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Roots Earth in Kanazawa: audio stories about 42 places

Roots Earth has audio stories about 42 places in Kanazawa, Japan, in Asia. The Kanazawa stories are in all seven Roots Earth languages: English, German, Spanish, Italian, French, Dutch and Albanian. The app needs no account: open Kanazawa, pick a place on the city's map of places and play. Download a city's audio, then it plays without a connection. The stories are written by local people.

The 42 places are listed below in the order the app shows them, and again further down with their coordinates. The lists were taken from the Roots Earth catalogue on 15 September 2026.

Published 16 September 2026. Markdown: kanazawa.md

The 42 places in Kanazawa with audio stories

In the order the app shows them.

  1. Kenroku-en
  2. Kanazawa Castle
  3. Higashi Chaya District
  4. 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art
  5. Oyama Shrine
  6. Nagamachi Samurai District
  7. Myoryu-ji (Ninja Temple)
  8. D. T. Suzuki Museum
  9. Nishi Chaya District
  10. Seisonkaku Villa
  11. Ishikawa Prefectural Museum of Art
  12. National Crafts Museum
  13. Ishikawa Prefectural History Museum
  14. Ishikawa Prefectural Museum of Traditional Arts and Crafts
  15. Toyokuni Shrine
  16. Kazue-machi Chaya District
  17. Kanazawa Station
  18. Tatsumi Canal
  19. Kanazawa Yasue Gold Leaf Museum
  20. Ishikawa Ongakudo Concert Hall
  21. Kanazawa Phonograph Museum
  22. Mount Utatsu
  23. Teramachi Temple District
  24. Korinbo
  25. Muro Saisei Memorial Museum
  26. Chikamori Site
  27. Kanazawa University
  28. Kanazawa College of Art
  29. Omicho Market
  30. Katamachi Nightlife District
  31. Asano River
  32. Utatsuyama Temple District
  33. Kanazawa Umimirai Library
  34. Onohiyoshi Shrine
  35. Nomachi District
  36. Kanazawa City General Gymnasium
  37. Kanazawa Stadium
  38. Ishikawa Athletics Stadium
  39. Kanazawa Institute of Technology
  40. Kanazawa University Botanic Garden
  41. Nonoichi Old Town
  42. Hokuriku University Campus Grounds

Is there an audio guide for Kenroku-en?

Yes. Kenroku-en has its audio stories in the Roots Earth app: a short introduction and a deeper story, in English, German, Spanish, Italian, French, Dutch and Albanian.

It is place 1 of the 42 Kanazawa places in the app, at 36.56194, 136.6625. Every one of the other 41 places in the list above has the same two stories.

Roots Earth is not a guided tour: you choose the place on the city's map of places and play its story yourself.

How to use Roots Earth in Kanazawa

Open Roots Earth and choose Kanazawa. The city has its own map of places with all 42 of them on it. Tap the place you are standing in front of, or any other, and play its short introduction or its deeper story. You decide what to listen to and in which order.

You can listen in English, German, Spanish, Italian, French, Dutch and Albanian, and there is no account. Download a city's audio, then it plays without a connection.

In full

All 42 places in Kanazawa, in the app's order, with their coordinates.

All 42 places in Kanazawa, with coordinates

Every place below has a short introduction and a deeper story in the Roots Earth app, in English, German, Spanish, Italian, French, Dutch and Albanian. The names, the coordinates (latitude, longitude) and the one line descriptions are the app's own catalogue values of 15 September 2026; a place without a line here has none that this page can print.

1. Kenroku-en

Coordinates
36.56194, 136.6625
In one line
Ranked among Japan's three great gardens, Kenroku-en spreads across roughly 25 acres beside Kanazawa Castle. Shaped by the Maeda lords between the 1620s and 1840s, its ponds, streams, and famed stone lantern reward slow walking through every season.

2. Kanazawa Castle

Coordinates
36.565, 136.65917
In one line
Seat of the Maeda lords for 14 generations, Kanazawa Castle was begun in the 1580s and rebuilt many times after fire. Its white lead-tile roofs, varied stone walls, and the Ishikawa-mon gate survive beside carefully reconstructed turrets and storehouses.

