• Private Tour
• Instantly Confirmed
• Carbon Neutral

Want to see the best of Kanazawa? We got you covered. But as you can expect from a Withlocals experience, the real excitement is its hidden gems. Join your favorite local and get a feeling of the city's real vibe on a tour that has it all, so you can say: I experienced the real Kanazawa!

Destination

Kanazawa, Japan

Category

City Highlight Tours

Duration

3 hours

Transport mode

Walking tour

Available languages

English, Español, 日本語, Français, Deutsch

Included

• Private Guide
• 1 Local Snack or Drink
• All Withlocals Tours are Carbon Neutral

Excluded

• Entrance to attractions

What you can expect

Choose your local

Get to know these 6 passionate locals, each bringing unique perspectives and talents. Choose your favorite, check their availability, and book to create an unforgettable adventure tailored to you.

This is the plan

Check out the plan below to see what you'll get up to with your local host. Feel free to personalize this offer with the host of your choice.

1. Meeting point

   Meet at Outside in front of the Cafe Murakami Nagaya-Mon Shop - Kanazawa to start your journey

   View on Maps

2. Itinerary

   This is what our experience could look like, but it’s not set in stone! Once you book, you can chat directly with your host to make small tweaks to suit your preferences.

3. Nagamachi Exploring

   This Kanazawa tour takes you to explore Nagamachi, where you can see another area of the city. Check out its highlights and hidden gems and its many interesting insights that will show you Nagamachi at its best!

4. Area Highlights

   See from Ishiura Shrine, Kanazawa Shrine, Nomura Samurai House, and other landmarks and must-sees of the city. Your local host will take you to the main spots in town so you can get the perfect overview of what makes Kanazawa so unique

5. Hidden Gems

   Along the way, your local host will show you treasures hidden in plain sight that only the locals know about. Get to know the city through a different perspective, the local way, and discover places and stories that not many tourists experience

6. Magical Storytelling

   Behind every landmark and every stop, there’s a story, and your local host is ready to tell it all. Get ready to listen to incredible stories, one-of-a-kind insights, and fun facts only a knowledgeable local would know!

7. Special Treat

   Follow your host to one of their favorite eateries for a snack or a drink beloved by the locals. Take a break and catch up with your new local friend and get the answers to all your travel questions

8. Make it yours

   Want to tweak the itinerary? Book directly & chat afterwards with your host to adjust highlights, skip stops, or make small changes to fit your preferences.

   Book risk-free: Cancel within 24 hours for a full refund.

   Need something special? Personalize your experience for more time, alternative locations or a completely tailored plan.

Flexible cancellation policy

• Feel confident booking

  Cancel within 24 hours for a full refund. Even up to 7 days before your experience, you’ll receive a refund, minus the service fee.

• Change of plans?

  Reschedule your experience to a date and time that works best for you.

• Loved by travelers worldwide

  Simple and flexible – your plans, your way.

Reviews from guests

Nigel

(About local Criselda)

30 January 2025

Criselda was a brilliant guide and went above and beyond to give recommendations.Brilliant Guide

Aoife🇮🇪 Ireland

(About local Nuria)

9 January 2025

We enjoyed a lovely afternoon exploring Kanazawa with Nuria. She showed us some interesting sights which we would have never found ourselves as well as sharing lots of interesting facts about the city with us. We had a really lovely time and would recommend the tour! An enjoyable and informative afternoon

Kara🇯🇵 Japan

(About local Monse)

28 December 2024

Monse was an amazing guide! We covered most of Kanazawa in 3 hours. She was fantastic with my three kids and super helpful, capturing many family photos. It felt like a small town and she knew a lot of the people along the way. She was full of knowledge about the history and the hidden gems . One of the most organized and thorough tours I've been on - fantastic!Highly recommend!

