Kanazawa

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Kanazawa (金沢) is a historic city in Ishikawa prefecture, Japan.

Kanazawa's Samurai District

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Understand

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Get in

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By plane

The nearest airport serving Kanazawa is in the city of Komatsu. JAL offers flights into Komatsu Airport from Tokyo Haneda Airport, and from Okinawa. ANA flies into Komatsu from Tokyo Haneda and Narita Airports, as well as Sapporo Chitose, Sendai and Fukuoka.

From Komatsu airport, buses run directly to Kanazawa (50 minutes, ¥1100).

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By train

Kanazawa's train station is located on the West Japan Railway's Hokuriku Line.

From Tokyo Station, Kanazawa can be reached by taking the Joetsu Shinkansen (Tanigawa, Max Tanigawa, Toki or Max Toki) to Echigo-Yuzawa (越後湯沢) and then transferring to the Hakutaka (はくたか) limited express train for the run to Kanazawa. This ride lasts just over 4 hours with a good connection in Echigo-Yuzawa, and it costs ¥13010 each way. Japan Rail Pass holders only have to pay ¥1450 each way.

Frequent Thunderbird (サンダーバード) and Raichō (雷鳥) limited express trains run to Kanazawa from Osaka and Kyoto in Kansai. The one-way ride from Osaka lasts around 2 1/2 hours on the fastest service and costs ¥7640 (No charge for Japan Rail Pass holders).

The overnight Hokuriku (北陸) and Noto (能登) trains make daily runs to Kanazawa out of Tokyo's Ueno station, and it is also a morning stop on the Twilight Express (トワイライトエクスプレス) and Nihonkai (日本海) #4 overnight trains from Sapporo.

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By car

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By bus

Several bus companies make runs from western Tokyo to Kanazawa. Two daytime buses and two night buses run from Ikebukuro, and the same frequency of buses run from Shinjuku. The trip takes seven hours and costs ¥7840 one-way.

From Kyoto to Kanazawa, several bus companies (for example Keihan, JR, Hokutetsu) run about 5 times a day. The trip takes 4 hours and the one-way fare is 4,060 yen.

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By boat

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Get around

Kanazawa has a decent bus system to help you get where you need to go. There are three types of buses: city buses, a tourist bus, and community buses (Furatto-Bus). The tourist bus makes a loop around the main sights in 15 minutes and costs ¥200. There are three community bus routes which make 15 minute loops around different districts of the city and cost ¥100.

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See

Kenroku-en Garden (兼六園), [1]. By far the most famous sight in Kanazawa, the Garden of Six Attributes is considered one of Japan's Top 3 gardens. Admission is ¥300 for adults and ¥100 for children age 6-17.

21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art [2] - Located across from Kenroku-en, this modern marvel offers a fascinating juxtiposition to the tradional splendor of Kanazawa. Even if you don't enter the permanent or temporary exhibitions, it is worth a look. Don't miss the cafe!

Ninja Temple (Myoryu-ji 妙立寺) [3] - Though commonly called 'the Ninja Temple,' Myoryu-ji claims it wasn't actually home to ninja in the Edo Period. It does, however, boast an impressive array of trap doors and hidden rooms. Call ahead to book a tour.

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Do

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Learn

Kanazawa University (金沢大学). Kanazawa University is composed of 8 faculties. About 8,000 students (university student) learn there. Also, there are many students of graduate school. The main campus is Kakuma.