Japan Guide
Central Honshū
Kenroku-en
Early morning or late afternoon are the best times for catching Kanazawa's star attraction, Kenroku-en at its most tranquil, otherwise you're bound to have your thoughts interrupted at least once by a megaphone-toting guide and party of tourists – such is the price of visiting one of the official top three gardens in Japan. Kenroku-en – developed over two centuries from the 1670s – is rightly regarded as the best.
Originally the outer grounds of Kanazawa castle, and thus the private garden of the ruling Maeda clan, Kenroku-en was opened to the public in 1871. Its name, which means "combined six garden", refers to the six horticultural graces that the garden embraces: spaciousness, seclusion, artificiality, antiquity, water and panoramic views. It's a lovely place to stroll around, with an ingenious pumping system keeps the hillside pools full of water and the fountains – including Japan's first – working. There are sweeping views across towards Kanazawa's old geisha district Higashi Chaya, and many marvellous pine trees, pruned carefully throughout the centuries to achieve a certain shape.
Head first to the three-hundred-year-old Hisago-ike (Gourd Pond), so called because it's supposed to have the shape of the vegetable. Into the pond drops the Midori-taki (Green Waterfall), an unusual feature for a Japanese garden and built in 1774, at the same time as the nearby Yūgaotei, a teahouse where you can still take tea for ¥500.
East of the pond is the entrance to the delightful Seison-kaku (daily except Wed 9am–4.30pm; ¥500; 
www.seisonkaku.com/ ), an elegant, two-storey shingle-roofed mansion built in 1863 by the daimyō Maeda Nariyasu as a retirement home for his mother. The view from the Tsukushi-no-rōka (Horsetail Corridor) across the mansion's own raked-gravel garden is particularly enchanting, while upstairs the decorative style is more adventurous, using a range of striking colours and materials including, unusually for a traditional Japanese house, glass windows, imported from the Netherlands. Opening time: Daily: March to mid-Oct 7am–6pm; mid-Oct to Feb 8am–4.30pmPrice: ¥300, free third Sun of month