Louise🇦🇺 Australia

(About local Lucy)

17 December 2024

Lucy was excellent, ensuring we explored and discovered many hidden places of Kanazawa that we probably would not have found ourselves and if we did happen to stumble across them, we wouldn't know or understand what we were looking at. She was very good at tailoring the tour to our areas of interest and being a local was able to share interesting insights about life, culture and history of Kanazawa. We thoroughly enjoyed and would highly recommend. Hidden Gems of Kanazawa

stuckik

(About local Lucy)

24 November 2024

Lucy was a very good guide. She showed us lots of interesting sights in Kanazawa and told us background information about them. We enjoyed our time with her very much.Very pleasant experience

Neil🇦🇺 Australia

(About local Criselda)

14 November 2024

Despite a last minute booking Criselda was open and very accommodating to our schedule. She is a lovely person and very knowledgeable. She went over and above to help us book train tickets, organise a dinner location and further advise about our next stop . She deserves every success.Could not have been happier

Mark

(About local Criselda)

10 November 2024

We highly recommend booking Cris! Stop searching and without a doubt, book her tour NOW! Cris made our visit to Kanazawa insightful, enjoyable, and memorable. She offered fantastic suggestions for eating (snacks, bars, lunch, dinners) and sightseeing (shrines, gardens, tea houses) and even checked in beforehand to see if we had specific interests! Her dedication to giving guests the full Kanazawa experience is evident her deep cultural knowledge and warm personality made exploring the city's districts a pleasure. Our time with Cris was a true highlight of our Japan trip! We will take our moments touring Kanazawa with Cris back home with us - and will surely recommend her tours to our friends back home! ☺️Unforgettable tour of Kanazawa by Cris!

Christine🇩🇪 Germany

(About local Lucy)

7 November 2024

Auf unserer Japanrundreise mit mehreren Stadtführungen, war der Rundgang durch Kanazawa mit Lucy das Beste!!! Wir haben viel über das Leben in der Stadt erfahren und wir besichtigten alle historischen Stadtteile. Sie hat alle Fragen von uns beantwortet. Danke Lucy ;))Das Beste was uns passiert ist

Tracey

(About local Criselda)

29 October 2024

Crissy was a great tour guide a lovely lady and very knowledgeable guide. It was great to be able to go into a Samari and Geisha houses. The history was amazing and interesting and the tour was tailored to what we wanted to do. The best way to see Kanazawa. Great tour

Andree🇩🇪 Germany

(About local Lucy)

29 October 2024

Da wir eine kleine Tour (3 Stunden) in deutscher Sprache mit Lucy gebucht haben werde ich auch in deutsch schreiben. Lucy war pünktlich an unserem Hotel in Kanazawa. Wir haben uns sofort gut verstanden. Unsere Tour führte durch zwei Geisha-Viertel wobei Lucy uns viel über Vergangenheit und Gegenwart erzählte. Wir schlenderten durch die Gartenanlage von Kanazawa Castle und spazierten durch das Samurai-Viertel. Wir waren so in der Lage am nächsten Tag individuell auf eigene Faust durch Kanazawa zu streichen. Wir besuchten das Innere der Burg, waren auf einem Sake-Fest (auf das uns Lucy hinwies) und haben uns ein echtes Samurai-Haus angesehen. Am Abend hatten wir ein tolles Abendessen im PlatHome (unbedingt vorher reservieren...). Vielen Dank, Lucy... wir kommen wieder... :-)Kanazawa Tour mit Lucy

Vadim

(About local Lucy)

26 October 2024

We’ve booked our tour at the very last moment after having already arrived at Kanazawa. It was a wise move, as Lucy turned out to be an outstanding guide. We especially appreciated her mother naught into everyday life in the city and enjoyed the noodle house she recommended for lunch.Excellent Kanazawa walk with Lucy

scott🇺🇸 United States

(About local Yoji)

24 October 2024

On our first day in Kanazawa, my partner and I spent a happy morning touring with Yoji, a native of the city. We used the tour as our intro to the city and enjoyed wide-ranging discussions about Japanese (and American) culture and politics and the history of the sites on our tour. Yoji responded from direct experience to our many questions about the changes he's seen as Kanazawa has grown over the past few decades. It was so nice and informative to connect with a local. We spent four days in Kanazawa and highly recommend a visit!Great tour of Kanazawa

Jan

(About local Yoji)

24 October 2024

Yoji was the perfect tour guide - personable, knowledgeable, and accommodating. Our group had a wonderful time in Kanazawa and all thanks to Yoji!Best Kanazawa Guide

Luis🇨🇭 Switzerland

(About local Nuria)

