Kanazawa (Ishikawa)
Local Guide
Recommended Events in Kanazawa and Kaga Area in Spring [2025 Edition

The Kanazawa-Kaga area is in full bloom in spring, and there are many events and festivals where you can experience the prosperity and traditions of Kaga Hyakumangoku. Since many of these events are held during G.W., we recommend that you make your travel plans as early as possible.

Carp streamers swimming in the river, a springtime tradition

Carp streamers flowing down the river look like big carp climbing up the river. The photo shows the Umenobashi Bridge area.
Carp streamers flowing down the river look like big carp climbing up the river. The photo shows the Umenobashi Bridge area.

The Asano River, which flows gently through the downtown area of Kanazawa, is a popular springtime event known as the "Koinagashi (floating carp float). This is a rare event in Japan, where many carp streamers donated by local residents are floated down the river from Umeno Bridge to the elegant triple-arched Asanogawa Bridge (registered as a national tangible cultural property) and its surrounding area. The sight of the colorful carp streamers swimming leisurely through the clear stream is just like the "Yuzen Nagashi" of Kaga Yuzen, a traditional Kanazawa handicraft. The blowing streamers hanging from the Umeno Bridge dance in the wind, making the riverside even more colorful.
A promenade is maintained along the river, so why not take a stroll and enjoy it?

At-home events filled with love for children

It is fun to spread out your lunch on the riverbank while watching the carp streamers flowing like a yuzen nagashi.
It is fun to spread out your lunch on the riverbank while watching the carp streamers flowing like a yuzen nagashi.

The carp floating festival began in 1991. It was started by local residents who wished for the healthy growth of their children. The atmosphere is simple and homey, with a brass band played by local junior high school students, booths, a game corner, and rice cake pounding. The simple and homey atmosphere of the festival is very friendly, and the warmth of the local people's love for the children can be felt as they eat freshly pounded rice cakes together with the locals.
The carp streaming event is held near the popular tourist spot "Higashi Chaya-gai," and it is very crowded during the Golden Week holidays. The surrounding toll parking lots fill up quickly in the morning, so public transportation is recommended.

▼Asano River Carp Floating
Date: Sunday, May 4, 2025 (national holiday) 10:00-15:00
Venue: Higashiyama, Kanazawa City, Ishikawa Prefecture, river from Umeno Bridge to Asanogawa Bridge and surrounding area
TEL: 076-231-3689 (Zaimoku Community Center)
URL: https: //kanazawa-kankoukyoukai.or.jp/event/detail_30336.html

One of the largest pottery fairs in Hokuriku, full of the charm of Kutani ware

A wide variety of attractive Kutani-yaki porcelains, from gorgeous traditional patterns to pop designs
A wide variety of attractive Kutani-yaki porcelains, from gorgeous traditional patterns to pop designs

Kutani-yaki is a type of colorful pottery produced in Kanazawa City, Nomi City, and Kaga City, Ishikawa Prefecture, and has a history of more than 360 years since the Edo period (1603-1868). The exhibition is held every year from May 3 to 5 during the Golden Week holidays. 〜Golden Week from May 3 to 5 every year. During the three days of Golden Week from May 3 to 5 every year The "Kutani Tea Bowl Festival" is held at the Kutani Pottery Village during the three-day Golden Week holidays from May 3 to 5 every year, and is a pottery market where about 50 Kutani ware trading companies set up special stores. The market attracts not only locals but also people from all over Japan and abroad, making it a very lively event.
 The market is a great place to see a wide variety of items, from daily-use dishes to art masterpieces by Kutani artists, all at special prices for the day. It is a pleasure to wander around the pottery market looking for bargains.

Participatory events such as Painting Experience

Experience painting lacquerware for children and adults alike, even for the first time
Experience painting lacquerware for children and adults alike, even for the first time

At the Kutani Pottery Village, all four buildings of the KAM Nomi City Kutani Pottery Museum are open to the public free of charge, and various events, including a painting experience, are held for visitors to fully enjoy the charm of Kutani pottery.
 Numerous food, beverage, and merchandise stands will be set up, including booths for Wajima-nuri and Suzu-yaki. Since the opening of the Hokuriku Shinkansen, the number of visitors from outside the prefecture has been increasing, and afternoons are crowded every day. It is recommended to go early in the morning.

