Local Guide
Exciting Spots in Kanazawa for Parents and Children

From a lively market to an art museum to a shrine with ninjas, there are many spots that parents and children can enjoy together without a car. You can easily get around on foot or by bus from Kanazawa Station, so use your time well and have plenty of fun.

Always bustling, lively and fun market

Delicious seafood satisfies both children and adults
Delicious seafood satisfies both children and adults

The Omimachi Market is crowded with about 180 stores offering a wide variety of fresh seafood and produce from Kaga. Among them is a popular croquette store that is a favorite of children. We recommend that you and your child enjoy croquettes filled with seafood such as sweet shrimp and octopus, which you cannot find anywhere else. There are also many restaurants that serve gorgeous seafood rice bowls and conveyor-belt sushi restaurants, where you can enjoy plenty of seafood for lunch. All of these restaurants are easy to visit with children, and the ingredients are excellent. Since there is inevitably a long line at the restaurants, we recommend that you visit in the morning.

There is also a children's plaza where children can play.

A fruit specialty store with colorful seasonal fruits
A fruit specialty store with colorful seasonal fruits

A specialty fruit store where you can eat your child's favorite fruit on the spot is a must-visit for parents and children alike. Children's eyes sparkle when they see delicious-looking fruits, such as 100% juice squeezed from oranges that have been hollowed out, and seasonal cut fruits. It is a great place to visit when you are getting tired of strolling around the market.
If you get tired of the crowds at the market, head to the "Chibiko Hiroba" on the third floor of the Omi-machi Ichiba Kan. Tatami mat rooms and playground equipment are available, so you can relax and play with your children while you shop. Temporary childcare (500 yen per hour, reservation required) is also available.

Omemachi Market
  • Address 50 Kami-omi-cho, Kanazawa City, JR Ishikawa MAP
  • Direction Approx. 15 min. walk from JR Kanazawa Station
  • Bus Direction 5 min. ride on the Kanazawa Castle Town Tour Bus from Kanazawa Stn. on the "Left Turn Route", get off at "Musashigatsuji/Omi-machi Ichiba" and walk shortly.
  • Business hours 9:00-17:00 (varies by store)
  • Closed January 1-4 (varies by store)
  • TEL 076-231-1462
  • Parking Charged

A park-like museum where parents and children can hone their sensibilities

Leandro Erlich,
Leandro Erlich, "Swimming Pool," 2004

Although an art museum may give the impression of being a quiet place for adults, there are many tricks for children to enjoy as well. As the museum is like a plaza, with no walls separating the grounds, artworks are also exhibited on the outdoor lawn area. Some of the works can be enjoyed inside, and some children even play with them as if they were playground equipment. The building is a circular glass-walled structure with no front entrance, making it easy to enter from all sides. Children and adults alike will find their curiosity piqued by such wondrous artworks as the "Swimming Pool," which feels as if it is filled with deep water.

Parents and children enjoy playing with various plastic arts

Check the website for details of the Kids Studio program. Courtesy of 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa
Check the website for details of the Kids Studio program. Courtesy of 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa

The museum has a kids' studio where parents and children can drop in for a casual visit. On weekdays, the space is open for preschoolers and their parents to take a break. They can relax and play with wooden toys and other items. Every Saturday, Sunday, and holidays from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m., a program for parents and children called "Hands-on Marubii! a program for parents and children (free admission). Children can enjoy an exciting art experience by taking the initiative in creating artworks and participating in workshops on seasonal themes.