23 October 2024

Nuria gave us a great tour around Kanazawa, probably the best experience we had in Japan. The best mix of a historical, food and walking tour, she made our time in Kanazawa unforgettable. Best guide ever

Katherine

(About local Nuria)

19 October 2024

Nuria gave us a fine tour of Kanazawa, starting with showing us the way to do sushi off a conveyor belt. Next we went to a beautiful samurai house and enjoyed the lovely garden there as well. She had recommendations for a place to buy ceramics and finally we went to the Kanazawa castle area before heading to the fabulous Kenroku-en garden. Nuria was friendly, helpful and well informed and completely tri-lingual! I highly recommend her services.Excellent guide

Joseph 🇵🇹 Portugal

(About local Yoji)

18 October 2024

Yoji was an absolute delight as a tour guide. Knowledgeable, informative, charming and speaking extraordinarily English. He is a cultured and humble man who represents his country in an extraordinary manner. I could not recommend him strongly enough. The time flew and we felt we had obtained an in-depth understanding of Kanazawa’ history. Thanks!!! Joe and AnneWonderful Tour in Kanazawa!

Heidi🇺🇸 United States

(About local Criselda)

18 October 2024

Criselda was a wonderful guide who had tons of fascinating information. She was super fun to hang out with and was flexible with any changes we wanted to do. The tour was a real pleasure. Great information!

Elizabeth🇺🇸 United States

(About local Criselda)

14 October 2024

We toured Kanazawa with Cris and we could not be more pleased. Her expertise and knowledge of Kanazawa shined through from start to finish. I would highly recommend choosing her. We all just could not have asked for anything more. Simply the Best

Unknown

(About local Lucy)

11 October 2024

We had a great time on our private tour with Lucy. She was patient and answered all of our questions. We highly recommend her as a great alternative to a mainstream guide option. A good experience!

Camila

(About local Criselda)

9 October 2024

We had a really great time with Criselda. We learnt a lot about the samurai and geisha culture and we got to try some typical sweets and a sweet drink from Kanazawa. Plus, she took us some nice photos. We’d definitely recommend!Fun and unique experience!

Shehlina🇨🇭 Switzerland

(About local Yoji)

3 October 2024

Lovely personalized tour around the gardens and samurai district. Highly recommend! Friendly informative and helpful!

Mahnaz 🇦🇺 Australia

(About local Monse)

1 October 2024

We had a great few hours with monse she was informed and kind and super helpful. She knew a lot about the history of the samurai district and was a great photographer helping to capture our memories perfectly Lovely interesting tour

Nick🇬🇧 United Kingdom

(About local Yoji)

17 June 2024

We had a wonderful tour with Yogi last week. His English was excellent and so we had no problem communicating. It was so helpful to have someone to guide us around and answer all our questions. Our mistake was to arrange the tour towards the end of our time in Kanazawa rather than at the beginning. Wonderful tour

Douglas

(About local Yoji)

14 June 2024

He is a great tour guide and very friendly.. Honestly, I was expecting a little more about the history and culture of kanazawa, just because I’m a historical tour guide, but this is not a problem for most of the people.. Anyway, I recommend his services!! 👍🏿I recommend it!

Josephine🇺🇸 United States

(About local Yoji)

9 June 2024

Wonderful morning tour in Kanazawa with Yoji! He is knowledgeable about the cultural history of the area and he was warm and friendly. We enjoyed his company and learned quite a bit on our bop around from the Geisha districts, to gardens, to the Samurai residence and in between. He went above and beyond to make sure we enjoy his city, even helping us make a reservation at a big deal restaurant in the area. We highly recommend choosing Yoji San as your local guide for lovely Kanazawa.Relaxed, fun bop around with Yoji San

Agathe🇨🇭 Switzerland

(About local Lucy)

23 March 2024

Wir hatten eine spannende und lehrreiche Tour mit Lucy - sie gab uns einen weitreichenden Einblick in das Leben in Japan. Dann auch die Info zu Lebensmittel etc war einfach Super - MERCI nochmalsTolle Kanazawa Führung mit Lucy

hubacker🇨🇭 Switzerland

(About local Lucy)

24 November 2023

Wir hatten eine tolle und sehr interessante und lehrreiche Führung mit Lucy und wir können sie wärmstens weiterempfehlen! Älteres Ehepaar aus der Schweiz😎Sehr zu empfehlen 👍

Chloé et Thomas

(About local Criselda)

2 March 2025

Not only Criselda is nice, she is also very professional and knowledgeable about the history of the city but also Japan and she knows how to immerge us into the culture playing guessing games to compare with our local usage. We have to say that we have used some guides before but Criselda is by far the one that made us feel understanding more the culture and connecting the dots of the history we learned. So thank you again a lot, it has been a great experience with you ! Happy to welcome you back in France whenever you want. Chloe and Thomas Greatest guide we had in Japan !