3. Higashi Chaya District

Coordinates
36.57222, 136.66722
In one line
Established in 1820, Higashi Chaya is Kanazawa's largest geisha quarter, a grid of latticed wooden teahouses where entertainers still perform. Its preserved Edo-era streets, gold-leaf shops, and tearooms keep the atmosphere of old Japan vividly alive.

4. 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art

Coordinates
36.56083, 136.65806
In one line
Opened in 2004, this circular glass museum by the architects SANAA reimagines what a gallery can be. With no front or back and entrances on every side, it houses bold permanent works including Leandro Erlich's famous Swimming Pool.

5. Oyama Shrine

Coordinates
36.56639, 136.65528
In one line
Founded in 1599 to honor Maeda Toshiie, first lord of Kaga, Oyama Shrine is famous for its unusual gate of 1875, which blends Japanese, Chinese, and European design and carries Dutch stained glass in a lantern-topped tower.

6. Nagamachi Samurai District

Coordinates
36.56556, 136.65111
In one line
Below Kanazawa Castle, Nagamachi preserves the lanes where Maeda retainers once lived. Earthen walls, sometimes wrapped in winter straw mats, line narrow streets crossed by old canals, with the restored Nomura family residence opening a window onto samurai life.

7. Myoryu-ji (Ninja Temple)

Coordinates
36.55536, 136.64903
In one line
Built in 1643 by the Maeda lord Toshitsune, this Nichiren temple earned the nickname Ninja Temple for its hidden stairs, traps, and secret rooms. Behind a modest two-story face it conceals four stories, 23 rooms, and 29 staircases.

8. D. T. Suzuki Museum

Coordinates
36.55782, 136.66122
In one line
A minimalist museum opened in 2011, designed by architect Yoshio Taniguchi, honoring the Kanazawa-born philosopher who carried Zen Buddhism to the West. Spare concrete halls frame a still Water Mirror Garden built for quiet reflection.

9. Nishi Chaya District

Coordinates
36.55556, 136.64472
In one line
An early nineteenth-century geisha quarter on the western edge of Kanazawa, smaller and quieter than its famous eastern counterpart. Rows of wooden tea houses with latticed facades still line the lanes, and a small district museum tells their story.

10. Seisonkaku Villa

Coordinates
36.56111, 136.66306
In one line
An elegant retirement villa built in 1863 by Maeda Nariyasu, thirteenth lord of the Kaga domain, for his mother. Beside Kenroku-en, its refined shoin rooms, vivid painted ceilings, and Dutch stained glass survive intact as a rare daimyo residence.

11. Ishikawa Prefectural Museum of Art

Coordinates
36.56, 136.66139
In one line
Ishikawa's prefectural fine-arts museum, first opened in 1959 and rebuilt in 1983 beside Kenroku-en. Its galleries gather Kaga crafts, Kutani porcelain, and local masters, crowned by Nonomura Ninsei's colored pheasant-shaped incense burner, a designated National Treasure.

12. National Crafts Museum

Coordinates
36.55906, 136.6617
In one line
Japan's national museum of modern craft and design, founded in Tokyo in 1977 and relocated to Kanazawa in 2020. It occupies two restored Meiji-era army buildings near Kenroku-en, displaying lacquer, ceramics, metalwork, and textiles.

13. Ishikawa Prefectural History Museum

Coordinates
36.55861, 136.66278
In one line
Three red-brick former army warehouses, built between 1909 and 1914 and now designated Important Cultural Properties, house Ishikawa's history museum. Opened in 1986, its halls trace the region from antiquity to modern times through dioramas and festival floats.

14. Ishikawa Prefectural Museum of Traditional Arts and Crafts

Coordinates
36.56106, 136.66406
In one line
A museum opened in 1984 on the edge of Kenroku-en, showcasing the 36 traditional crafts of Ishikawa Prefecture. Its dim, focused galleries display Kaga Yuzen silk dyeing, Kutani porcelain, Wajima lacquer, Kanazawa gold leaf, and Kaga mizuhiki.

15. Toyokuni Shrine

Coordinates
36.56972, 136.67361
In one line
Founded in 1616 and moved to its present location in 1907, this quiet Shinto shrine honors the warlord Toyotomi Hideyoshi.

