Kanazawa

Kanazawa is the capital city of Ishigawa prefecture in Japan, as of 1868. It sits on the Sea of Japan ("Nipponkai"), bordered by the Japan Alps, Hakusan National Park and Noto Peninsula National Park. The city has a population of 450,000, and sits on the Sai and Asano rivers.

Kanazawa literally means "marsh of gold": the name is said to derive from the legend of a peasant called Imohori Togoro who washed gold dust from potatoes into a well (known as Kinjo Reitaku). Kanazawa was once ruled by the Maeda family from 1583 until the Meiji Restoration in 1868.

The city is famous for tea with gold flakes, which is considered by the Japanese people to be good for health and vitality. Gold leaf plays a prominent part in the city's cultural crafts, to the extent that there is a gold leaf museum (Kanazawa Yasue Gold Leaf Museum).

Kenrokuen Garden is by far the most famous part of Kanazawa. Originally built as the outer garden of Kanazawa Castle, it was opened to the public in 1875. It is considered one of the "three most beautiful gardens in Japan", and is certainly an extremely picturesque place, filled with a variety of trees, ponds, waterfalls and flowers stretching over 25 acres. In winter, the park is notable for its yukitsuri - ropes attached in a conical array to trees to break up snow as it falls and thereby protect the trees from damage.

The city is also reknown as a traditional haunt of ninjas.

External Links

http://www.city.kanazawa.ishikawa.jp/index_e.html - Kanazawa city website