The Hyatt Centric Kanazawa is located just steps from Kanazawa Station where the Shinkansen bullet train arrives from Tokyo. The hotel is on the quiet West side of the station. Visitors can walk through the station to the East side to catch buses and taxis to the popular tourist spots. The adjacent Kanazawa Station is packed with restaurants, shops, and a casual tachinomi stand-and-drink sake bar by the famous brewer Naohiko Noguchi.
Kanazawa has a rich history of art and culture that is smartly woven into the hotel. Room numbers are written out on vibrantly coloured Kutaniyaki plates. In the room above the bed is a washi Japanese paper in bright colours like red or blue with sheets of kinpaku gold leaf. Public spaces are rich with modern and traditional art pieces.
The breakfast buffet includes local dishes, which are designated by small signs, including Kanazawa curry with julienned cabbage, nodoguro himono black throat fatty grilled fish, and four types of locally brewed soy sauces. The Roof Terrace Bar on the 14th floor is a lovely end to the day with the city lights in the background.
Address: 1 Chome-5-2 Hirooka, Kanazawa, Ishikawa 920-0031, Japan
Price: From about £95 per night
Mitsui Garden Hotel Kanazawa
The Mitsui Garden Hotel is a reliable hotel brand in Japan. A nice step up from the working person’s business hotel, which is usually only big enough for a bed. But it’s still on the small side, and ideal for visitors who intend to spend most of their time sightseeing.
Mitsui Garden Hotels also tend to have a public bath – here in Kanazawa on the top 13th floor with panoramic views from the window. The Mitsui Garden Hotel Kanazawa is located near the Omicho Market, Kanazawa Castle grounds, and Oyama Shrine. The Kanazawa Loop Bus that hits many of the major tourist destinations has a stop near the hotel.
The buffet breakfast here, called Nouka Obanzai, features local ingredients pre-portioned onto colorful small Kutaniyaki porcelain and Yamanaka lacquerware. In Japan it is said that we eat with our eyes and when food is presented on attractive plates the meal is delicious before taking one’s first bite. The area is famous for Kaga vegetables which is featured in salads and the obanzai dishes. Local dishes include Kanazawa oden, a hot pot of fish cakes and vegetables and pork shabu-shabu.
Address: 1-22 Kamitsutsumicho, Kanazawa, Ishikawa 920-0869, Japan
Price: From about £250 per night
Hotel Nikko Kanazawa
The Hotel Nikko Kanazawa has bragging rights to being the tallest hotel in the Hokuriku region which includes Ishikawa, Toyama, Fukui, and Niigata prefectures. The thirty-story hotel is located just three minutes from Kanazawa Station’s east exit. This is the side of the station where all the buses leave for the major tourist sites. It is only a 15-minute walk to Omicho Market.
The 249 guestrooms are above the 17th floor and guarantee great views. There are eight restaurants and bars, including five on the 29th and 30th floors. The buffet breakfast includes local dishes including fugu pickled in rice bran, French toast made with fu wheat gluten, and a vegan menu including local Kaga vegetables. The teppanyaki restaurant on the 29th floor has panoramic views of Kanazawa.
Opened in 1994 it has long been the hotel for locals visiting Kanazawa. Excellent service from staff who have years of experience. Since the extension of the Hokuriku Shinkansen line in 2015 many more hotels have opened in the city, but Hotel Nikko Kanazawa is the standard bearer for the region.
Address: 2 Chome-15-1 Honmachi, Kanazawa, Ishikawa 920-0853, Japan
Price: From about £109 per night
