Kanazawa Station

Kanazawa Station is regularly named among the most beautiful stations in the world, which is not a phrase that attaches to many railway buildings. The reason is the Tsuzumi-mon, the enormous wooden gate shaped like a pair of traditional hand drums that stands outside the east exit under a glass dome. It is the first thing you see and it sets the tone for a city that has kept more of old Japan than almost anywhere its size.

What runs from Kanazawa Station

• Hokuriku Shinkansen from Tokyo in around two and a half hours, and south to Tsuruga for the connection to Osaka and Kyoto.
• IR Ishikawa Railway and local JR lines along the coast.
• Nohi bus to Shirakawago and Takayama, from the east exit bus terminal.
• The Kanazawa Loop Bus around the sights, also from the east exit.

Getting here

From Tokyo: direct on the Hokuriku Shinkansen, around two and a half hours on the fastest Kagayaki services. One of the better Shinkansen journeys in the country, through the mountains and along the Japan Sea coast.

From Kyoto or Osaka: the Thunderbird limited express to Tsuruga, then the Shinkansen to Kanazawa. About two and a quarter hours from Kyoto with the change. Until early 2024 the Thunderbird ran all the way through, so older guides will tell you otherwise.

Both routes are covered by a Japan Rail Pass.

Shirakawago and Takayama

Kanazawa is the best base for the thatched farmhouse village at Shirakawago. The Nohi bus from the east exit takes about an hour and a quarter, and carries on to Takayama in another fifty minutes, which makes a Kanazawa to Takayama day via Shirakawago a popular way to cross the Alps. The buses are not covered by a rail pass and need booking ahead, particularly in winter when the village is lit up and in autumn.

Getting around the city

The sights are spread out and none of them are at the station. The Kanazawa Loop Bus runs a circuit from the east exit past all of them: Kenrokuen garden, the castle, the 21st Century Museum, the Higashi Chaya geisha district, Omicho market and the samurai quarter at Nagamachi. A day ticket is cheap and not covered by the rail pass. Kanazawa is also a good city to cycle, and bike hire is beside the station.

Using a rail pass here

The pass covers the Shinkansen and the Thunderbird. It does not cover the Loop Bus, the Nohi bus to Shirakawago, or the IR Ishikawa local line, which was handed from JR to a regional company when the Shinkansen opened.

Eating

Omicho market, ten minutes walk from the station, is one of the best seafood markets in Japan, with snow crab in winter and sea bream and sweet shrimp year round. Several stalls serve kaisendon, rice bowls piled with raw fish, which is the local lunch. The station has an Anto shopping concourse with good local sweets and sake for the train home.

Tickets and guides from Kanazawa

If you are booking individual journeys rather than using a pass, these are the routes that start here.

• Tokyo To Kanazawa tickets

And the longer route guides, with times, seat tips and what to see when you arrive:

• Tokyo To Kanazawa route guide

Common questions

How many days do I need in Kanazawa?

Two nights covers the city properly. Add a third if you are doing Shirakawago as a day trip rather than passing through on the way to Takayama.

Is Kanazawa on the way from Tokyo to Kyoto?

It is a detour, not a through route, but a good one. Tokyo to Kanazawa by Shinkansen, a couple of nights, then Kanazawa to Kyoto via Tsuruga. It adds a day to the journey and shows you a side of the country the Golden Route misses entirely.

What is the drum gate?

The Tsuzumi-mon is a modern wooden gate outside the east exit, built in 2005 to echo the drums used in Noh theatre, which Kanazawa is known for. It is free to walk through and lit at night.

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