Ishikawa

The province

Get to know Ishikawa

Ishikawa stretches along the Sea of Japan, from the Noto Peninsula in the north to the Kaga hot springs in the south. It was the domain of the Maeda clan, one of the wealthiest of the Edo period, which promoted handicrafts: Wajima lacquerware, Kutani porcelain and the gold leaf of Kanazawa, which accounts for most of the country’s gold leaf production.

Kanazawa, the capital, escaped World War II bombings and preserves old neighbourhoods. Kenroku-en, one of Japan’s three great gardens, sits next to the castle park. The Higashi Chaya district has wooden teahouses where geisha still perform, and Nagamachi preserves earthen-walled streets of samurai families. The 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art is a circular glass building.

Omicho Market sells fish and seafood from the Sea of Japan, such as crab in winter and nodoguro, a fatty-fleshed fish. The Noto Peninsula to the north has jagged coasts, the Shiroyone Senmaida rice terraces descending to the sea, and festivals with large lanterns called kiriko. The peninsula was hit by an earthquake in January 2024 and is rebuilding gradually.

To the south, the Kaga hot springs include the villages of Yamanaka, Yamashiro and Katayamazu, near Natadera Temple, among rocks and caves. Sacred Mount Hakusan is sought by hikers in summer. Shirakawa-go, in Gifu, is a little over an hour by bus from Kanazawa.