Maria

(About local Raphaël)

26 February 2025

We really enjoyed our walk with Raphael. English perfect, knowledge about Kanazawa and Japanese culture also great. He has been living here already for many year with his wife and two kids. He is entertaining, flexible and knows where to go. Absolutely worth your while if you are here for a short stay. We requested a private tour for our family, learning about geisha's and samurai. Highly recommended!Raphael, wonderful guide through Kanazawa, thanks so much!

Sakari

(About local Nuria)

10 February 2025

Had good time with Nuria. Visited couple of nice restaurants and food market with her. As I have been living quite a long time in Japan there was nothing very new for me. Good part was also that she was able to give me some new restaurants worth of trying in future.Eating in Kanazawa

Cristina

(About local Nuria)

4 February 2025

Nuria es excelente, súper profesional, flexible, encantadora. Le daría un 10 y volvería a contratarla mil veces. Gracias por todo, NuriaExcelente

Elke

(About local Raphaël)

3 February 2025

Raphaël es un guía excelente y dedicado . Recomiendo ampliamente su tour al igual que su amabilidad hace que Kanazawa sea una experiencia maravillosa . Muchas gracias y sin lugar a duda regresaremos .“Excelente!!! Ampliamente recomendado ”

Sandra

(About local Raphaël)

27 January 2025

This tour was more than we expected! Raphael is an excellent person and knows a lot about the culture and main landmarks of Kanazawa. He took us to the best hidden gems and made sure that everyone in our group was satisfied with their visit. We took this tour with my 70 year old mom and aunt. He was extremely patient and made the necessary alterations to the itinerary so that they could as well get the best of the tour even if they couldn't make the hike. He has great recommendations about local crafts and I would definitely book this experience again in the future since this city was one of our favorites :) maybe even thanks to Raphael's guidance! Thank you Raphael for your patience :) see you soon!!“A MUST WHEN VISITING KANAZAWA”

Tracey

(About local Raphaël)

21 January 2025

I booked the walking Tour of Kanazawa for my husband and I last minute. Raphael responded immediately and met us at our hotel the next day. He provided us with many options of where to visit and allowed us to tailor the tour to our preferences. Raphael was very engaging, knowledgeable and passionate about Japan. We did several tours whilst in Japan and all guides were great however Raphael was exceptional and I would highly recommend booking a tour with him!“Awesome Guide!”

Alex

(About local Lucy)

19 January 2025

My husband and I spent a nice afternoon with Lucy. She was a great tour guide and was very knowledgeable about the history of Kanazawa, the arts and culture in Kanazawa and we also loved learning about her experience raising a family as a French woman in Japan. She took us to some great stops and also suggested a lovely museum And restaurant that we enjoyed after our tour with her. Thank you so much Lucy.A lovely afternoon strolling in Kanazawa

carlos🇦🇺 Australia

(About local Monse)

5 January 2025

Monse was a great guide: very knowledgeable, friendly and helpful. Highly recommended. great guide

Allison

(About local Monse)

1 January 2025

We had really just one day in Kanazawa so we booked our tour with Monse for as soon as we got in. I'm so glad we did! Monse was so much fun to be around and she knew so much of the rich history. She's really great, ten out of ten, would recommend!Perfect

James

(About local Raphaël)

1 January 2025

It was me and my partner's first trip to Japan and we didn't know much about Kanazawa beforehand. We were coming in from Kyoto and figured the evening walk would be a light introduction to the city. What we ended up with, was a rich history of the city, a wonderful dinner that surpassed any we had until that point and a fantastic, knowledgeable guide. Raph himself is very knowledgeable, humorous, and a knowledge font! We also discussed Shirakawa-go and would recommend everyone experience that village when you travel. I couldn't recommend Raph enough and if you are lucky enough to see he has free time, would recommend booking a trip with him.“History, dinner to remember, and inside look into Kanazawa”

michael

(About local Monse)

