Kanazawa is a city with streets paved in gold. Well, not paved, but there’s an abundance of the shiny stuff, and not in a gaudy way. The name Kanazawa literally means “marsh of gold” (owing to a local legend of a peasant digging it up) and the element features across the city. More popularly known as ‘little Kyoto’ because of the intriguing Higashichaya district, with geisha and all, Kanazawa has surged as a tourist destination. The city’s prospects are good, but with the risk of overcrowding such as in the real Kyoto and all the frustrations that brings locals and fellow tourists alike, I’d like to suggest a couple of alternative Kanazawa spots. While golden, they may not be saved as ‘want to go’ on everyone’s Google Map from Seattle to Sydney. And there isn’t an exorbitantly priced gold-leaf-wrapped ice cream in sight.
Yes, Kenrokuen is spectacular, the local castle is worth a visit (particularly when they finish building the massive extension), the Higashichaya district is picturesque (I recommend Makoto sake bar 日本酒真琴 for a treat), the 21st Century Contemporary Art Museum is constantly interesting, and of course the station itself is worth perusing at leisure. But if you want to avoid the crowds and experience a slightly more local side of the city and its surroundings, read on. Since this is the Japan Beer Times you’re reading, I will include some breweries, and I’m going to assume no car is involved unless in taxi form. However, the breweries I am taking you to do not produce beer. If you’re expecting to hear in detail about Kanazawa Brewery, Brew Classic, Oriental Brewing, Wakuwaku Tezukuri Farm, or Heart & Beer Nihonkai Club, then you might have to wait for a future article. Nope–the breweries we are visiting make sake and soy sauce!
Time to ride… the Bone Shaker!
From Kanazawa station take a bus directly to Nomachi Station; the 02 bus will get you there in about 30 minutes. This is the terminal station for the Hokuriku Tetsudo-Ishikawa Line, home of Japan’s most chiropractic train. There’s only one direction from here, so jump on the next train bound for Tsurugi, and hold on; you’re in for the bumpiest and most scenic 30 minutes of your life–all for 540 yen. Technically, Tsurugi is outside Kanazawa, but there is just so much to do there it would be remiss not to include it. If you want to optimize your visit, get yourself over to the Tsurugi Branch of the Hakusan City Hall directly opposite the station. Here you can rent almost any kind of bike for around 300 yen for the day (get it back before 5pm). If you’re lazy, make it an e-bike for 700 yen. Now on two wheels, you have a range of activities open to you. My personal favourite is to ride the Tedori Canyon cycle path. It follows the path of the long-since defunct Hokuriku railroad, and is relatively flat (at first!), nicely paved, and completely car-free. If you are energetic enough to make it up to Sena, in the foothills of Mount Hakusan, you’ll pass Tedori Gorge, complete with the scarily powerful Watagataki Waterfall, multiple rice paddies, probably a few bears or monkeys, a breathtaking view of Hakusan mountain, and more beauty than you can reasonably be expected to take in. If you make it to Sena there is a private onsen at the Kanazawa Institute of Technology Hakusan campus, and some pretty special ice cream (ice cream nod #1), plus some hormone ramen, if that’s your gut instinct.
Not everyone has that amount of vigor though, so a more cultural, but equally awe-inspiring tootle might be to head up to Shirayama Hime Shrine, taste some delicious ōbanyaki (small batter cakes filled with sweet bean paste), and wander up the wide stone staircase through the trees accompanied by the gentle trickle of a stream. The shrine is impressive, but the size and stillness of the trees do invoke a Ghibli-esque calm which seems a thousand miles from the throngs of the tea district. If Zen isn’t your thing, then maybe you should take a running jump off a big hill. Yeah? Does that sound good to you? Well, you can. The Shishiku Kogen Paragliding School happily accepts novices, and while I have never done it myself–I am worried that my gravitational pull might obey physics a bit too much–I’ve seen many a maniac hurl themselves into the vast beyond. It’s easy, of course, not to do that and either hike or take a gondola up from Shishiku Highland to drink in the 180-degree views of Ishikawa from summit to sea. Upon returning to ground level I highly recommend the Moku Yuurin pizzeria, which is also home to a very pleasant wood craft shop.
Depending on your opinion of wasps, butterflies, and other creepy crawlies, you may want to visit the Ishikawa Insect Museum, a short walk from Tsurugi town centre. It’s great, actually, culminating in a circular stroll through butterfly-filled (and I mean filled) foliage. If you have little ones with you, this is a great way to spend a couple of hours, and it’s dirt cheap. Tsurugi is also home to the Kobori Shuzō sake brewery. Founded in 1716, and renowned for its use of the crystal-clear mountain run-off from Hakusan, you can swing by the shop and pick up a couple of bottles of Manzairaku or their Junmai Daiginjō. While you’re there, why not a bottle of the award-winning Manzairaku Umeshu (plum wine), too? Right around the corner is the Maruhamaya Bakery if you’re feeling a bread pang–or you can visit one of the many Japanese sweet shops dotted around the town. Before we depart Tsurugi, if you’re there during the sweltering summer, I love nothing more than to head over to the Tedori River where you’ll find several people barbecuing and children frolicking in the shallow water. A little further up-river, maybe 200 metres, there are some rocks naturally carved over the millennia by that gushing crystal clear water I was describing earlier. They form the perfect seat, and if you don’t mind getting completely soaked, the therapeutic shoulder massage you’ll receive almost prepares you for the bone-shaker train back to Kanazawa proper.