Photo：WATANABE Osamu Courtesy：21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa
Photo：WATANABE Osamu Courtesy：21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa
21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa
  • Address 1-2-1, Hirosaka, Kanazawa, Ishikawa MAP
  • Bus Direction From JR Kanazawa Station, take the Hokutetsu Bus (Kanazawa Castle Town Circulation Bus), 20 min. on the right/left route, a short walk from the Hirosaka/21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art bus stop.
  • Business hours Exhibition Zone: 10:00-18:00, Friday and Saturday: 20:00
    Exchange Zone: 9:00-22:00
  • Closed Mondays (closed the following weekday if Monday is a national holiday); closed for renovation from December 20, 2019 to February 3, 2020
  • Admission Fee Exhibition Zone fee required (varies depending on the exhibition), Exchange Zone free of charge
  • TEL 076-220-2800
  • Parking Charged (30 min. free of charge)

Free tours of two foot soldiers' residences

Tea room of the Shimizu family. In the early Edo period, people ate two meals a day, breakfast and dinner, and ate more rice than modern people.
Tea room of the Shimizu family. In the early Edo period, people ate two meals a day, breakfast and dinner, and ate more rice than modern people.

If you visit the elegant Naga-machi Buke Yashiki (samurai residence), you should definitely visit the Ashigaru (foot soldier) museum in the corner. This museum is a reconstruction of two former Ashigaru residences, the Shimizu and Takanishi families, which were left on the site of a group of samurai houses of the "flying foot soldiers". Both are one-story wooden structures with traditional roofs, hedges, and plantings that create the atmosphere of the time. Inside the buildings, there are many explanations and exhibits that show the work and daily life of the Kaga clan's foot soldiers, and they are well worth seeing. Admission is free, so feel free to drop by.

Get a glimpse of life in a house with a garden

Sink of the Takanishi family. They bathed here in winter and in the front yard in summer.
Sink of the Takanishi family. They bathed here in winter and in the front yard in summer.

The Kaga clan's foot soldiers lived in a small, detached house with a garden in the style of samurai residences, which were small but focused on hospitality. Ashigaru yashiki were grouped together according to their roles, and were built like modern-day subdivided houses. Once inside, visitors can see the entrance hall, tatami room, tea room, sink (cooking area), and attic storage. In the tea ceremony room, you can see the scene of family gatherings in those days, and in the sink, you can see the scene of cooking. It would be interesting for parents and children to compare the life of Ashigaru with that of today.

Kanazawa City Ashigaru Museum
  • Address 1-9-3 Kanazawa Choumachi, Ishikawa MAP
  • Bus Direction From JR Kanazawa Station East Exit, take the Hokutetsu Bus "Left Turn Route" around Kanazawa Castle Town, about 10 minutes, get off at "Korinbo" and walk about 5 minutes.
  • Business hours 9:30-17:00
  • Closed No holidays
  • Admission Fee Free of charge
  • TEL 076-263-3640
  • Parking None

Take a photo with a ninja standing in the precincts of the shrine

It is said that ninja guarded the lord during his visit to the shrine.
It is said that ninja guarded the lord during his visit to the shrine.

Located in the Higashi Chaya-gai district, this shrine has a history of more than 1,300 years. Two ninja dolls are hidden in the shrine grounds, surprising both children and adults with their realistic appearance. The dolls were made by university students about four years ago. The origin of the dolls is that when successive heads of the Kaga clan visited the shrine, ninjas were there to guard them.

Feel the spirit of fun at a historic shrine

The lord seated in the hall of worship.
The lord seated in the hall of worship.

In the hall of worship, where weddings are held, a cute doll of a lord also sits and watches over you. Going further down the passage next to the hall of worship, you will find the "Sasayu well" where Tsunanori Maeda V is said to have healed his illness, and it is also known as a power spot.

Utasu Shrine
  • Address 1-30-8 Higashiyama, Kanazawa City, Ishikawa MAP
  • Bus Direction From the East Exit of JR Kanazawa Station, take the Hokutetsu Bus (Kanazawa Castle Town Loop Bus), 12 min. on the clockwise route, alight at Hashiba-cho, 5 min. walk from the bus stop.
  • TEL 076-252-8826
  • Parking Free of charge
The information in this article is current as of the date of the update. Please check before visiting as they are subject to change.