Japan’s Incredible Ishikawa Prefecture – A Luxury Travel Blog

Fall in love with a hidden gem, a golden part of Japan that offers a rare glimpse of uncompromising beauty and age-old traditions.

If Japan’s Ishikawa Prefecture, on the northwest coast of Honshu Island, isn’t on your travel wish list, it should be. Just a fast train ride from Tokyo and along the Sea of ​​Japan coastline, this is a place of breathtaking scenery, ancient streetscapes, age-old crafts, vibrant geigi culture, temples, gardens, amazing food, hot springs, cherry trees blooming in spring and ski slopes in winter. With the remote Noto Peninsula, the historic castle town of Kanazawa, the seafaring city of Kaga and the mountainous Hakusan region, there is something to discover, excite and fascinate everyone.

Most will have heard of the devastating earthquake that struck Ishikawa’s Noto Peninsula on New Year’s Day 2024. But while it may take months for parts of the Noto Peninsula to reopen to tourism, large parts of Ishikawa remain untouched and open for business. This is a good time to visit the country as tourism revenues will contribute greatly to recovery efforts.

Much of the Noto Peninsula is still off-limits to tourists, but areas like Kanazawa and Kaga have suffered minimal damage and most of their beautiful attractions are open. So if you’re planning to travel to Japan in the near future, consider spending some time in Ishikawa.

Kanazawa

Kanazawa, the capital of Ishikawa Prefecture, is a city with a rich culture and history, combining modern with traditional. This is an important city in the region and has numerous historical sites and modern museums.

Kenrokuen Gardens

Kanazawa’s main attraction Kenrokuen Gardens opened to the public in 1871 and is one of Japan’s most beautiful, famous traditional gardens. The garden is small enough to see everything in an hour, but certainly a place I could happily walk through again and again. Trees, shrubs, ponds, waterfalls, this garden has it all. The appearance changes with the seasons, from cherry blossoms in the spring to carpets of green moss in the summer, in the fall the Japanese maples turn crimson and reddish brown, and in the winter gardeners tie the trees with bamboo and string to protect them from heavy snowfall. to protect. Located within the grounds of Kenrokuen, Shigure-tei Tea House is perfect for relaxing while enjoying a bowl of tea and traditional snacks.

Kenrokuen used to be the outer garden of Kanazawa Castle and was built by the ruling Maeda family over a period of almost two centuries. The garden and the castle are in the same complex.

The Kanazawa Castle

Kanazawa Castle is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Ishikawa Prefecture. Built in 1580, the castle has suffered a lot throughout history, with several devastating fires over the years. The city has recently rebuilt parts of the castle and it is an impressive place to visit. A traditional tea set is available at Gyokusen’an Rest House in the Gyokusen’inmaru Garden on the grounds of Kanazawa Castle.

Higashi Chaya District

The Higashi Chaya district with its many restaurants and shops is the entertainment district of Kanazawa. The chaya or ‘tea houses’ were traditionally places where customers came for performances by geisha (or geigi as they are called in Kanazawa). We visited In Kanazawa House to experience a traditional geisha evening with food, entertainment and a chance to chat with the lovely geigi ladies in between performances.

Omicho Market

The next morning we started our day at Omicho Market, Kanazawa’s largest fresh food market, with over 180 stalls and restaurants, which has been around since the 17th century. We shopped with help before returning to In Kanazawa House to watch, learn, and in turn make sushi.

Nagamachi Samurai District

The cobblestone streets and tiled earthen walls of the Nagamachi District were once home to several samurai families during the Edo period (1603-1867) and if you spend some time here you can get a sense of what life was like for samurai from that time . A highlight is the Nomura Residence, the only samurai residence open to the public in Naga-machi. There are several heirlooms on display, including full samurai armor.