Shoyu want to visit a brewery?
We’ve been to the mountains, now let’s head out to the coast. Kanazawa is so perfectly situated between the peaks and the beach that it is entirely possible to do both in a day. While the beaches do often follow the sad sight so common on the west side of Japan–scores of plastic bottles, buoys, and other debris–there is still much to be enjoyed waterside. If you hire a machi-nori e-bike in Kanazawa, it’s a pleasant, easy cycle along the Saigawa River down to the Ono district. Pause at Oto Café for a croissant waffle, or maybe a musical set from the master on his classy jazz set-up, then hit the nearby Kenmin Seaside Park, which has a huge water park, a large wooded area incorporating a pond with several barbecue spots, and abundant bird-life, making it a mecca for twitchers. It is also close to one of the few beaches that are cleaned fairly regularly if you fancy a dip in the sea. Be warned that after Obon, there be jellyfish in them there waters…
I’m going to direct you a little north from here, though, to a brewery in Ono. Anyone familiar with Kanazawa might assume I’m going to extol the virtues of a recent addition, the Brew Classic brewery. While it has won awards in its short tenure since 2021, and does have a very stylish taproom in the vibrant Korinbo area of Kanazawa, the brewery itself is not open to the public. Instead, I’m going to suggest you drop by the Yamato Koji Park Shoyu brewery. That’s right, soy sauce! There are actually a few soy sauce breweries in this area, but this one has a more tourist-ready vibe, and most importantly, it has ice cream (ice cream nod #2). The ice cream is remarkably and surprisingly tasty, given that the options are amazake or soy sauce flavour. I opted for the soy sauce one on a recent visit, and man umami man, was it good. It is possible to take a tour, there are miso-making workshops, and more than one restaurant allows you to sample the shoyu in a more traditional way. If you do dribble soy sauce all over your hands, you can also take a ‘koji hand bath’ which, according to the website, can brighten your skin and de-freckle you. I cannot, however, vouch for this, as my hands are bright enough as they are, thank you.
The Part about Where to Drink!
Right. I think it’s high time we had a beer. My first choice would be to go to Futa’s Dive Bar. Futa’s father is a Kutani potter, and so all his crockery is unique and visually appealing. With BBC Radio 6 Music murmuring in the background he serves a range of tasty bar snacks (I recommend the empanadas and the crème fraîche open gyozas) as well as a constantly changing set of craft beers from around Japan and beyond. With eight rotating taps there is always an excellent selection. It’s also a stone’s throw from the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, which can definitely provide some interesting talking points over pints.
A short stumble away is CHE, which is very small, but has on-street seating, great vintage décor, and a very interesting selection of beers. They are mainly imported from Belgium, and the prices can be a little high, but this is probably the only spot in Kanazawa where you’ll find a Monk’s Stout Dupont. It’s worth mentioning here that CHE is right off Shin Tatemachi Street, which has a load of groovy second-hand and vintage shops, coffee shops, and another recommendation for quick curry and a well-stocked beer fridge at Spice Stand SEISHUN.
We head now toward Katamachi, which is the vibrant night-life zone. Kanazawa is famous for seafood–and food in general–so to deep dive into the plethora of fantastic restaurants is more of a book than an article. One stand-out sushi place is Yojiro, which, with a capacity of seven, does require booking in advance. Likewise, Jibunchi, where the chef sources all the ingredients himself (including wild boar) would require months of forethought. I’ll keep it simple and suggest you slide in for a good ol’ slice of New York-style pizza at Pizza Horizon before making the very short walk to Korinbo Jibiruba. This joint has much more of a pub feel to it, with wood-lined walls plastered with beer stickers, a live music venue overhead, and kegs battling for space with stools. Again, as with Futa’s, they have a strong selection of beers at any given time, and a very good, if not authentically British, fish ‘n’ chips.
For the more intrepid nightsperson, I have two more recommendations. The first, Craft Beer Freaks Sink (where do they get these names from?), is just 10 minutes on foot from Katamachi, and even closer to the Ninja Temple–or, to give it its proper name, Myōryū-ji. This is a proper tourist mecca, but is nestled in a very lovely and temple-strewn area of town called Teramachi. Again, Sink is small, but with 50% of the space taken up by fridges containing a dizzying range of beers this is definitely worth the effort. Finally, back in Katamachi, right next to the famous green bridge, there is a little place called Sturgis. Up on the 6th floor of a nondescript building, this dark and tardis-like time hole will suck you in, make you slay some serious riffs on the master’s guitar, and spit you out at 7am wondering where, when, and possibly who you are. No craft beer in Sturgis, but as honorable mentions go, this is a necessary one.
Kanazawa is a wonderful place. This article is simply the gold leaf on the deeply historic, cultural, and frankly beautiful ice cream of a city I am proud to call home. Please visit!