金沢

Kanazawa

金沢城公園

Kanazawa Castle Park

Name: Kanazawa Castle Park
Address: Kanazawa, JP

Castle buildings restored to their former glory in Kanazawa

Spacious park area

Beautifully restored castle structures

Operating Hours

07:00 to 18:00 (Daily)

08:00 to 17:00 (Daily)

Unlike many Japanese castles (城, Shiro) across Japan, Kanazawa Castle does not have a tenshu (天守, Main Keep) (there was once a keep for 22 years before it burnt down in 1602), and restoration works on the castle are still ongoing. Buildings have been progressively rebuilt using traditional methods since the early 2000s, up till now. Turrets, warehouses, gates, bridges, all of these were made to resemble their appearance in the 1880s, and these buildings are open to explore for the public (with some being ticketed).

The Castle Park features wide open spaces, beautifully restored structures, displays on the interior that elaborate on the restoration progress, as well as a beautiful Japanese garden, Gyokuseninmaru Garden. It’s a great place to stroll through, admire the architecture of both the exterior and interior of the castle structures.

Moat at Kanazawa Castle Park in Kanazawa, Ishikawa Prefecture

Kanazawa Castle Park's Story

Kanazawa Castle Park sits on the site of the former Kanazawa Castle, constructed in 1580, and was burnt down and rebuilt multiple across the 14 generations that it was the home of the Maeda Clan (前田氏, Maeda-shi) that ruled the Kaga Domain (加賀藩, Kaga-han), today's Ishikawa Prefecture and Toyama Prefecture (富山県, Toyama-ken). After the Meiji Restoration (明治維新, Meiji Ishin) in 1869, and the abolition of the feudal lord system, the castle was headquarters to the 9th Division of the Imperial Japanese Army up till 1949. After the war, it became the main campus for Kanazawa University, which moved out in 1989, leaving space for the restoration of the castle. Since the 1990s, parts of the castle have been progressively restored to their original form of the 1880s, and restoration works remain ongoing.

Must Visits in Kanazawa Castle Park

五十間長屋

Gojukken Nagaya

Operating Hours

09:00 to 16:30, Last Entry 16:00 (Daily)

The largest structure in the park, is the restored complex of the Gojukken Nagaya, an 80m long warehouse that used to store supplies and weapons in the castle.

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Recommended Spots in Kanazawa Castle Park

橋爪門

Hashizume-mon

The last gate to enter the castle’s inner grounds, it was burnt down in 1881 by an accidental fire, and was restored in 2015. Excavated artifacts, historical records, and traditional techniques (without nails) were used to restore the gate, the stone walls, the plastered walls, and the lead tiles.

河北門

Kahoku-mon

The Kahoku-mon (河北門, lit. River North Gate) was considered the main gate to the castle as it was the outward-facing gate. It consisted of a two-gate structure, with a simple wooden Ichi-no-Mon (一の門, lit. the first gate), and a reinforced two-story Ni-no-Mon (二の門, lit. the second gate) with a built-in watch tower with gaps to drop stones, as well as a steel-reinforced door. The area in-between the Ichi-no-Mon and the Ni-no-Mon was surrounded by Masugata Dobei (枡形土塀), walls that looked like earthen walls with plaster, but were actually hidden stone walls to hide their strength from attackers.

鼠多門・橋

Nezumita-mon Gate & Bridge

The Nezumita-mon Gate is on the west side of the castle, and used to be connected to the Kanaya Demaru district (金谷出丸) by the Nezumita-mon Bridge that crossed the moat. Today, the restored bridge is 32 meters long (3 meters longer than the original, as the moat has been replaced by a road), and connects Kanazawa Castle Park with Oyama Shrine.

Japanese garden in Kanzawa Castle in Kanazawa, Ishikawa Prefecture

玉泉院丸庭園

Gyokuseninmaru Garden

This garden was thought to be a courtyard for the feudal lords to stroll and relax in, as opposed to the neighboring Kenrokuen (兼六園), which was used to entertain guests. The park features a large pond in the center, a circular path that circles it.

Kanazawa Castle Park Is Mentioned In

Traditional streets of Higashi Chaya District in Kanazawa, Ishikawa Prefecture

Ultimate Two Day Kanazawa Itinerary

Day 1 of Ultimate Two Day Kanazawa Itinerary

Getting to Kanazawa Castle Park

From

金沢駅

Kanazawa Station

北陸新幹線

Hokuriku Shinkansen

IRいしかわ鉄道線

IR Ishikawa Railway Line

Take Kenrokuen Exit (East Exit)

Bus

15 mins

¥200

Take bus 11, 12, Kanazawa Left Loop Bus from Kanazawa Station to Kenrokuen / Kanazawa Castle Park (兼六園・金沢城下) bus stop.

From

兼六園下・金沢城バス停

Kenrokuen / Kanazawa Castle Park Bus Stop

Walk

2 mins

200m

Nearby Kanazawa Castle Park

兼六園

Kenrokuen

Fastest - 3 mins

Kanazawa Castle Park and Kenrokuen Garden are directly connected via an overhead pedestrian bridge from the Kanazawa Castle Park's Ishikawa-mon Gate to Kenrokuen's Katsurazaka Gate.

3 mins

200m

Kanazawa Castle Park

Kenrokuen

尾山神社

Oyama Shrine

Fastest - 3 mins

Kanazawa Castle Park is directly connected to Oyama Shrine via the Nezumita-mon Bridge, where you can enter the park via the Nezumita-mon Gate. The bridge is located at the back of the shrine, rather than near the entrance torii (鳥居).

3 mins

200m

Kanazawa Castle Park

Oyama Shrine

金沢

Kanazawa

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