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Higashi Chaya Old Town, Kazue-Machi Chaya Old Town
With historical buildings lining the streets, the area where Higashiyama-Sho, is located exudes a sense of Kanazawa’s history and tradition.
Emphasizing the building style and amenities, this traditional lodging house is a space where the beautiful aesthetics unique to this region are highly respected, allowing us to provide guests with the Kanazawa experience, where local culture and tranquility come hand-in-hand.

Time & space intertwined with the culture of Kanazawa’s Higashiyama district.

“Higashiyama Sho,” is a traditional lodging house where guests rent the entire house, so there is no reception desk. Our ideal form is for guests to be able to relax freely without constraint, as if they are in their second home, and for them to be able to fully enjoy their time and space in Higashiyama naturally. This is our guest house’s concept of hospitality.

A guest house where you could spend comfortably at a single site.

Rooms

Facilities designed to enable guests to relax and savor traditional Japanese aesthetics

  • Harmonizing with the other rooms of the house with the same Juraku stucco walls, the spacious entrance hall features a lattice door made of reused antique materials given new life at the hands of joinery craftsmen.
  • The 10-mat room is located on the first floor. The entry from the entrance hall features latticework with frosted glass and a window from which guests can look out on the inner garden. Compact, yet giving a sense of openness, the layout creates an even greater sense of intimacy. Beginning with the Juraku stucco walls crafted by artisans, the modern recreation of the old-time elegance of a traditional Japanese house has been condensed into this space as much as possible. To enable guests to relax in a tranquil environment, the guest house facilities deliberately do not include a television.
  • The second-floor rooms have been decorated along the theme of vermillion red and ultramarine blue. The space partitioning the two rooms features a small display of traditional crafts of the Hokuriku region as a gesture of hospitality.
  • The Seisonkaku villa was the retirement home of Shinryu-in, the mother of Maeda Nariyasu, the 13th daimyo of the Kaga clan. The six-mat bedroom on the guest house’s second floor is decorated in ultramarine blue based on the concept of the “Ultramarine Room” in the Seisonkaku villa. The ceiling is covered with bush clover matting, while the pillars are made from cherry tree wood. An evening attraction of staying at “HIGASHIYAMA SHO,” is that the room appears different from how it looks in the daytime, and the natural light of the sunshine pouring into the room produces a brilliantly refreshing shade of ultramarine for guests’ enjoyment.
  • The four-and-a-half mat room on the second floor is decorated in vermillion red, resembles a room at the Seisonkaku villa, the “Vermillion Room.” The cupboard doors feature a white-and-indigo checked pattern that attractively contrasts with the red, while the ceiling is covered in wickerwork and the sliding doors feature latticework with frosted glass. This Japanese-style space can also be used as a bedroom when four guests are staying at the guest house.
  • The kitchen space is on the first floor. Recreating an old-time traditional Japanese house with a modern touch, the guest house has been equipped with modern facilities, including electrical appliances such as an IH cooking stove and refrigerator, in such a way that as far as possible, there is no dissonance between the tradition and the modern.
  • Located next to the 10-mat room, the inner garden is enclosed by cedar bark and the ground is covered with white pebbles. Although only a small space, it is our hope that the inner garden will provide guests with a sense of calming tranquility as well as a display for the changes in Kanazawa’s four seasons.

Staying in style at “Higashiyama Sho,”

Experience the historical atmosphere of Chaya Old Town at your leisure.

Higashi Chaya Old Town and Kazue-machi Chaya Old Town—these two historical districts lie within a five-minute walk from our guest house, across the Asanogawa River. As you walk slowly along the stone-paved streets, you can enjoy the enchanting experience of feeling as if you are part of the streetscape.

Tracing the history of Kaga culture

Places to see in the neighborhood

Tracing the history of Kaga culture

The guest house’s neighborhood has many interesting places to see, beginning with Chaya Old Town and Kenrokuen Garden but also including food, architectural structures, and art that are unique to this area. Visit these places to encounter the history and culture of Kaga.

Courtesy of Kanazawa City

Kanazawa Castle

Built in 1583 by Maeda Toshiie, head of the Maeda clan, Kanazawa Caste was the symbol of the wealth of the Kaga domain. This wood-frame castle boasts the largest size of all the castles that were restored from the Meiji Period (1868-1912) onward. The castle grounds include Gyokuseninmaru Garden, a traditional Japanese strolling garden, and the famous Kenrokuen Garden and other sights can been seen from the remains of the castle’s Ushitora and Tatsumi turrets.

Courtesy of Kanazawa City

Omicho Market

Known widely as the “Kitchen of Kanazawa,” the Omicho Market is a famous market where local specialties sustaining the local food culture are sold, such as Kaga vegetables, fresh seafood, etc. The market has a long history, dating back to 1721, when it was established to supply food for the Maeda clan. The market also has many food stalls where visitors can sit down and enjoy delicious seafood rice bowls and other local delicacies, making the market a popular gourmet spot among tourists.

Courtesy of Kanazawa City

21st Century Museum

Opened in 2004, this art museum exclusively handles contemporary art. Characterized by its round glass walls, the museum building was designed by international architectural unit SANAA and is affectionately nicknamed MARUBII. Also located nearby are the Ishikawa Modern Literature Museum and the Kanazawa Noh Museum, and so the area is known as Kanazawa’s cultural zone.

Courtesy of Kanazawa City

Kanazawa Station Tsuzumimon

In front of the East Exit of Kanazawa Station stands the Montenashi Dome, a glass and aluminum building bursting with a sense of openness. Pass through this building and you will arrive at the Tsuzumimon Gate. With pillars rising 13.7 m high, the gate was constructed in the image of the hand drums used by the Hosho School of Noh theater. Installed in 2005, the gate has become a new symbol of Kanazawa.

Courtesy of Kanazawa City

Higashi Chaya and Kazue-machi

With rarely seen old-time teahouse-style buildings lining the streets, Chaya Old Town has been drawing more and more attention in recent years as a sightseeing spot. The stone-paved streets of Higashi Chaya Old Town are lined on both sides with buildings decorated with red latticework. Alongside the Asanogawa River is Kazue-machi Chaya Old Town, which was also the hometown of literary master Izumi Kyoka. The fantastical sight of light reflecting off the stone-paved streets at nighttime results in a streetscape unique to Chaya Old Town.

Courtesy of Kanazawa City

Kenrokuen Garden

Located next to Kanazawa Castle, Kenrokuen profoundly preserves relics of the Kaga domain’s history of wealth and prosperity, which was shaped by generations of feudal lords. Within the garden grounds are the Kasumigaike pond, Sazaeyama hill, Neagarimatsu, and a teahouse, and it is possible to stroll around the garden while enjoying the seasonal changes of the landscape. Kenrokuen is one of Japan’s three most famous traditional Japanese-style gardens.

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Seasonal Highlights

Recommended Spots

Interact with the Kaga culture

In addition to Kanazawa Castle Park and Kenroku-en Garden, there are many spots around the area that have a rich history of Kaga culture. Oyama-jinja Shrine that enshrines Toshiie Maeda. A historical building, Seisonkaku Villa. The Nomura house, the former Nagamachi samurai residence. On a clear day, you could look out the city over the Sea of Japan from Utatsuyama Park.

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