▼Kutani Tea Bowl Festival
 Period: May 3-5 every year
 Hours: 9:00-18:00 (until 17:00 on the last day)
 Admission: Free
 Venue: Kutani Pottery Village (Minami 22, Izumidai-cho, Nomi City, Ishikawa Prefecture), Negami Venue (Negami Sogo Bunka Kaikan), Wadayama Venue (next to Nomi Furusato Museum), actual stores and kilns in Nomi City, etc.
 TEL: 0761-58-6656 (Ishikawa Ceramic Industry Cooperative Association)
 Parking: Free
 URL: https: //kutani-shoukumi.or.jp/festival/

Discover the charm of Yamanaka lacquerware in the town of hot springs

Yamanaka lacquerware with beautiful grain
Yamanaka lacquerware with beautiful grain

Yamanaka Hot Spring is a lacquerware production area of Kaga Hyakumangoku along with Kanazawa and Wajima. With a history of more than 400 years since the Azuchi-Momoyama period, Yamanaka lacquerware is known as "Kiji no Yamanaka" (Yamanaka of wood) for its outstanding technique of using a potter's wheel to grind the wood, and the beauty of the wood grain and its comfortable texture in the hand are attractive.
The Yamanaka Lacquerware Festival is held every year during the Golden Week holidays. About 40 stores, including lacquerware dealers, line the streets, and the market is crowded with people looking for the best products. A wide variety of Yamanaka lacquerware, including traditional lacquerware such as tea ceremony utensils and soup bowls, bowls and lunch boxes for daily use, interior decorations, and miscellaneous goods, are gathered here. Take this opportunity to find your favorite bowls.

Enjoy hot springs in addition to shopping

The bustling plaza in front of Kikunoyu
The bustling plaza in front of Kikunoyu

In addition to lacquerware, there will be a special exhibition of a "bowl portable shrine" with a diameter of 1.5 meters, as well as food and beverage sales through food and beverage booths and kitchen cars. The venue is ranked in the hot spring ranking. The venue will be the "Kiku-no-Yu" public bathhouse in Yamanaka Hot Spring, which was once chosen as the "Yokozuna of the East" in the Onsen ranking. The venue is a plaza in front of Yamanaka Onsen's public bathhouse "Kiku no Yu," which was once voted "Yokozuna of the East" in the Onsen ranking. Visitors can enjoy the hot spring before or after shopping, or take a break in between shopping at the footbath in the plaza, which is a unique feature of hot spring resorts.

▼ Yamanaka Lacquer Ware Festival
 Period: Usually held during GW
 Time: 9:00-17:00
 Venue: Yamanakaza Kikuno-yu square (1 Yakushi-cho, Yamanaka hot spring, Kaga, Ishikawa)
 TEL: 0761-78-0305 (Yamanaka Lacquer Ware Union Cooperative Association)
 Parking: Free (Use the temporary parking lot. Free shuttle bus available to the venue)
 URL: https://yamanakashikki.com/

A traditional festival in which Hikiyama (floats) associated with the Kaga domain are paraded through the streets

The sight of the gorgeous floats lined up in a row is breathtakingly beautiful.
The sight of the gorgeous floats lined up in a row is breathtakingly beautiful.

The spring festival of Uuhashi Shrine and Honori Hiyoshi Shrine is held every May in Komatsu City. It is said that the name "Otabimatsuri" was given to the event because the portable shrines parade through the Ujiko town, which is called "Tabi" (journey). The festival is said to have originated around 1640, when Toshitsune Maeda, the third generation of the Maeda family of Kaga, retired to Komatsu Castle, and the Hikiyama (float) appeared in 1766. Eight of the ten floats that existed until the end of the Kaga domain are still carefully preserved and displayed in each town during the festival.
The main highlight of the festival is the "Hikiyama Hikigarae," in which all the floats are lit up and glowing in gold. The "Hikiyama Children's Kabuki" performed on the stage of these floats adds to the festival's splendor.

Don't miss the "Hikiyama Children's Kabuki" performed by small actors!

The enthusiastic performances, which are as good as those of adults, show the pride of inheriting a tradition that dates back to the Edo period.
The enthusiastic performances, which are as good as those of adults, show the pride of inheriting a tradition that dates back to the Edo period.

Hikiyama Children's Kabuki in Komatsu is said to be one of the three major children's Kabuki plays in Japan along with Omi Nagahama and Musashi Chichibu. It is unusual in Japan in that it is performed by girls. The children who are chosen to play the roles learn difficult lines and choreography under strict instruction in just over two months before the performance. Supported by the young people of the town, gidayu storytellers, and shamisen players, the children, in their small bodies and gorgeous costumes, look just like real Kabuki actors when they take the stage. The stage and the audience are enveloped in a passionate sense of unity as they applaud their performance, which is full of laughter and tears.

▼Otabi Festival
Dates: Friday, May 9 - Sunday, May 11, 2025
Venue: Central area of Komatsu City, Ishikawa, etc.
TEL: 0761-24-8195 (Komatsu City Tourism and Culture Division)
Parking: Temporary free parking, municipal parking lots around Komatsu Station (parking fees apply)
URL: https: //www.city.komatsu.lg.jp/soshiki/1015/event/1/17423.html

The information in this article is current as of the date of the update. Please check before visiting as they are subject to change.