It takes about 1 hour to fly from Tokyo to Kanazawa, and it takes about 4 hours by Shinkansen and express train. If you go to Kanazawa from Osaka, it takes only two and a half hours by express train. Kanazawa is close to major cities in Japan with convenient transportation. The city is located at the junction of plains and hills, sandwiched between two clear rivers, Rhinoceros River and Asano Nagaakira River, which moisten people's lives and decorate the city's scenery.
Kanazawa's name comes from a story: a farmer named Kogoro made a living by digging potatoes. He washed all the sands on the potatoes into a well, which is now called Jincheng Ling Ze, so this place was named Kanazawa, which means "swamp of gold".
About 500 years ago, religious believers established a religious government in Kanazawa Imperial House, which later became the seat of Kanazawa City.
The temple was destroyed in 1580 by the army led by nobunaga Oda. One of his retainers, Maeda Toshiie, moved to Kanazawa in 1583. He built a castle to replace the destroyed temple, and he ruled this place with Daming (the largest fief in Japan). He is famous for his annual salary of one million stone meters (one stone equals five bushels (the capacity equals eight gallons)). Maeda especially encouraged the development of arts and crafts, making Kanazawa a cultural center similar to Tokyo (later called Edo) and Kyoto.
1868 After the Meiji Restoration, Kanazawa became the capital of Ishikawa Prefecture. At this time, Kanazawa has become the center of political, economic, educational and cultural activities in Hokuriku.