Utatsuyama Temple Walk

While tourists flock to the tea houses below, the forested slopes of Mount Utatsu above Higashi Chaya hide approximately 50 temples and shrines connected by winding paths through cedar and maple groves. The hilltop offers a panoramic view of Kanazawa's rooftops stretching to the Japan Sea. In autumn, the maple canopy blazes red while the paths remain almost deserted. The temples were placed here strategically during the Edo period as a spiritual defense for the castle.