Kanazawa’s Higashi Chaya District Preserves Traditional Look

Kanazawa’s Higashi Chaya-gai (literally “Eastern Teahouse District”) was established as an entertainment quarter in 1820 with the authorization of the feudal lord of the Kaga domain. Kanazawa was then thriving as the capital of this top-ranking domain, and the district preserves the look of those times. The streets are lined with two-story wooden townhouses featuring distinctive kimusuko wooden screens that allow those inside to look out but conceal the interior from those on the street. The government has designated the Higashi Chaya streetscape an “important preservation district for groups of traditional buildings.” This area and its environs are among the most popular tourist spots in Kanazawa, and many of the buildings are open to visitors as restaurants or shops.

(Originally published in Japanese. Created in cooperation with Kanazawa Cable Television.)