Higashi Chaya District

Higashi Chaya has been Kanazawa's main geisha quarter since the 1820s, and the latticed wooden facades along its narrow streets have changed surprisingly little. Several teahouses are open to visitors, including Kaikaro and Shima, where gilded walls, lacquerware stages, and the private rooms where geisha once performed for wealthy merchants have been carefully maintained. The district is also where Kanazawa's gold leaf craft concentrates: the city produces around 99 percent of Japan's gold leaf, and dozens of shops here press it onto everything from tableware to face masks to soft-serve ice cream topped with a shimmering gold sheet. Early morning, before the tour groups arrive, or at dusk when the lanterns come on, the streets are at their most atmospheric.