16. Kazue-machi Chaya District

Coordinates
36.57028, 136.6625
In one line
The most intimate of Kanazawa's three geisha quarters, this early-19th-century tea-house district lines the south bank of the Asano River. Wooden facades, lantern light, and a narrow stone lane called Akari-zaka preserve the hush of the old entertainment world.

17. Kanazawa Station

Coordinates
36.57827, 136.64776
In one line
Opened in 1898 and crowned in 2005 with the towering wooden Tsuzumi-mon gate and the glass Motenashi Dome, Kanazawa's main station fuses ancient drum-shaped craft with modern engineering and was hailed among the world's most beautiful stations.

18. Tatsumi Canal

Coordinates
36.55917, 136.66639
In one line
Completed in 1632 by the third Kaga lord Maeda Toshitsune after a great fire, this eleven-kilometer Edo-period canal drew water from the Sai River to guard Kanazawa Castle against flames and feed the city, a celebrated feat of early engineering.

19. Kanazawa Yasue Gold Leaf Museum

Coordinates
36.57375, 136.66594
In one line
Founded in 1974 by craftsman Yasue Takaaki and donated to the city in 1985, this Higashiyama museum celebrates Kanazawa's signature craft of gold leaf, displaying around 300 gilded screens, lacquerware, altars, and the delicate tools behind the art.

20. Ishikawa Ongakudo Concert Hall

Coordinates
36.57667, 136.64778
In one line
Opened in 2001 beside Kanazawa Station and designed by architect Yoshinobu Ashihara, this concert complex pairs a 1,560-seat shoebox hall with a 720-seat traditional-music space, and is home to the renowned Orchestra Ensemble Kanazawa.

21. Kanazawa Phonograph Museum

Coordinates
36.571, 136.663
In one line
This museum displays about 150 of its roughly 600 phonographs at any time.

22. Mount Utatsu

Coordinates
36.5732, 136.6778
In one line
Mount Utatsu rises 149 meters east of Kanazawa Castle, a wooded ridge of shrines, kiln sites, and viewpoints. Once forbidden to commoners, it became a public park of temples, walking trails, and sweeping city panoramas.

23. Teramachi Temple District

Coordinates
36.55389, 136.64639
In one line
Teramachi is Kanazawa's temple town, where dozens of Buddhist temples were gathered into their present locations by around 1616. South of the Sai River, its quiet lanes hold Myoryu-ji, the famous Ninja Temple, and centuries of layered devotion.

24. Korinbo

Coordinates
36.5625, 136.65528
In one line
Korinbo is downtown Kanazawa, the city's central commercial heart of department stores, covered arcades, and busy crossings. Between the castle and the samurai district, it is where modern shopping life and old Kanazawa meet at street level.

25. Muro Saisei Memorial Museum

Coordinates
36.55908, 136.64819
In one line
Opened in 2002 on the poet's birthplace, the Muro Saisei Memorial Museum honors Kanazawa-born writer Murō Saisei, who lived from 1889 to 1962. It gathers his manuscripts, works, and personal materials in the quarter that shaped his pen name.

26. Chikamori Site

Coordinates
36.55614, 136.60467
In one line
The Chikamori Site preserves a late Jōmon settlement where 347 pillar foundations were unearthed, including giant chestnut posts set in rings. Excavated from 1954 and named a National Historic Site in 1987, it survives today as an archaeological park.

27. Kanazawa University

Coordinates
36.5625, 136.65611
In one line
Founded in 1949 from a merger of older colleges, Kanazawa University first occupied the castle grounds before moving to its Kakuma campus. A national university with roughly 10,000 students, it traces roots to an 1862 vaccination center.

28. Kanazawa College of Art

Coordinates
36.55639, 136.67722
In one line
Founded by Kanazawa's city government in 1946 amid postwar recovery, the Kanazawa College of Art is a small public art and craft university. Among Japan's tiniest by enrollment, it counts Nintendo's Shigeru Miyamoto and director Mamoru Hosoda among its alumni.

29. Omicho Market

Coordinates
36.57, 136.65778
In one line
Kanazawa's largest fresh-food market, traced to 1721, when the Kaga clan gathered smaller markets near the castle. Roughly 180 stalls and shops still sell Sea of Japan seafood, local produce, and prepared dishes daily.

