Discovering Kanazawa and Takayama

If your travel trip allows 2 weeks to explore Japan, consider a side trip to the city of Kanazawa located on the Sea of Japan and the surrounding villages. During the Edo Period (1603-1867) the city was a political and cultural center with Kyoto as rival.
Today, the city has well-preserved neighborhoods, great museums and gardens, and keeps its position as one of Japan’s centers of traditional art and culture.
We suggest at least three or four days to explore Kanazawa and the environs, on you trip between Tokyo and Kyoto, from Nagoya with a night in Takayama and a visit to Shirakawago, located between Takayama and Kanazawa and a UNESCO World Heritage site.
The city of Kanazawa’s best-known attraction is the Kenrokuen gardens, the Nagamachi former samurai district, the chaya teahouse neighborhood and the Ninja-dera Temple, with its secret doors and traps.
Takayama is a smaller city in the mountains of Gifu Prefecture with a well-preserved Old Town of wooden shops and homes.

We at My Japan Guide can of course help you organizing the trip. Please contact us.