Chubu

Anto is an area for buying souvenirs inside Kanazawa Hyakubangai in Kanazawa Station in Kanazawa City, Ishikawa Prefecture. If you’re planning on buying local sake as a souvenir, you should get it at Kanazawa Jizakegura. You can casually enjoy Ishikawa local sakes - sample drinks at the local sake bar on the premises.

Kutani Ceramic Art Village is packed with all kind of charm inherent in Kutani ceramics (Kutaniyaki), a form of pottery with a 360-year history. Visitors can gaze at famous works at a Kutani ceramics museum and art gallery, buy things at shops in the ceramic art village featuring rich lineups of products, get actual hands-on experience when it comes to making Kutani ceramics and painting them, and take a peak at workshops. There’s something for everyone to enjoy their visit in their own way....

Kenrokuen is one of the three most beautiful gardens in Japan. It was built over a long period of time as a park for the successive feudal lords of the Kaga Domain. Located in the center of Kanazawa City, Kenrokuen is well-known to tourists from around the world and many of the prefecture’s residents as a garden where people can enjoy the beauty of the four seasons. In the evening, there is a light-up event held during certain times of the year where visitors can enjoy a kind of charm...

An ideal base for touring the beautiful Noto Peninsula in Ishikawa Prefecture, Wakura Onsen is a renowned hot spring resort with a 1,200-year history. Overlooking Nanao Bay, it is the only hot spring in the Hokuriku region located by the sea and has mesmerized visitors for centuries with high-quality hot spring baths, its wealth of natural beauty, and fresh produce from the mountains and sea. Enjoy the hot waters interlaced with a refreshing sea breeze as they relax you in both mind and body.

Children and adults alike can appreciate contemporary art in an enjoyable way at this popular museum which opened its doors in 2004. The open and expansive space and the round, all-glass architecture, designed by internationally acclaimed architectural unit SANAA consisting of Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa, have become dear to the hearts of local residents.

The 8-kilometer sandy beach is the only beach in Japan that can be driven on by a car. Not only is it famous as driving spot, but is also a great swimming beach that attracts visitors from around the country during the summer. Enjoy a refreshing drive in the great outdoors, with a spectacular view of the Noto Peninsula when the weather is nice.

Gokayama gassho-style village was registered on the UNESCO World Heritage list in 1995. 23 gassho-style buildings currently remain in Ainokura gassho-style village, and 9 remain in Suganuma gassho-style village. Most of them are around one to two centuries old, and the oldest of them are said to have been built 400 years ago. The area’s mountain village culture is steeped in the tradition of gassho-style houses and its history is passed down to the present day.

Tonami Tulip Park is themed around tulips, which are both the flower of Toyama Prefecture and Tonami City. A Tonami Tulip Fair is held every spring, when around 3 million tulips of various dazzling colors come into splendid bloom. The fair coincides with the Golden Week holidays from late April to early May, so it makes a great idea for a day out during your vacation!

Takaoka Mikurumayama Museum opened at Yamachosuji in April 2015. Throughout the year, the museum houses exhibitions about the Takaoka Mikurumayama Festival (UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage) held on May 1 every year. Come and get a look at the majestic Mikurumayama floats decorated by superb craftsmanship such metalwork, lacquering, and dyeing that brings together the abundant spirit and wealth of the people of the town.

Passed down for centuries from the 1740s, the Hikiyama Festival in Toyama City, Toyama Prefecture, is a spring tradition. It represents the merchant culture of Yatsuo that thrived from production and trade of raw silk, silkworm eggs, Japanese paper, and charcoal. The rich culture of Hikiyama floats and local performing arts has been handed down as a symbol of the prosperity of Yatsuo. In the museum, visitors can enjoy traditional Hikiyama-Bayashi music together with three beautiful Hikiyama...

One of the prefecture's largest hot spring resorts, Unazuki Onsen opened along with the development of hydropower facilities on the Kurobe River, where Unazuki's hot spring has its source at the Kuronagi spring. The resort is located at the entryway to Kurobe Gorge, one of the deepest V-shaped valleys in Japan, and is also the starting point of the torokko train with a fantastic view of the gorge along its route.

Inabayama Miyajima Gorge Prefectural Park is a large 757-hectare park comprised of 346-meter-high Mount Inaba and Miyajima Gorge at the foot of the mountain. The park, boasting farms, mountain streams, and waterfalls, lets you experience bountiful nature.