Kenroku-en — Attraction in Kanazawa

Plan your itinerary well, and you'll find yourself being able to visit this beautiful garden - for free. That's precisely what I did, and I did it on consecutive days too.

I visited the garden first on 17th Feb 2023 where there's winter illumination in the evening and it was free admission during the night illumination. The lit-up gardens were absolutely gorgeous! However only certain fixed paths were open to visitors and you are not allowed to wander off these paths. It was extremely crowded with many locals there as well, since the seasonal illuminations are always very popular.

Then on 18th Feb (yes, the very next day), I woke up extremely early at around 5+am, and walked from Kanazawa station to the garden (buses were still not operating at that time when I started out from my hotel). The garden was open, free admission, from 6am to 7.45am (you are supposed to leave the garden grounds 15 minutes before actual opening time). Free early admission timing is dependent on the season - you can check their official website for the timing.

Going during early admission means I had the gardens to myself (almost). I only bumped into random avid photographers who were there with their professional cameras to take picturesque photos without any crowds in the background. Indeed, I really felt like I was the only one in the garden most of the time. It was an absolute surreal experience, to have one of the most renowned gardens in Japan to myself as I wander about, taking photos at my leisure. It was so quiet and peaceful. The barricades and restrictions from the previous night illumination were all removed and I was able to explore the garden fully.

1hr 45 minutes is definitely enough time to explore the whole garden since I don't need to wait for anyone else to step out of my camera frame, and that I already had been to some parts of the garden the previous night. Do give the early admission hours a try if you don't wish to jostle with crowds. You'll really love the empty...

Absolutely gorgeous garden; from the entrance to the exit and even the bridge and path leading to the garden, all expertly manicured foliage and pathways. Worth whatever the ticket price was, less than 500¥ if I recall correctly.

Went during a rainy day, loved it. The ripples that danced across the ponds as the raindrops fell, the wind gently blowing the ropes that held up the many branches of various trees, and the softer crunch of the stones in a water soaked ground, simply beautiful.

Despite the rain, there were still many people, all were cool and no one disturb the peace and tranquility of the garden. There was a bus full of guided tourists, majority were respectful but a good number of them were rather loud and obnoxiously made their way through the garden. No problem though, I simply grab a seat at a bench near the pond, watched a few indecisive ducks struggle to choose sitting on land or float in the pond, and after a few minutes, the crowd moved quickly through the garden, following the red flag their guide waved as they were lead further into the maze of a garden. Aside from that one bus load, only a few people remained; this was around 3:00pm to 4:45pm.

I was fascinated by the support system in place for the trees, I failed to read any of the plaques that may have explained why this is done to some trees, but just by observing you can make sense of it and draw your own conclusions. My educated guess was the trees liked slinging mud at the guests by digging their branches into the earth and flicking wads of mud around. So a system of rope and stilt restraints were designed to prevent the mischievous trees branches from reaching beyond a specific limited range of motion, rendering them incapable of slinging mud.

Hope to visit again when it snows, I imagine that would be a...

Considered one of Japan’s three most beautiful gardens, Kenrokuen Garden is a must-visit location in Kanazawa. The name Kenrokuen means “having six factors”, representing the attributes which bring out the garden’s stunning beauty: spaciousness, tranquility, artifice, antiquity, water sources and magnificent views. The garden has an area of 11.4 hectares and is located on the heights of the central part of Kanazawa next to Kanazawa Castle. The Maeda family, who ruled the Kaga Domain (the present Ishikawa and Toyama areas) in feudal times, maintained the garden from generation to generation. It is regarded as one of the most beautiful feudal lords' gardens in Japan.

One of Kenrokuen Garden’s most stunning attractions is its large artificial pond called Kasumigaike. Located near the center of the pond is Horai Island. The pond is often seen to symbolize the sea and Horai Island a sacred island out at sea, on which an ageless hermit with miraculous power was believed to live. As a result, the pond and the island were constructed to symbolize long life and eternal prosperity for the lord.

There are many other gorgeous features to enjoy in the garden, including the flowers and trees that grow there, such as plum and cherry blossoms in spring, azaleas and irises early in summer, and colorful red and yellow leaves in autumn.

In Winter, visitors can enjoy the snow-covered landscapes with yukitsuri (which means “snow hanging”). yukitsuri is a traditional technique for protecting the branches of the pine trees in the garden from heavy snow; trees are given support by bamboo poles and rope arranged a captivating conical layout.

Entrance is on payment. It costs 400yen and you can buy ticket from the automated machine located at the entrance - you can pay with credit card as well (including...