Kanazawa has an insane number of museums of all sizes, each with its own focus and theme. Below are 34 notable museums within the city for a wide range of tastes and interests, plus 4 more just outside Kanazawa worth an extra trip.

• Regional History: from pre-history on
• Architectural History & Preserved Buildings
  Architecture lovers, look also for this symbol below: ◈
• Samurai Museums (plural!)
• Recent History: wartime and industrialization
• The Arts: traditional to contemporary, and theatre
• Scholarship: philosophy and religion; literature
• Niche Interests & Oddities

Several discount tickets are available to help you make the most of your time, depending on whether the museum is public or private, at the city or prefecture level.

Discount Tickets and “Culture Passports”

Kenroku-en +1
► ¥500

Entry into Kenroku-en Garden is only 320 yen, but for just 500 yen, you can visit the garden for two days and gain entry into your choice of one of several nearby sites. Select from the following:

• Kanazawa Castle Central Complex:
  Hishi Yagura, Gojikken Nagaya, & Hahsizume-mon Tsuzuki Yagura
• The Ishikawa Literary Museum
• Ishikawa Prefectural Museum of Art’s permanent collection (!! see “TIP” below)
• Kaga-Honda Memorial Museum
• Ishikawa Prefectural Museum of History
• Ishikawa Prefectural Museum of Traditional Arts & Crafts

This ticket only covers the base price of the museums, so if there’s any special exhibition, you will have to pay extra if you want to see it. TIP: That means if you’re visiting on the first Monday of the month, don’t select the Ishikawa Prefectural Museum of Art, as you can already enter the permanent exhibition for free this day only!

If it’s your first visit to Kanazawa or you’re undecided, we recommend Kanazawa Castle or the Museum of Traditional Arts & Crafts for a well-rounded (and conveniently close) tour.

Combo Ticket: The Noh and 21st Century Museums
► ¥510

Close to each other and to Kaname accommodations are these two dynamically different museums, a great chance to glimpse of Japanese arts, old and new. This combo ticket is only 510 yen and allows access to select permanent and temporary exhibitions at the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, but not to special exhibitions or event exhibitions. The amount saved varies by the price of available exhibitions in the 21st Century Museum, but it’s always a steal.

Combo Ticket: Kaga-Honda and Museum of History
► ¥500

Two museums share the same red-brick building: the Kaga-Honda Memorial Museum and the Ishikawa Prefectural Museum of History. Entry into each is 400 and 300 yen, respectively, but at either museum you can purchase a combo ticket for only 500 yen to enter both, saving 200 yen.

Combo Ticket: Tosanokami-ke and Shinise Memorial Museums
► ¥360

For folks who only have time for Nagamachi, a.k.a. the “Samurai District”, this combo ticket can shave a few yen off your overall visit. Toward the southern end of the district, the Maeda Tosanokami-ke Shiryokan and Shinise Memorial Hall stand just across from each other. This ticket saves 40 yen off the total cost to tour both.

Culture Passport

Of all the discount tickets, the Culture Passports are the most flexible and wide-reaching. They cover the entry fee to 17 of Kanazawa’s museums (give or take a couple that may close for renovations) and discounts to 5 prefectural and private museums within the city.

Culture Passports come in three prices and three lengths of time.

• 1-Day Pass, ¥520; worth getting if visiting 2 museums in a single day
• 3-Day Pass, ¥830; about the cost of 3 museum visits
• Annual Pass, ¥2090; about the cost of 7 museum visits

Most tourists will find the 1- or 3-Day Passes sufficient, but long-stay visitors and residents benefit greatly from the Annual Pass, even if not staying a whole year.

Toku Toku 1-Week Program

Enthusiastic museum lovers should pick up this leaflet at one of the 17 city museums covered by the Culture Pass (even if you don’t get the pass itself). By visiting and getting a stamp at 3 or 5 museums within 7 days, the possessor of the leaflet can get a small prize. These change throughout the year, but always reflect a piece of local Japanese craft work or a local craft artist.

