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Higashi Chaya District, Kanazawa

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City guide · 金沢 Kanazawa

Kanazawa

Castle town of the million-koku Kaga domain: a famous garden, teahouse districts and gold leaf

Photo: Andrea Schaffer · CC BY 2.0

Kanazawa keeps the layout of an Edo-period castle town: Kenroku-en faces Kanazawa Castle across the road, and across the Asano River are the latticed wooden houses of the Higashi Chaya district. Almost all of Japan's high-quality gold leaf is made here.

History

How the city came to be

In the Muromachi period, Kaga Province was ruled for nearly a century by the Ikkō-ikki. In 1580 Oda Nobunaga sent Shibata Katsuie and Sakuma Morimasa to take Kaga; after the Honnō-ji Incident, Maeda Toshiie took over and founded the Kaga domain. At Sekigahara the Maeda sided with Tokugawa Ieyasu and their domain grew to 1.2 million koku, the largest under the Edo shogunate. The Maeda ruled Kaga from Kanazawa Castle until the end of the Edo period.

  1. Muromachi periodThe Ikkō-ikki ruled Kaga Province
  2. 1580Oda Nobunaga's army took Kaga
  3. 1583Maeda Toshiie took over Kanazawa
  4. 1600After Sekigahara the Kaga domain grew to 1.2 million koku
  5. 1676The fifth lord, Maeda Tsunanori, began creating Kenroku-en
  6. 1871Kenroku-en opened to the public

Stories

Stories of the city

History · Kenroku-en, Kanazawa

The garden of the million-koku Kaga domain

After Maeda Toshiie was granted Kaga and Noto, the Kaga domain became the richest domain of the Edo period, known as 'Kaga's million koku'. Kenroku-en is the daimyō garden created over more than two centuries by successive Maeda lords, opened to the public only in 1871.

People

People connected with Kanazawa

Sengoku to Azuchi-Momoyama period · 1538–1599

Maeda Toshiie

Founder of the Kaga domain

1 related places

Must see

Places you shouldn’t miss

Higashi Chaya District

Classic landmarkKanazawa, Ishikawa

Higashi Chaya District, Kanazawa

Edo's geisha district across the Asano River: latticed teahouses, stone paving and a thin layer of gold leaf.

The Kotoji stone lantern in Kenroku-en

Classic landmarkKanazawa, Ishikawa

Kenroku-en, Kanazawa

The daimyō garden of the million-koku Kaga domain: the Kotoji lantern and snow-roped pines, with a different face in every season.

Before you go

Rules to know in Kanazawa

All etiquette & taboos →

TabooEveryday mannersJapan

Take off your shoes when you see a genkan (entrance step)

  • Take off your shoes at the entrance of homes, some restaurants, temples and hot-spring facilities
  • If unsure, look for a shoe rack or slippers at the entrance
  • Stepping onto tatami or indoor wooden floors in shoes

It is seen as very rude.

Verified Oct 19, 2026Source: JNTO: Japanese etiquette

TabooPublic transportJapan

No phone calls on trains and the shinkansen; queue to board

  • Put your phone on silent; on the shinkansen, take calls in the area between carriages
  • Queue at the marked spots on either side of the train door, and let people off before you get on
  • Give priority seats to older people, pregnant women and passengers with limited mobility
  • Talking on the phone or playing sound aloud in the train

Not illegal, but you will get looks and a reminder from the conductor.

Verified Oct 19, 2026Source: JNTO: Japanese etiquette

TabooHot springsJapan

If you have tattoos, check the rules before using a hot spring

  • Before you go, email the facility to ask about its rules
  • Small to medium tattoos can be covered with skin-coloured patches (some onsen sell them)
  • Choose a tattoo-friendly onsen, or book a private bath (kashikiri-buro) in advance
  • Ignoring 'no tattoos' signs and getting in anyway

Most onsen do not allow guests with tattoos to bathe, but rules vary by facility and are often more relaxed for foreign visitors.

Verified Oct 19, 2026Source: JNTO: tattoo rules and etiquette at onsen

TabooHot springsJapan

Wash your body thoroughly before getting into a hot spring

  • Before getting in, sit on the small stool in the washing area and wash your whole body with the shower or a bucket, leaving no soap
  • Leave your small towel at the edge of the bath or fold it on your head
  • Getting into the bath without rinsing first
  • Dipping your towel in the bath water
  • Leaving a used towel in the washing area

Not illegal, but other guests and the staff will see it as very rude. Most onsen require you to be fully naked in the bathing area.

Verified Oct 19, 2026Source: JNTO: a beginner's guide to onsen

Good mannersTippingJapan

There is no tipping in Japan

  • Say thank you with 'arigatō gozaimashita'
  • Pressing loose change on staff

Japan is a no-tipping country and bills usually include service; if you press a tip on staff, some will politely refuse.

Verified Oct 19, 2026Source: JNTO: Japanese table manners

Good mannersRestaurants & barsJapan

An izakaya's otoshi is a cover charge

  • Accept the otoshi as an appetiser
  • Arguing with staff about it or asking for it to be taken back

There is no penalty: before you order at an izakaya, a small dish of otoshi always arrives. It doubles as the cover charge and cannot be chosen or swapped.

Verified Oct 19, 2026Source: JNTO: drinking in Japan

Sources