I found my new favourite place in Japan – Kanazawa. It is often described as little Kyoto. Kanazawa has a special charm that captured my heart. Here is how we spent our time on an overnight trip from Osaka to Kanazawa.
Getting to Kanazawa
We boarded the morning shinkansen (bullet train) from Osaka to Kanazawa. This took under three hours with one train change. We arrived late in the morning to the iconic train station in Kanazawa.
Pick up your E-bike
From here we made our way to the e-bike rental shop, machi-nori, a 5 minute walk from the station. https://www.machi-nori.jp/en/ Once we got set up with our E-bikes, dropped our luggage at our hotel.
Where to stay in Kanazawa
The Super Hotel Premium. https://www.superhotel.co.jp/s_hotels/kanazawa/ There are many good hotels near the station. For us it was time for lunch. The nearby street was full of restaurants, so we popped into a small restaurant for a sushi lunch set. It was a perfect way to get us fueled up for a day of exploring.
Things to see in Kanazawa
Sightseeing – Day 1
We visited Nagamachi district, Nish Chaya district and found a sword shop, a teahouse that was open to the public, Nomura Samurai family residence.
We made reservations for the late afternoon to visit the Myoryuji temple, also referred to as the Ninja temple. This was an amazing tour of a Buddhist temple that was also a special place with many secret staircases and hidden escape routes.
There are many Buddhist temples to visit or if you would rather enjoy a coffee, ride along the river path or visit the nearby art museum there is something for everyone.
In the evening we went for sushi. There are so many great places to choose from. After that it was time to enjoy the lights of Kanazawa. We walked from Oyama Jinja Shrine, to Kanazawa castle through Kenrokuen garden. There were many local Izakaya bars near our hotel. We stopped to have a nightcap and a little oden before returning to the hotel for an onsen (Japanese bath).
Sightseeing – Day 2
Day two our return train to Osaka was leaving at 5pm so we had time to explore and put our E-bikes to good use. After breakfast at the hotel, we made our way to Higashi Chaya district here we walked around and tried to capture the beautiful streets before the rush. Once the shops opened around 10am we could explore the gift shops including famous gold or sake shops including Sake shop Fukumitsuya Kanazawa.
Next we cycled towards the ocean and the Yamato soy sauce and miso park. The area is an old soy sauce and miso producing area that has a beautiful walkway by the water, you can watch the production, get lunch and local soy sauce to take home. After a brief stop to see the crab shop, where we were amazed at the size and price range of fresh crab that you could purchase to enjoy there.
After all the biking we needed lunch and enjoyed the local Ramen chain from this area 8ban Ramen Kanazawa that is a ramen chain that began in this area.
We made our way back towards the train station to pick up our luggage and drop off our bikes before spending some time exploring Kanazawa station area. This station offers so much excitement and entertainment. As we arrived there was a local show which we enjoyed briefly before making our ways indoors. There are craft locations here if you didn’t get a chance to make your own souvenir and a sake tasting bar in the next-door shopping center. Be sure to pick up a Bento Box from one of the many shops for the train ride back to Osaka or wherever your next desination is.
So much to see in Kanazawa
As much fun as we had there is so much more to discover, and I can’t wait to visit again! Next time I’d definitely sign up for a show or demonstration from a Geisha, known as a Geiko in Kanazawa, and I’d visit more art museums and galleries. The history of the area can be noticed as the attention to art throughout the city is obvious. It makes me wonder how the historical presence of the Geiko and preservation of this practice of learning art, music and the art of entertainment has influenced the city to the charm it offers in present day.