The leaflet also has a helpful map, though English is limited.

Now, onto the museums!

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History Lovers

Ishikawa Prefectural Museum of History

The Ishikawa Prefectual Museum of History covers the geological and political history of Ishikawa Prefecture. They have a small sensory room featuring festivals from around the prefecture played on three walls and in surround sound. Though it is no substitute, it can give you a feeling for what the local festivals look and sound like when you can’t go yourself.

Fukui Prefecture Dinosaur Museum

courtesy the City of Fukui
Anyone with an interest in natural history and especially in dinosaurs should plan a day trip to Fukui for the Fukui Prefecture Dinosaur Museum. It’s one of the top dino museums in the world.

Architectural History, Preserved Buildings

Kanazawa Yuwaku Edomura

Edomura means “Edo-era Village.” It’s an open museum of almost a dozen carefully preserved or reconstructed buildings spanning centuries of Ishikawa’s history. Information about the buildings and the people who lived there covers everyone from nobility to peasantry, as well as details about the buildings’ designs.

Kanazawa Castle

The restored fortifications of Kanazawa Castle overlook the large park grounds that have become the center of the city’s cultural activities. The center-most complex is comprised of three connected military fortifications and requires a ticket to enter. Of the three, the Hishi Yagura Turret may be of most interest to lovers of architecture and wood-construction; it’s built at angles that make it a diamond shape, providing clear views of the castle grounds’ entrances.

Seisonkaku Villa

The Seisonkaku Villa behind Kenroku-en Garden is a small palace made for the mother of one of the daimyo lords. It features many architectural touches of the Meiji-era and is itself a gallery for local excavation discoveries. It is one of the very few places in Japan to see royal artifacts in the same environment which they were originally used.

Kaikaro, Geisha Tea House

The largest tea house in the Higashi Chaya District still entertains a range of visitors, from private, high-end clientele to Kanazawa tourists. During daytime hours, the house is a private museum of its own architecture and a fine collection of geisha belongings. Casual tea service is also available.

Shima Geisha House

courtesy the City of Kanazawa
Close to Kaikaro, this tea house in Higashi Chaya has had many names in its long history. The self-guided tour walks visitors through the entirety of the house, and special attention is paid to the paint and lacquer work designed to enhance the experience of watching geisha perform. Casual tea service available.

Museum of Architecture, Kanazawa

Just across the Sai River and a short walk from the “Ninja Temple” in the Teramachi Temple District is Kanazawa’s newest gem, the Museum of Architecture. The museum celebrates the legacy of the city’s revered architects, Yoshiro and Yoshio Taniguchi, as well as the preserved styles of this castle town’s history. Archictecture lovers are treated to ample images and models. The museum also includes a small, but spacious cafe area with wide windows.

Kanazawa’s Many Samurai Museums

Kaga-Honda Memorial Museum

The Kaga-Honda Museum is a small, but well-kept gallery of the artifacts of the Kaga Domain’s second richest samurai family (short of the ruling daimyo, the Maedas) the Hondas, for whom the nearby Honda Forest is also named. It shares a building and a ticket with the Ishikawa Prefectural Museum of History.

Nomura Samurai Residence House

The Nomura Family Samurai Residence is in the heart of the Samurai District and features a Two-Michelin-Star private garden. The house is an former merchant’s home that showcases merchant wealth as well as the samurai family’s heirloom’s. History buffs be sure to visit the small gallery in the back storehouse. Casual green tea service available.

Maeda Tosanokami-ke Memorial Museum

The Maeda Tosanokami-ke Shiryokan Museum is difficult to recommend. It covers the extensive history of the local daimyo’s interactions with the Shogunate, but most of the displays are documents in old Japanese. However, it’s notable for its two beautiful and unique sets of full samurai armor.

