KANAZAWA—If it wasn’t already, the city with the golden touch and history of traditional crafts is now on many-a-vacation-planner’s radar after two prominent magazine features.
The iconic National Geographic, famed for its nature and travel photos, and Conde Nast Traveler, which targets a wealthy readership, both spotlighted Ishikawa’s prefectural capital in autumn articles.
Officials said the city was also the only travel destination either publication chose from East Asia.
“We are glad that media outlets of world renown recognize Kanazawa’s charms and our efforts toward sustainable tourism,” Mayor Takashi Murayama told a news conference on Nov. 18.
Kanazawa made National Geographic’s “25 best places in the world to travel to in 2025” list published in late October and was hailed as a destination where visitors can “get a taste of authentic Japan” without the crowds.
Among the city’s draws are its quarter of historical wooden teahouses, the elegant Kenroku-en garden and a district of samurai homes dating back to the Edo Period (1603-1867).
The National Geographic article also notes that Kanazawa produces 99 percent of Japan’s traditional gold leaf that visitors can use to decorate items in hands-on experiences.
Not too long after in early November, Conde Nast Traveler featured Kanazawa as one of 12 travel destinations in its “Bright Ideas in Travel 2024.” The list highlights locales for their innovative approaches to tourism.
The magazine appreciated, for example, how city authorities laid a new path to support traditional crafts. The “Kanazawa Ichigo Ichie” (Kanazawa once in a lifetime) program that started in 2013 and allows travelers to tour artisans’ studios is one endeavor.
Officials added that Conde Nast Traveler also gave high marks to the city for its efforts to assist craftspeople displaced by the Noto Peninsula earthquake that upended the region in January.
The Kanazawa government’s tourism policy section shared that Ishikawa Prefecture has seen around 1,116,000 non-Japanese travelers stay at lodgings with 10 or more staff during the first eight months of 2024.
This figure from the Japan Tourism Agency’s Overnight Travel Statistics Survey already exceeds 933,000 tourists fo all of 2023.
“So many travelers from overseas have said they wish to experience Japanese culture,” said a member of the Kanazawa government’s tourism policy section.
Visitors from Western countries, such as Italy, France and Spain, account for about half of those numbers.
This makes Ishikawa an outlier as those from Western nations make up only about 25 percent of visitors to other prefectures; officials said this was also reflected in Kanazawa.
Over the course of about 10 years, the city government has poured its efforts into promoting tourism in Western countries. According to officials, this involved participating in travel industry expos in Italy and elsewhere for business negotiations and inviting travel agency representatives on people on tours, among other pursuits.
Kanazawa continues to aim higher, with its mayor in support of refining its offerings further.
“We hope to do a promotion focusing on luxury-minded travelers from Western countries whose travel needs match our city’s tourism resources, and to work to improve the environment here for hosting them,” Murayama said.
