Kanazawa · Kenrokuen
Kenrokuen Garden
The Maeda lords of the Kaga domain built the garden over the course of the Edo period. In 1676 the fifth lord, Maeda Tsunanori, built a villa on the slope facing Kanazawa Castle and laid out a garden around it. In 1759 a great fire destroyed most of it, and the lords who came after rebuilt and expanded it. In 1874 the garden opened to the public, and in 1985 it was raised to the status of Special Place of Scenic Beauty, the highest rank for a garden in Japan.
The name means 'garden of the six attributes'. According to a Chinese book from the Song period on the gardens of Luoyang, six attributes that are hard to combine in one garden are spaciousness and seclusion, human artifice and antiquity, and water and distant views, and Kenroku-en combines them all. According to Ishikawa Prefecture, which manages it, it is counted among the three great gardens of Japan, together with Kairaku-en in Mito and Koraku-en in Okayama.
At the center is Kasumigaike Pond, about 5,800 square meters. On its edge stands the Kotoji stone lantern, 2.67 meters tall on two legs, named after the bridge that holds up the strings of a koto. Next to it is the Karasaki pine, grown from seeds that the 13th lord brought from the shores of Lake Biwa. According to tradition, the fountain in the garden was built in 1861, and it is said to be the first in Japan: it rises about 3.5 meters on the water pressure of the pond alone, without a pump.
Good to know
- Every morning, entry is free before opening time, but only through the Hasuike Gate and the Zuishinzaka Gate: from 16 to 31 October 05:00-07:45, and from November to the end of February 06:00-07:45, last entry 07:30. From April to August it starts as early as 04:00. Entry is free all day on 3 November and from 31 December to 3 January.
- On the autumn illumination evenings entry is free: 7, 14, 15, 21, 22, 28 and 29 November 2026, 18:00-21:00, last entry 20:45. On the same evenings Kanazawa Castle and Gyokusen'inmaru Garden are also lit up. The winter illumination is planned for 6 to 10 February 2027 and for Saturdays 13, 20 and 27 February.
- The snow ropes (yukizuri) start going up on 1 November, on the Karasaki pine, and are finished around mid-December. They stay up until mid-March.
- The Shigure-tei teahouse inside the garden was restored in 2000: matcha with a seasonal sweet ¥1,000, sencha with a sweet ¥500. 09:00-16:30, last entry 16:00, and closed for cleaning between 12:00 and 13:00.
What is nearby
Approximate walking minutes from the entrance of Kenrokuen Garden.
- HereKenrokuen Garden
- ~4 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.
- ~5 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.
- ~5 min
Kaga Yuzen Kimono Center Shopping
At the Kaga-yuzen center you hand-paint a handkerchief in the colors of the Kaga-yuzen technique and leave with it the same day.
- ~5 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.
- ~6 min
National Crafts Museum More to see
A national museum of crafts and design, in two military buildings from the Meiji period that were moved here and restored. From 9 October 2026 to 11 January 2027 the exhibition 'Design Chronicle' is on show, ¥1,200. Between exhibitions the museum is closed.
More in Kenrokuen
Appears in: Kanazawa: Omicho Market, the geisha district, Kenroku-en Garden and gold leaf