Station
- Take a bus from JR Kanazawa Station, get off at "Hirosaka/21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art" and walk about 6 minutes.
- 10:00-19:00 (L.O.18:30)
- No holidays
- 076-204-6100
- Free of charge
6Yasaburo SAKAYA
Enjoy original Japanese cuisine that makes the most of the local season with a glass of wine
This Japanese-style restaurant is located about 1 km from Kenrokuen Garden and21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa, and is housed in a 100-year-old renovated private house. Using ingredients from farmers and fishermen in the Kanazawa suburbs, the restaurant serves dishes that bring out the best of the ingredients without being too elaborate.
The owner, who is from Kanazawa, personally gathers wild vegetables in the mountains and sometimes goes to Toyama Prefecture to catch firefly squid. He also makes wild boar meat without a hint of stench from hunters in Hakui and prepares it as menchikatsu. The menu features seasonal delicacies, such as wild boar meat made into mincemeat, which is sourced from hunters in the city of Hakui.
Enjoy food and conversation in an atmospheric old private house
On the first floor, there are tables where you can take off your shoes, as well as counter seats in the open kitchen. No background music is played because the chefs want visitors to enjoy the sounds of conversation and cooking. Up the stairs to the second floor is a modern tatami room. The restaurant is full of taste, with Kutani ware and other tableware from the Meiji and early Showa eras.
- Yasaburo Sake Shop
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- 3-10-27, Honda-machi, Kanazawa City, Ishikawa MAP
- 10 minutes drive from JR Kanazawa Station
- Take a bus from JR Kanazawa Station, get off at "Honda-machi" and walk for 3 minutes.
- 17:30 - 24:00 (L.O. 23:00)
- Sunday
- 076-282-9116
- None
MAP
- Hoshino Resorts facilities nearby
Local Guide who was in charge of this article
- Fumino Matsuzaki Kaga's Charm Hunter
OMO5 Kanazawa Katamachi
Kanazawa City, Ishikawa Prefecture
Katamachi is Kanazawa's best gourmet town. The hotel is also conveniently located for Direction to Kanazawa's representative tourist attractions.
Access by bus Approx. 4 minutes walk from Korinbo bus stop
- Example of Accommodation Rates
- 1 person per night From ³ ,200