Kanazawa · Kenrokuen
Kanazawa Castle Park
Maeda Toshiie, whose descendants ruled the Kaga domain after him, entered the castle in 1583 and began fortifying it. The main keep burned after a lightning strike in 1602 and was never rebuilt, and great fires in 1631, 1759 and 1808 destroyed most of the buildings again and again. Ishikawa Gate, the entrance on the Kenroku-en side, was rebuilt in 1788 and is an Important Cultural Property.
From 1949 to 1995 Kanazawa University stood here, and in 1996 the prefecture bought the grounds and turned them into a park. Since then buildings have been reconstructed with traditional methods, including lead tile roofs: the Hishi Yagura turret, the long Gojukken Nagaya building and the Hashizume Gate turret in 2001, Kahoku Gate in 2010, Hashizume Gate in 2015, and Nezumita Gate with its bridge in 2020.
Gyokusen'inmaru Garden was built in 1634 by the third lord, Maeda Toshitsune, and disappeared in the Meiji period. After excavations that began in 2008 it was restored together with the Gyokusen-an teahouse and opened in March 2015. There are 22 meters between the top of the stone walls and the bottom of the pond, and the tiered walls with their waterfalls are part of the garden itself.
In April 2026 reconstruction began on the palace of the second bailey, Ninomaru Goten, under a protective roof that was completed in February. The first stage, the entrance and the reception halls, is due to be finished by fiscal year 2033.
Good to know
- Every Saturday, and in seasons such as cherry blossom time, the park is open until 21:00 and Gyokusen'inmaru Garden is lit up from sunset, free. You enter through Ishikawa Gate, Nezumita Gate or the Gyokusen'inmaru entrance. The outer stone walls are lit every evening until 22:00.
- At the Gyokusen-an teahouse, facing the garden: matcha with a Japanese sweet ¥1,000. 09:00-12:00 and 13:00-16:30.
- The Noto earthquake on 1 January 2024 brought down the stone walls in 5 places and deformed them in 23. Access is restricted near some of them, and the repair of all of them is planned to finish in fiscal year 2038. From 3 August 2026 the wall of the earthen bridge in front of Ishikawa Gate is being taken apart and rebuilt, 343 stones.
- Since July 2025 there is a viewing route in the Imori-bori moat, where you can see the stones that were taken down and the repair work on the south wall of the main bailey.
What is nearby
Approximate walking minutes from the entrance of Kanazawa Castle Park.
- HereKanazawa Castle Park
- ~5 min
Shiinoki Cultural Complex More to see
The former Ishikawa Prefectural Office building, whose facade from 1924 was kept as it was. Entry is free, and inside there is a Paul Bocuse cafe-brasserie and restaurant and a tableware and design shop. The symbol of the place is the shii trees in front of the building, estimated to be about 300 years old.
- ~8 min
Morihachi Main Store Shopping
On the second floor of the main store of Morihachi, a confectioner that served as sweets supplier to the ruling dynasty of Kaga, you press d
- ~8 min
Kenrokuen Miyoshian Food
A restaurant on the edge of Hisago-ike Pond inside Kenroku-en, which according to the restaurant opened in 1875, a year after the garden opened to the public. A Hisago bento meal of Kaga cuisine ¥2,400, a small meal ¥1,800, and matcha with a seasonal sweet ¥800. You need an entry ticket to the garden.
- ~9 min
Daiwa Department Store, Korinbo Shopping
The department store at the Korinbo intersection. In the basement there is a food hall with sweets and local Ishikawa products to buy as gifts, and on floor 8 there are restaurants open until 22:00.
- ~10 min
Le Musee de H Kanazawa Cafe
The cafe and patisserie of pastry chef Hironobu Tsujiguchi, inside the Ishikawa Prefectural Museum of Art. Cakes and desserts made from ingredients of the Hokuriku region. You do not need a museum ticket, it is open even when the museum is closed, and you can take away.
- ~12 min
Tatemachi Street Clothes and crafts
A straight shopping street of 430 meters with more than 150 shops: clothes, artisans' accessories and long-established tea shops.
More in Kenrokuen
Appears in: Kanazawa: Omicho Market, the geisha district, Kenroku-en Garden and gold leaf