30. Katamachi Nightlife District

Coordinates
36.56, 136.65278
In one line
Kanazawa's main downtown and nightlife quarter, stretching from the Sai River toward Korinbo. A dense maze of back alleys packed with izakaya, sushi counters, and bars, it has been a commercial heart of the city since Edo times.

31. Asano River

Coordinates
36.55758, 136.68239
In one line
Kanazawa's gentler river, running about 29 kilometers to the Sea of Japan. Long nicknamed the feminine river for its soft flow, it edges the Higashi and Kazue-machi tea-house districts and is crossed by fourteen bridges along a riverside walking path.

32. Utatsuyama Temple District

Coordinates
36.57111, 136.67139
In one line
A hillside quarter of more than fifty temples and shrines northeast of Kanazawa Castle. Maeda Toshitsune gathered them here around 1616 as one of three protective temple zones ringing the city. Twisting lanes climb Mount Utatsu toward sweeping views.

33. Kanazawa Umimirai Library

Coordinates
36.5943, 136.6043
In one line
A celebrated public library opened in 2011, designed by Kazumi Kudo and Hiroshi Horiba. Its plain white box, about 45 meters square, is pierced by roughly 6,000 small glass openings that wash the reading hall in soft, even daylight.

34. Onohiyoshi Shrine

Coordinates
36.61293, 136.6017
In one line
An ancient Shinto shrine in the port town of Ono, said to date to 733. Dedicated to the mountain god Oyamakui and to Omononushi, it is cherished by the area's soy-sauce brewers and hosts the lively summer Sanno festival.

35. Nomachi District

Coordinates
36.554, 136.6444
In one line
A lived-in southwestern quarter of Kanazawa beyond the Sai River, anchored by Nomachi Station, terminus of the Hokuriku Railroad's Ishikawa Line. Close to the Nishi Chaya tea-house district, the Teramachi temples, and the famed Ninja Temple.

36. Kanazawa City General Gymnasium

Coordinates
36.5399, 136.6502
In one line
Opened in 1985 and run by the city, the Kanazawa City General Gymnasium seats roughly 2,300 spectators. It serves as the home arena of the Kanazawa Samuraiz basketball club, a familiar fixture of local sport.

37. Kanazawa Stadium

Coordinates
36.5961, 136.6572
In one line
Opened in 2024 in the Johoku Sports Park, Kanazawa Stadium is a football ground seating about 10,400. With its natural grass pitch, it is the modern home of the J-League club Zweigen Kanazawa.

38. Ishikawa Athletics Stadium

Coordinates
36.5758, 136.6053
In one line
Completed in May 1984 within Seibu Ryokuchi Park, the Ishikawa Athletics Stadium seats around 20,000 around a nine-lane track. A prefecture-owned multi-purpose venue, it long hosted football and major athletics meets.

39. Kanazawa Institute of Technology

Coordinates
36.5299, 136.6272
In one line
Founded in 1965, the Kanazawa Institute of Technology is a private engineering university in neighbouring Nonoichi. Known locally as KIT, it is celebrated for hands-on learning through its Yumekobo project workshop, where students build solar cars and more.

40. Kanazawa University Botanic Garden

Coordinates
36.5403, 136.7014
In one line
Established in 1949 and run by Kanazawa University's Faculty of Science, this botanic garden moved to the Kakuma Campus in 1995. It advances botanical research and education while conserving plant genetic resources.

41. Nonoichi Old Town

Coordinates
36.5194, 136.6098
In one line
A compact city wedged between Kanazawa and Hakusan, Nonoichi grew from a village into a city in 2011. Once tied to the Togashi clan of old Kaga, today it is a busy residential community on the Tedori floodplain.

42. Hokuriku University Campus Grounds

Coordinates
36.5254, 136.7075
In one line
Founded in 1975 as a pharmacy college, Hokuriku University is a private university in Kanazawa that later added foreign languages and law. Its leafy campus grounds anchor a community of students drawn from across Japan and abroad.

Roots Earth in short

Roots Earth has audio stories about 5,665 places in 130 cities, 25 countries and 6 regions, written by local people.

  • No account
  • Download a city's audio, then it plays without a connection
  • Audio stories in English and German in every city, and in Spanish, Italian, French, Dutch and Albanian in 126 of the 130 cities

Roots Earth for Android is available on Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.rootsearth.app.