Kanazawa Travel Guide

Kanazawa (金沢) is a historic city in Ishikawa prefecture, Japan. For travelers who want to see one of the best-preserved major Edo-period cities in the country, it's hard to beat.

The nearest airport serving Kanazawa is in the city ofKomatsu(KMQIATA). JAL offers flights into Komatsu Airport fromTokyoHaneda AirportandOkinawa, while ANA flies from Tokyo Haneda andSapporo. IBEX flies regional jets to Komatsu fromNarita Airport,SendaiandFukuoka. There are also international flights fromHong Kong,Seoul,ShanghaiandTaipei.

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). Thetourist bus[dead link]makes a loop around the main sights in 15 minutes and costs ¥200 per trip or ¥500 daily. There are four community bus routes which make 15-minute loops around different districts of the city and cost ¥100.　Buses are wheelchair accessible.

As with most if not all cities in Japan, Kanazawa is a very safe place to visit. The central crossing in Kanazawa's Katamachi area (known locally as the Scramble) can get a bit rowdy on the weekends. The worse that is likely to happen is a snide comment or two. The usual common sense rules apply and single female travelers would be wise to keep their wits about them at night-time.

The largest concentration of hotels is around the station area including all the usual suspects: ANA, APA, Nikko etc. Toyoko Hotel and Route Inn hotel are two of the newest. For cheaper options, the Kanawaza Ryokan and Hotel Society runs aYadotime booking engine, also available in English.