28 December 2024

We are a family of 5 and have had a wonderful 2 days with mons who organised walks and activities that perfectly fitted out brief to her. Lovely company and informative and helpful at every step. Highlights were views of the Sea of Japan, onsen walk by the river, boat ride to view the bridges and the unesco area. Mons is a delight and I fully recommend her.Kanazawa outing

lisa

(About local Criselda)

25 December 2024

Criselda has an incredible amount of information to share—historical as well as cultural. She was very accommodating with our teens and patiently answered all of their questions. We truly felt that we had an insider’s view of the city. Don’t miss this experience of you visit Kanazawa!Wonderful, insightful toyr of Kanazawa

Amy

(About local Lucy)

20 December 2024

We so enjoyed visiting Kanazawa with Lucy. She’s very knowledgeable about the city and as a foreign resident has an interesting perspective on living in Japan and beautiful Kanazawa. Our entire family were really glad we had the chance to take this tour! Terrific tour

Joel

(About local Raphaël)

17 December 2024

Raphael accepted our request at the last minute for a walking tour in Kanazawa. He met us at our hotel and was able to listen to our requests and make some additional suggestions in the local area. Raphael is polite, and knowledgeable on local history and geography. We had a fantastic day with Raphael and he was especially good with our 4 year old who took an instant liking to him. Raphael also went out of his way to check on availability of tourist spots and activities and even a restaurant for after the tour. I fully recommend Raphael as a guide for Kanazawa 10/10“Fantastic Guide”

Megan

(About local Lucy)

15 December 2024

Lucy was great! We were a large group with a huge age range (5-79), and one person who couldn’t walk far distances. She worked very hard to find a place that would accommodate us all (the day after Christmas no less!) but that would also us to try the local cuisine. Although we were not able to do the traditional food walking tour- we nonetheless had a wonderful time and got to experience local Kanazawan foods.A taste of Kanazawa

Allyson🇦🇺 Australia

(About local Lucy)

6 December 2024

Our tour with Lucy was fabulous! We didn't quite know where to start exploring Kanazawa and after our tour with Lucy we knew so much more about the city and what we could see and do. Lucy was so knowledgeable about Kanazawa and it's history. We really enjoyed the places that she shared with us and loved that she was happy to answer our many questions. Thank you Lucy!Wonderful!

Katie🇳🇿 New Zealand

(About local Monse)

1 December 2024

Monse was a wonderful tour guide. Very knowledgeable and fun to talk to. Would highly recommend. Fabulous tour

Eugene🇺🇸 United States

(About local Criselda)

25 November 2024

We got in touch with Cris at the last moment. She shifted her schedule a bit to accommodate us, and the rainy weather forced her to adjust what we saw -- primarily the Omichi Market. She was warm, knowledgeable, flexible, and fun. So glad we found her.Great Time On A Rainy Day

Candice🇯🇵 Japan

(About local Yoji)

24 November 2024

Yohji was fabulous. He had wonderful local knowledge especially around the best places to eat. Overall, everyone enjoyed their time with him. Highly recommended. Fabulous time

Bonnie🇺🇸 United States

(About local Criselda)

24 November 2024

Cris provided a terrific tour even in the rain for us. She was able to show us what we requested and give us glimpse of what we might want to go back and see later. I would highly recommend her for other travelers. I would also like to remind travelers to consider sunset time when selecting tour ti es. Luckily, I was able to ask Cris ahead and adjust our time. Would definitely do it again.Exceptional service

Yamila🇦🇷 Argentina

(About local Monse)

23 November 2024

Monse hizo que nuestro día en Kanazawa fuera increíble ! Llegamos con lluvia y nos despidió con lluvia, pero gracias a ella pudimos disfrutar el recorrido. Gracias mil ! !!! Hermosa persona, divertida. Euge y Yami Kanazawa en todo su esplendor

Roxana🇦🇷 Argentina

(About local Lucy)

21 November 2024

We hace such a wonderfull time with Lucy!!!! I highly recommend her. We learned a lot about Kanazawa!! Thanks again Lucy. Lucy is amaizing!!!