Ashigaru Museum

The Ashigaru Shiryokan Museum is made of two preserved samurai foot soldier homes a short walk away from the center of the Samurai District.

The Old Site of Mr. Kurando Terashima’s House

Unlike the merchant house that hosts Nomura’s gallery, the former residence of this banished samurai is a true samurai’s home-turned-museum. It briefly covers the history of the Kanazawa samurai who died in exile after standing against a government that took advantage of its people during hard times. The house features a dry-bed private garden.

(Bonus) Ninja Weapons Museum

Though the bulk of this museum’s collection features a ninja’s arsenal, samurai lovers should make a point to stop in as well. Two full sets of samurai armor greet visitors upstairs, in addition to the bows, arrows, and guns samurai would have used in their time.

This one is a private museum, and not tied to any municipal or prefectural passes.

Recent History

Kanazawa Folklore Museum

Displays from the articles of daily life and their rapid changes over the course of the 20th Century.

Uchinada History and Folklore Museum

If you’re bound for the beaches of Uchinada in early summer, pop into the Uchinada Museum of History and Folklore for some fascinating post-war history about the local people.

Great People of Kanazawa Memorial Museum

 courtesy the City of Kanazawa
An amazing museum about amazing people who not only shaped modern Japan, but affected the world. Alas, most of the museum is only in Japanese. But, if you love biographies or discovering Pulitzer Prize winners, it’s worth a visit.

The Fourth High School Memorial Museum of Cultural Exchange, Ishikawa
(Modern Literature Museum)

 courtesy the City of Kanazawa
The academic home to many of Kanazawa’s prominent historical faces and one of several museums honoring Kanazawa’s writers.

The Arts, Old and New

Kanazawa Yasue Gold Leaf Museum

Kanazawa supplies over 99% of Japan’s gold and silver leaf. This museum gives visitors a thorough look at the intense process of gold leaf production, qualities, and products. It’s an ideal stop for anyone already visiting Higashi Chaya Gai, peppered with gold leaf shops and studios.

Kanazawa Nakamura Memorial Museum

The Nakamura Memorial Museum displays a feudal merchant family’s collection of fine tea ceremony pieces. Limited English. Casual green tea service available. (Located along a secret path between Hokutoh Pottery and the Prefectural Museum of Art.)

The 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa

courtesy the City of Kanazawa
Home to site-specific installations, the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art is renown throughout Japan. The entire facility and grounds are designed to function as a public park and be very family-friendly and inviting.

Kanazawa Utatsuyama Kogei Kobo

 courtesy the City of Kanazawa.
A workshop and gallery where the young artists of Kanazawa create new work with ancient crafting techniques, particularly with ceramic, lacquer, metal, glass and dye work.

Kanazawa Noh Museum

courtesy the City of Kanazawa
The Kanazawa Noh Museum near the 21st Century Museum and Kenroku-en Garden features the costumes and designs of the local Hosho School of Noh Theatre. Try on a costume and mask as well.

Kanazawa Yuwaku Yumeji-kan Museum

One of Kanazawa’s most recently established museums, this museum honors Takehisa Yumeji, a modern artist who eschewed convention in a dogged pursuit of his own style and choice of subject. In addition to his work, which spans both “high” and “low art,” the museum explores his life’s romances and struggles.

Ishikawa Prefectural Museum of Traditional Arts and Crafts

This museum is an excellent spot for those interested in an overview of Kanazawa’s many inherited and locally-born crafts. The main exhibit showcases traditional works, and the temporary exhibits feature the works of exemplary artists incorporating the same techniques into new works. The first floor is free and includes a small gift shop.

Ishikawa Prefectural Museum of Art

The Ishikawa Prefectural Museum of Art has a permanent exhibition of a National Treasure and artifacts of the Kaga daimyo, the local royalty of feudal Japan’s second largest samurai clan. A lovely cafe faces Honda Forest at the back. (The permanent exhibition is free on the first Monday of the month.)

