Kanazawa Tours — Attraction in Kanazawa

My five star review applies to Kanazawa Walking Tours in general and our guide, Kazu, in particular.

First, in terms of Kanazawa Walking Tours, communication was consistently quick & clear, and they very kindly accommodated a last-minute scheduling change due to a flight delay on our end (even though, by the letter of our purchase, they didn't have to). We'd absolutely book with them again.

Then, in terms of our guide Kazu, she was fantastic! We shared notes in advance on the areas we hoped to visit, and she designed a tour specifically around those requests. She also came prepared with in-depth research related to those locales.

As a licensed guide, Kazu was able to freely access key sites, such as the Nomura Samurai House and Kenroku-en Garden, which meant she could join us in those venues without us having to pay her entry fee. And it was HUGELY valuable to have her guidance at those venues, because English language info wasn't provided. She also took us to several nearby related spots that we hadn't come across in our pre-trip research.

Kazu consistently checked in with us on how we were enjoying the tour and whether we were comfortable/tired/hungry, went above and beyond to answer our many questions, and was extremely engaging and friendly.

Bottom line: Having Kazu as our guide immeasurably enriched our experience in Kanazawa. My wife and I agreed that we would have gotten maybe 1% out of touring the same exact sites had we just gone ourselves. She gets our highest...

A Magical Christmas Tour with Ku – A Truly Special Experience!

We were lucky enough to have Ku as our guide for a private tour around Takayama and Shirakawa-go on Christmas Day, and I cannot recommend her enough. From the moment we met her, Ku’s warmth and kindness made us feel so welcome. She went above and beyond to make the day feel truly special and festive.

Ku added personal Christmas touches that brought smiles to all of us – she even sewed a little Santa hat for her panda puppet and made a charming Christmas sign! These thoughtful gestures made the experience feel magical and unforgettable.

Her attention to detail was incredible. Ku has clearly put so much effort into crafting her own folder of information about the sites we visited – details that are often hard to find in English. This gave us such a deeper appreciation for the history and beauty of Takayama and Shirakawa-go.

What stood out most was Ku’s sincerity and genuine care for everyone on the tour. She gave us plenty of free time to explore, always making sure the tour felt relaxed and flexible to suit our interests. Ku’s passion for sharing her culture and ensuring we had the best possible experience shone through in everything she did.

If you are planning a visit to Takayama or Shirakawa-go, I highly recommend booking a tour with Ku. She doesn’t just guide you – she creates memories that you will treasure forever. Thank you, Ku, for making our Christmas one we will...

Jorge was our guide for three days in Kanazawa. He is an excellent guide and goes above and beyond to make sure that we had an amazing experience. He is a student of Japanese history and culture and we really appreciated all of the knowledge that he shared. He had a knowledgeable and informed answer to every question that we had about Japan, Japanese society, and Japanese history.

He has gone out of his way to get to know, local craftsman and elders, and introducing them to us which made the whole experience so much richer. For example, he took us to a tea house where he introduced us to a retiree who volunteers at the tea house and was so gracious and knowledgeable. Jorge also took us to a really interesting gallery where local fine artists were displaying some of their work. Many of the artists were in the gallery and shared their techniques and inspiration.

My husband has celiac disease and needs his food to be gluten-free, something that’s a little tough in Japan. Jorge went out of his way to make sure we had excellent gluten-free meals.

Even after we said goodbye at the end of our three days, Jorge helped me retrieve my scarf that I had left in the hotel and had it sent to our hotel in Kyoto.

I can’t say enough good things about our experience with Jorge. My husband and I highly...