The Higashi Chaya District is one of the best neighborhoods to explore in Kanazawa, with its traditional ambience, and wide variety of shops and restaurants. This district filled with geisha-ya (芸者屋, Geisha House) that have a beautiful traditional appearance, a two-storey building with a wooden lattice structure outside the door known as the kimisuko (木虫籠), and tatami (畳) guest rooms on the second floor.
Today, many of these geisha houses have been retrofitted into modern restaurants, cafes and souvenir shops, with a few preserved as museums to give a glimpse as to what a geisha house would have looked like in the Edo Period (1603-1867, 江戸時代, Edo-jidai). Additionally, some of these preserved geisha houses still conduct geisha performances in the evening. Most retail shops and cafes close by the evening.
