Kanazawa Walking Tour: Experience Gold Leaf, Japanese Sweets and Ninja Stars

The city of Kanazawa, with its beautiful gardens, historic districts and delicious local foods, is more than just the sights within it. Why not get hands-on experience with Japanese and local cultural activities while exploring some of the lesser visited areas. The area is famous for its traditional crafts such as gold leaf, Japanese sweets, pottery, kimono-making, etc. On this tour you can try out using gold leaf, making Japanese sweets and also getting a chance at throwing two different types of ninja stars. If you are someone who wants to dive deeper into the culture of the city while walking around the city, this is the tour for you. Led by one of our local English-speaking tour guides, you will do three different workshops and see some of the sights that don’t normally make it onto the main Kanazawa tours. Experience the other side of this wonderful, beautiful  and traditional city.

Highlights

• Make a beautiful gold leaf plate that you can take home and display or use

• Walk through the atmospheric Kazuemachi Geisha district before exploring the stunning and famous Higashichaya Teahouse District

• Make a variety of delicious Japanese mochi sweets that you can eat at your own pleasure

• Tour the backway to the Nishi-chaya District and slowly see Ishiura shrine, the DT Suzuki Museum and other outdoor art and attractions

• Learn more about ninjas and try throwing two different types of throwing stars at the Ninja Museum

*For those looking to join the tour from Tokyo, please see the FAQ Section below

Description

This tour will start at Kanazawa Station at 8:30 A.M., where your guide will meet you in front of the Information Center near the Shinkansen Ticket Gates. You will have the opportunity to put your belongings in a coin locker at the station as well if you feel the need.

Starting from Kanazawa Station at, you will first head towards Omicho Market. Enjoy the contrast between the modern high-rises with the older buildings as we walk towards the market. This area is the main fish market for the center of the city and has lots of stores to pursue. Feel free to grab a quick bite to eat as we walk through the market. After passing through, we will soon arrive at our first activity, the gold leaf experience

This area is famous for its production of gold leaf which is gold hammered to within 1/10,000th of a millimeter and is a UNESCO Culturally Intangible Property. At this first experience, you can choose the shape of plate you wish to make and are guided by the experienced workers at the shop. When you’re finished you can even take it home as a souvenir!

After packing up your gold leaf plate, we will walk the back way through Kazuemachi, a geisha district, and cross an old Edo style bridge. From there we will walk some back streets to Teramachi, an area that used to be the center of religious activity in the city. Finally, we will arrive at Higashichayamachi, the famous tea house and geisha district. Here there is time for you to shop and eat lunch, with various recommendations from your guide.

The next activity for the day is Japanese Sweet Making. Near the famous Kenrokuen Garden, this activity will have you make Japanese sweets that can be eaten alone or with matcha. You will make three different types of sweets that change depending on the season. This activity is led by a Japanese sweet chef where you can feel the electric atmosphere of being able to make some of the famous designs that are found in most of the common tea ceremonies.

As we head towards the next activity, we will be stopping at a few famous, but not usually visited sites by foreign travelers. Squeezed in between Kenrokuen Garden, Kanazawa Castle and the 21st Century Museum is Ishiura Shrine. This small shrine complex has a little bit of everything. There is a torii tunnel, beautiful pond and other interesting natural and religious things to see.

Continuing along Honda-dori, we will then stop outside at the D.T. Suzuki Museum. Even without entering the museum you can enjoy a stunning and tranquil modernist Zen pool. D.T. Suzuki was a writer who is credited with bringing Japanese Zen Buddhism to the world and you can definitely feel inner peace looking out at the pool. Directly next to the pool is Shofukaku, an Edo-period style Japanese garden that had been privately maintained for decades.

After further walking down this street and crossing the clear water of the Daigawa River, we will enter another Teramachi. Here we will see some of the old temples and even the famous “Ninja Temple”. Passing through some of the narrow streets evokes a time lost to the modernization across the bridge.

Not so far from this area is the final activity of the tour, the Ninja Museum, in the Nishi-chaya District. This area was and is home to some of the geisha in the city and preserve the feel of the old times on this street. The Ninja Museum, a small and humble building on this street, is near the main road and entrance of this district. In here you can learn about and see different weapons and attire that ninjas would wear. Downstairs from the museum is the ninja star throwing experience. You can try the classic ninja star(kuruma-shuriken) or the stick style (bo-shuriken) by throwing them at a target. The technique can be a bit difficult but after a few tries you will feel like a real ninja.

The last part of the tour includes walking across the river to Katamachi, the nighttime and youth hub of the city. We will walk around some of the older areas of the city that combine artwork with the vibes of the 1970’s. After exploring the area a bit and learning about the possible food and shopping options, feel free to stay and have dinner or go back to the station by bus with the tour guide.

TOUR MEETUP POINT

1 / KANAZAWA STATION @ 8:30 A.M.

The meetup point is outside of the Shinkansen ticket gates, in front of the information center. If you are heading out from the gates, look forward and to the right and you will see a large ‘?’ inside of a circle, which is the sign under which we will be meeting. For those coming from outside the station, you will find this sign immediately inside of the East Entrance of Kanazawa Station. You may wait nearby there until the tour begins at 8:30 A.M. Be sure to look for the guide wearing a SNOW MONKEY RESORTS tour tag.

NOTES

Included

• English speaking guide
• Gold Leaf Experience
• Japanese Sweets Making Experience
• Ninja Museum Entry Free and Shuriken Experience

Excluded

• Lunch
• Accommodation

Other Information

• This tour involves several hours of walking in the outdoors. We recommend that you wear shoes and clothes which are easy to walk in. Please check the weather forecast before you head to the meetup point and prepare an umbrella or rain coat if necessary.

• In winter the temperatures will be below 10℃ at the high , and in the morning and evening may be close to or below 0℃. Please wear warm clothing and footwear appropriate for snowy and cold conditions. There may also be snow and ice on the road/sidewalk, and so you should take care to not slip by preparing the correct shoes for such conditions.

• There will be some free time along the way for guests to enjoy the locations at their own pace. However, please make sure that you are at the respective meetup points at the time stated by your guide. If you get lost or need assistance, feel free to call the number which is listed on your tour pass, and our staff will assist you immediately.