Welcome to Kanazawa Local

There is no shortage of English travel guides to Kanazawa. Most of them are written by visitors who spent two or three days here, or by companies that cover the whole of Japan. Many are useful. But very few are written by someone who lives here, speaks both languages, and can tell you what the sign on the door actually says.

That is the gap this site tries to fill.

Who I am

I’m ZUMA. I run a small English school in Nonoichi, the city right next to Kanazawa, and I have been teaching English for about six years. Years ago I studied in the Philippines and then spent almost a year in Australia on a working holiday. The thing I remember most from those years is how much easier everything became once a local showed me around.

Now I’m the local. You can read more on the About page.

What makes this guide different

I’m a local, and a Japanese speaker. I can read the handwritten menu, call the shop, and check the Japanese-only websites that most English guides never see. When I tell you something is seasonal or closed on Mondays, that is where it comes from.

I’m also an English teacher. Every article includes the few Japanese phrases that make that situation easier, with simple pronunciation. Not a phrasebook, just the words you will actually need at that counter, in that taxi, at that market stall.

Places I recommend are places I have been. When I write about a bar, café or restaurant, I have been there, ordered, and paid, and the owner is happy to be featured. Nobody pays to appear on this site.

Practical guides are checked, not copied. For things like crab season, garden opening hours or how to get here from Tokyo, I check official and local sources. Anything I could not confirm is marked “(unverified)”.

What you will find here

• Plan Your Trip: how many days, how to get here, where to stay.
• Eat & Drink: seafood, crab, oden, sake, cafés and how ordering works.
• Nightlife: the districts, the etiquette and the bars I have visited.
• Things to Do: gardens, old streets, museums and day trips.
• Seasons & Events: what is happening in Kanazawa right now.
• Useful Japanese: short phrases for real situations.

If this is your first visit, start with Kanazawa for First-Timers.

Questions, corrections, or something you want me to write about? You can reach me through the Contact page.