It’s April — the season of fresh green.
No matter where you travel, it’s a time of year when beautiful scenery awaits. So when I was deciding on a destination for this trip, I had a hard time choosing.
Every single place on my “places I want to visit” list seemed like it would look its best right about now.
Then it hit me — what about visiting Shirakawa-go (白川郷)?
The season most people associate with that place is probably winter. Snow piled deep on those steep thatched roofs — that’s the image of Shirakawa-go everyone knows.
But I thought a mountain village full of traditional thatched houses, set against fresh bright-green leaves just coming in, might offer something completely different.
Once I started looking into Kanazawa (金沢) and Shirakawa-go, I found myself genuinely drawn in. Once my mind was made up, things moved quickly in that direction.
It also helped that Korean Air flies directly into Komatsu (小松) Airport, right next to Kanazawa. And since Shirakawa-go is only about an hour and a half away by bus, a day trip seemed very doable.
Kanazawa is known for great seafood at reasonable prices. And like Kyoto, it has retained a lot of traditional architecture — I’d heard the atmosphere of the streets is quite distinctive.
I deliberately scheduled the trip for the week just before Golden Week. Overlapping with Golden Week would mean pricier hotels and bigger crowds.
But going too early might leave traces of winter behind — so I pushed the dates back as far as I could. The hotel rates turned out to be quite reasonable, and I ended up booking a 6-night, 7-day stay.
After booking the hotel and flights, I prefer to figure things out on the ground — but I don’t go in completely unprepared.
I looked through the official Kanazawa tourism website and checked out top-rated restaurants on Tabelog ahead of time.
No castle keep, but Kanazawa Castle itself, Kenroku-en (兼六園) — one of Japan’s three great gardens — Higashi Chaya-gai (ひがし茶屋街) where the geishas once gathered, and Nagamachi (長町武家屋敷跡), the old samurai district.
Then there’s Omicho Market (近江町市場) and the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art. Kanazawa had a lot to offer, to say the least.
And of course, the most important thing for me: eating and drinking. I’d also done my homework on which streets and spots in Kanazawa were the best for a drink.
And so, the trip began.
This one’s Kanazawa — 6 nights, 7 days. With a side trip to Shirakawa-go and a visit to Toyama (富山) as well.
Seven days of eating, drinking, and wandering through Kanazawa in full green season — starting with the next post.
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