Go!Central Japan × Centrip JapanThe Heart of Central Japan- Its Nature, History, and Culture –

Our journey starts in Kanazawa, a city known for its beauty. Upon arrival, visitors will certainly find themselves in awe of the massive structure that is Kanazawa Station. The original station, which opened in 1898, was renovated in recent years. The station is housed under an enormous dome and sits behind a huge Japanese-style gate called the Tsuzumi-mon Gate.

Getting to Kanazawa Station from Tokyo Station will take you around 2 hours and 30 minutes on the Hokuriku Shinkansen. If you're coming from Nagoya Station, the Shirasagi Express will get you here in about 3 hours. No matter which direction you're coming from, you can get to Kanazawa without changing trains.

Kanazawa has quite a few spots that tourists will love and there is a sightseeing bus that will help you get around the city. The Castle Town Kanazawa Amusement Bus is the most convenient way to hit all the most popular sightseeing locations. If the weather's nice and you're more the active type, there are rental cycles at the station. Both the sightseeing bus and rental cycle facilities are set up to accommodate foreign travelers.

One of the things Kanazawa's is most well-known for is the gold leaf handicrafts that have been produced here since the end of the 16th century. Nearly all gold leaf production in Japan happens in Kanazawa. Local merchants sell a variety of items including Japanese folding screens, dishes, and jewelry—a reasonable price, you can even try your hand at making something with gold leaf at a shop.

When you think of Japanese food, dessert items might not come to mind, but Japanese cuisine is filled with delicious sweet treats. Each area has its own particular types of sweets, and Kanazawa is no different. Head over to the Ishikawa Local Products Center , and you can check out their Japanese-Style Confection Experience, where you'll learn about the artful way the Japanese make their desserts and snacks, along with a chance to eat three yummy treats.

Being largely military structures, most of Japan's castles succumbed to fire and other sorts of destruction over the years. Castles maintaining their original structures are quite rare. Portions of Kanazawa Castle that burned down over the years have been rebuilt, but sections of the castle are centuries-old. The most distinctive part of the castle is the whitish roof titles, which are made of lead. In times of war, the tiles were melted down to be crafted into bullets.

The most famous place in all of Kanazawa is the garden, Kenroku-en. Its name means "garden which exhibits the six aspects of a perfect garden", alluding to the ancient Chinese ideals of what makes a garden perfect—spaciousness, seclusion, artifice, antiquity, water-courses, and panoramas. Kenroku-en sits adjacent to Kanazawa Castle and belonged to the same warlord family, the Maeda Clan, who Kanazawa Castle belonged to. The garden was developed by the Maeda Clan starting in the 1620s up through the 1840s. Kenroku-en is highly-regarded for its beauty and is considered to be one of the three greatest gardens in all of Japan. In addition to the roughly 8,750 trees inside the garden's grounds, you can see the oldest fountain in Japan, which operates purely on natural water pressure.