The Noguchi Naohiko Sake Institute

Less than an hour’s drive from Kanazawa city is the hamlet of Kanagaso, so small that even many locals are unaware of its existence. Here you will find the Noguchi Naohiko Sake Institute. Noguchi Naohiko is one of the most famous Toji (sake master brewers) and has been making sake since 1949. In 2017, he came out of retirement to open the Noguchi Naohiko Sake Institute with the aim of teaching future master brewers. Try some of the institute’s delicious sake in their special tasting room.

A little further away is Auberge Eaufeu, a primary school that closed a few years ago due to depopulation and has been reborn as a luxury hotel and gastronomic restaurant.

A great choice for a stay in Kanazawa itself is the Hyatt Centric Kanazawa, a luxury hotel located in the heart of the city, close to all the sights and just seconds from the train station where the bullet train to and from Tokyo arrives and departs.

Kaga Onsen

The southern part of Ishikawa is defined by geothermal hot springs, majestic mountains and the Sea of ​​Japan. Kaga Onsen is a collection of four hot spring towns (onsen) south of Kanazawa, not far from the 2,700-meter-high Mount Hakusan, one of Japan’s three holiest mountains. The hot springs were discovered over 1,300 years ago by monks visiting Mount Hakusan and have been popular ever since. A feature of Kaga’s hot springs towns are their public baths (soyu), which are located in the center of each town. Visit this scenic part of Ishikawa and experience fresh Japanese seafood, unparalleled onsen baths, luxurious Japanese ryokan (traditional inns), pristine nature, and serene temples and shrines.

Yamashiro Onsen

Yamashiro Onsen is a traditional hot spring resort located at the foot of Mount Hakusan. Visitors can immerse themselves in the atmosphere of old Japan by staying at a ryokan inn and taking a dip in the city’s soyu (public bath) or ko-soyu (old public bath). You’ll have your own thermal bath in your room if you stay at the beautiful Tachibana Shikitei ryokan in the city. Alternatively, the beautiful Mori no Sumika Resort & Spa, with beautiful rooms, fantastic food and fantastic hot springs, is just outside the city.

Yamanaka Onsen

Yamanaka Onsen is a small beach town along the Kakusenkei Gorge. The hot springs of Yamanaka Onsen are said to relieve muscle and joint pain, speed recovery from illness and improve overall health. You can bathe at the Kikunoyu, Yamanaka’s public bathhouse, with separate buildings for men and women, in the city center. A great place for lunch in the city is the Enuma Station Bistro – French cuisine with Japanese precision.

Kakusenkei Gorge

The Kakusenkei Gorge runs parallel to the town of Yamanaka Onsen and is just a few blocks from the city center. The gorge is crossed by several picturesque bridges. There is a beautiful wooden bridge on one side and a modern steel bridge on the other. A 20-minute forest trail leads from one bridge to another via the gorge with its river, waterfalls and unique rock formations – a tranquil escape from the city above.

Natadera Temple

At the beautiful Natadera Temple, dramatic cliffs and natural rock formations tower over unique temple buildings, serene mossy forests, carp-filled ponds and traditional gardens. In 717, the monk Taicho climbed Mount Hakusan, and while meditating on its highest peak, he was inspired to build the Natadera Temple. Natadera’s wooden halls and pagodas are richly decorated with Chinese zodiac animals, peonies and chrysanthemums, and the main hall, used for most Buddhist services, houses a 7-meter-high statue of Kannon (the Buddhist goddess of mercy and compassion).

The Hokuriku Shinkansen train route between Tokyo and Kanazawa, the capital of Ishikawa, means that the region can now be reached in just under two and a half hours by bullet train, making this fantastic part of Japan accessible to every traveler.

It’s time to visit this special part of Japan.

Sara Kingdom

Born and raised in Sydney, Australia, before moving to Africa at the age of 21, Sarah Kingdom is a mountain climber and guide, travel writer, yoga teacher, trail runner and mother of two. When she’s not climbing or traveling, she lives on a cattle ranch in central Zambia. She regularly guides trips in India, Nepal, Tibet, Russia and Ethiopia, and takes climbers to Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania several times a year.