5 things you may not know about Kanazawa

By the Japan Travel Costs team · 1 November 2026. Every figure links to its source with the date we last checked it, and figures we cannot verify are left out. About us.

Kanazawa is the old castle town on the Japan Sea coast, a direct Hokuriku Shinkansen ride from Tokyo. Most people come for one garden and a teahouse street, then move on to Kyoto. We think it deserves two nights, and these five facts, each checked against the city's and prefecture's own sources, are a good part of why.

1. Kenroku-en is free if you go at dawn

Kenroku-en is one of Japan's three great gardens, alongside Kairaku-en in Mito and Koraku-en in Okayama, according to the official garden site. Regular entry is ¥320 for an adult and ¥100 for a child aged 6 to 17, per the garden's visitor guide. Visitors over 65 get in free with ID.

The part most visitors miss is early admission. The same page says entry is free if you come in before the official opening time. From 1 November to the end of February the early gates open at 6:00 a.m. and the garden officially opens at 8:00 a.m. Only the Renchi-mon and Zuishinzaka entrances are open early, and you must leave 15 minutes before the official opening. In spring and summer it starts even earlier: 4:00 a.m. from April to August.

The garden is also free on a handful of set days. The Japanese guide page lists Culture Day (3 November) and 31 December to 3 January among them, plus about a week in the cherry blossom season and three days each in early June and mid August. Our tip: an early walk is the quietest way to see it, and it costs nothing. One more detail. The English page says cash only, but the Japanese page lists cards and IC cards, so carry a little cash in case.

2. Kanazawa Castle's white roofs are made of lead

From a distance the castle roofs look like pale stone. They are actually lead. Kanazawa Castle Park says its gates and turrets use lead tiles, called namari-gawara, where sheets of lead about 1.8 mm thick are fixed over wooden tile shapes. Rain gradually turns the lead silvery white, which gives the castle its look.

The park is also known as a "museum of stone walls", with walls from many periods still in good condition, per the park's stone wall page. Walking the grounds is free. The park's visitor page lists admission as free, with the same early opening hours as the garden next door.

You pay only to go inside the rebuilt Hishi-yagura turret and Gojikken-nagaya storehouse: ¥320 for an adult, ¥100 for a child, per the castle park fee page. The Kahoku-mon and Nezumita-mon gates are free to enter.

3. Almost all of Japan's gold leaf comes from here

VISIT KANAZAWA, the city's official tourism site, says Kanazawa produces 99% of Japan's gold leaf and all of its silver and platinum leaf. The leaf is beaten to around 2/10,000 of a millimetre, so thin it disappears if you rub it between your fingers.

You will see it everywhere in town: on sweets, in shops in the teahouse districts and, most famously, on soft-serve ice cream wrapped in a whole sheet, which VISIT KANAZAWA calls a quintessential Kanazawa treat. Several workshops let you apply leaf to a small plate, box or pair of chopsticks in a short session. Prices vary by shop and item, so we have not listed one here. Check with the workshop before you go.

4. Your Suica will not work on most Kanazawa buses

This one catches people out. Hokutetsu, the main local bus company, says on its rider's guide that nationwide IC cards such as Suica, ICOCA and PASMO work on JR buses and on the Kanazawa Flat Bus Zaimoku and Nagamachi routes, but not on other buses in Kanazawa. You can pay in cash or tap a contactless credit card instead. Fare boxes do not give change, though each has a change machine.

If you plan to ride a few times, Hokutetsu's One Day Pass is ¥800 for an adult and ¥400 for a child, with unlimited rides in its area for the day, including the Kanazawa Loop Bus. The same page says the Loop Bus runs in two directions every 15 to 20 minutes and stops at Higashi Chaya, Kenroku-en, the castle park, the 21st Century Museum, Nagamachi and Omicho Market. Our IC card guide explains where Suica and ICOCA do work.

Sources: Kenroku-en visitor guide, Kanazawa Castle Park fees, Kanazawa Castle Park visitor information, Hokutetsu One Day Pass. The Kenrokuen+1 ticket covers the garden and one more cultural facility in the city; check which facilities it includes when you buy. Food and gold leaf workshops are not included. Converted at ¥157.25 per US$1 (ECB reference rate, 2026-10-30). Last checked 2026-11-01.

5. The Kagayaki from Tokyo has no unreserved seats

Two Hokuriku Shinkansen services run all the way from Tokyo to Kanazawa: the Kagayaki and the Hakutaka. NAVITIME's Hokuriku Shinkansen fare table shows a dash for a non-reserved seat on the Kagayaki, so plan to book a seat. The reserved fare is ¥14,600 for an adult (about US$93) and ¥7,300 for a child. If you want to just turn up, the Hakutaka has non-reserved seats at ¥14,070. A Green Car seat on the Kagayaki is ¥21,060.

For JR Pass holders this line is easy. The extra NOZOMI MIZUHO Ticket that pass holders need applies to Nozomi and Mizuho trains, per the official Japan Rail Pass site, and Kagayaki is neither. Our Tokyo to Kanazawa route page shows whether a 7 day pass pays off for this trip.

Getting there and fitting it into your budget

• From Tokyo. See the fares above and our Tokyo to Kanazawa train cost page.
• From Kyoto or Osaka. Since the Shinkansen reached Tsuruga, the trip is the Thunderbird plus the Shinkansen. Our Kyoto to Kanazawa route page has the fare.
• With a JR Pass. A Tokyo, Kanazawa and Kyoto loop is the kind of trip where the pass can pay off. Run it through our JR Pass vs single tickets calculator, or read whether the JR Pass is worth it.
• Where it fits. Our 15 day itinerary spends two nights in Kanazawa between Tokyo and Kyoto. For rooms, see Japan accommodation costs.

Then add it all up in our trip budget calculator. Prices and opening times can change, so check the operator's page before you go. Last week in this series: 5 things you may not know about Miyajima.