Scholarship

Izumi Kyoka Kinenkan Museum

 courtesy the City of Kanazawa
Of Kanazawa’s “Three Great Writers,” Kyoka is probably the most well-known overseas. A Romantic author, Kyoka is credited as the father of the Surrealist movement in Japanese literature and has had tremendous influence in modern anime. The museum dedicated in his honor hosts a number of artworks inspired by his stories.

Kanazawa Literary Hall

This bank-turned-literature museum hosts recipients of the Izumi Kyoka Literary Prize and the work of Hiroyuki Itsuki.

Tokuda Shusei Kinenkan Museum

 courtesy the City of Kanazawa
One of Kanazawa’s “Three Great Writers,” Shusei’s work took a Naturalist tone. Shusei was a very popular writer in his time, and much of his work was adapted to film. Movie posters and aspects of Shusei’s life are on display. This museum in Higashi Chaya has reconstructed his study.

D.T. Suzuki Museum

image courtesy of the City of Kanazawa, Creative Commons license
The D.T. Suzuki Museum is itself features Zen architecture and houses the works of Daisetz Suzuki, who is credited for bringing Zen to the west in the 20th Century.

Muro Saisei Kinenkan Museum

 courtesy the City of Kanazawa
Seisei, who grew up where his museum now stands, was a prolific poet and novelist and one of Kanazawa’s “Three Great Writers.” The museum marks his Kanazawa home between the Sai River and Nishi Chaya Geisha District.

Nishi Chaya Shiryokan Museum

The first floor documents the difficult life of Kanazawa novelist and playwright, Seijiro Shimada. Upstairs, visitors can get a closer inspection of the tea and entertainment rooms common in geisha establishments. Located in the western geisha district, Nishi Chaya.

Kitaro Nishida Museum of Philosophy

photo credit: Nik van der Giesen
Just north of Uchinada in the city of Kahoku is the Kitaro Nishida Museum of Philosophy. If the D.T. Suzuki Museum appeals in either design or subject, then this one will, too. A contemporary of Suzuki’s, Nishida was a prominent modern philosopher and influence in modernizing Japan. And if you’re hungry, this one is just a few minute’s walk from some delicious if overwhelming sushi.

Niche Interests & Oddities

Phonograph Museum

image courtesy Aaron Mannino
History through the sound of the phonograph. This was originally a personal collection that has turned into one of Kanazawa’s most unusual and intriguing museums.

Kanazawa Shinise Memorial Hall

The Kanazawa Shinise Memorial Museum (just across the street from Tosanokami-ke in the Samurai District) recreates a traditional Chinese pharmacy of the Edo-era in the front, displays a collection of local craftworks in the back—including an abundant collection of handcrafted temari woven balls—and a rotating gallery of local histories and crafts upstairs. It’s only ¥100 a ticket, the cheapest of the city museums (before discount tickets). One Michelin Star.

Morihachi Confectionery Wooden Sweet Molds Museum

image courtesy of wikicommons and Yoshihide Fujitani
The local sugar sweet called rakugan is made with specially carved wooden molds. This sweets shop hosts a massive collection of them dating to the early Edo era. They also have a cafe where you can enjoy a sweet of your own overlooking Terashima’s garden.

Ohno Karakuri Museum

Karakuri are wooden mechanical dolls and toys dating back centuries. This museum is dedicated to Kanazawa’s most prolific karakuri maker, who shares his name with the neighborhood, Ohno.

Dolls Museum

Along the western geisha district of Nishi Chaya Gai is the Dolls Museum. Dolls of all sorts fill the traditional house from top to bottom. One room even features a large map of Japan, with physical dolls resting on their places of origin in the country.

The museum is just a few doors away from the Ninja Weapons Museum, and both are the private collections of the same gentleman.

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How many of these will you visit during your stay?