Enjoy Kanazawa Crab and Kaga Cuisine Discover Oishii Japan -SAVOR JAPAN -Japanese Restaurant Guide-

Update-date: Jan 30 2020

Author: SAVOR JAPAN

Kaga Province and Noto Peninsula once flourished as the harbor for food and trade coming in from the Sea of Japan. These two areas are now a part of Ishikawa Prefecture, a land blessed with bountiful seas and mountains, as well as the right environment for growing food, resulting in easy access to fresh and seasonal ingredients. Read on to find out more about restaurants that use these ingredients to make incredible Kaga cuisine, and where you can enjoy flavorful snow crab, a classic winter delicacy from the Sea of Japan.

See full listings of Japanese Cuisine restaurants found in and around Kanazawa.

1. Japanese Cuisine Hakubaitei

A traditional Japanese restaurant where you may look upon the seasonal scenery of a courtyard garden while listening to the gentle babbling of a brook. In this relaxed atmosphere, you can enjoy genuine Kaga kaiseki (Japanese banquet cuisine with alcohol) made with seasonal ingredients from Kanazawa. During the winter, you can enjoy kaiseki with crab served boiled, grilled, raw, and in a clay pot. All of this, while looking upon the stunning snow-covered courtyard garden.

[Snow Crab], a classic winter delicacy from the Sea of Japan.

Enjoy jibu-ni (poultry and stew), nodoguro (blackthroat seaperch), hasu-mushi (steamed grated lotus root in a thick broth), sashimi made with freshly caught fish, and Kaga kaiseki here!

Japanese Cuisine Hakubaitei

Open: [Weekdays, Saturday, Sunday, National Holidays] Lunch 11:00 am - 3:00 pm (L.O. 2:00 pm), Dinner 5:30 pm - 9:00 pm (L.O. 8:30 pm) *Dinner service is only available for parties or special occasions with a small number of people.
Closed: None.
*Service on weekends and national holidays is only available for parties or special occasions with a small number of people.
Average price: [Dinner] 6,500 JPY / [Lunch] 2,000 JPY *The [Special 20th Anniversary Lunch] is available until March 2019.
Access: Take a bus from bus stop No. 7 at the East Exit of Kanazawa Station for 10 minutes. Get off at the Owaricho bus stop, and it's a 5-minute walk towards Otebori.
Address: Inside KKR Hotel Kanazawa, 2-32, Ote-machi, Kanazawa-shi, Ishikawa Map
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2. Izakaya Kappo Tamura

This izakaya (Japanese pub) is often visited by celebrities and those in the entertainment industry. You can enjoy fresh, seasonal seafood from the Hokuriku region and homemade, innovative dishes in this contemporary Japanese izakaya. Other than the classic Kaga dish, [Duck Jibu-ni], you'll be able to order and taste live crab in the [Crab Shabu Course] all year round.

They also offer a traditional Kanazawa dish, [Jibu-ni].

The fatty [Extra-large Salt-grilled Nodoguro] is an exquisite menu item!

Izakaya Kappo Tamura

Open: Dinner 5:00 pm - 11:30 pm
*They reserve the right to refuse entry to those below elementary school age at night.
Closed: Wednesday
*Open if it falls on a national holiday.
*Also closed from August 27 - 29.
*Only course meals will be served from August 11 - 16, as the market will not be running on those days.
Average price: [Dinner] 5,000 JPY
Access: 2-minute walk from Higashi Chaya District in Higashiyama, at the base of Umenohashi Bridge on the Asano River. Also around a 5-minute drive from Kanazawa Station.
Address: 2-18, Namiki-machi, Kanazawa-shi, Ishikawa Map
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3. Kaiseki Tsuruko

A well-established, 50-year-old restaurant where you can enjoy Japanese cuisine made with ingredients used in Kaga cuisine, but with a Kanazawa twist. When it's the right season, the [Snow Crab Sashimi Assortment] comes highly recommended.

Enjoy the [Duck Jibu-ni with Gensuke Radish], completed with a glass of Kaga sake (Japanese alcohol).

A stylishly traditional building with a well-kept courtyard garden.

Kaiseki Tsuruko

Open: Lunch 12:00 pm - 3:00 pm, Dinner 6:00 pm - 10:00 pm
Closed: Irregular
Average price: 20,001 JPY - 30,000 JPY
Address: 6-5, Takaoka-machi, Kanazawa-shi, Ishikawa (Map)
Source: hitosara (Japanese)

4. Tokiwa

Enjoy sake chosen by sake specialists alongside cuisine made mainly with seasonal ingredients. Paying extra attention to the freshness of their seafood, the restaurant purchases directly from the fishermen at Enome Harbor on Notojima Island to bring to you the [Sashimi Assortment] that excels in both freshness and flavor. Other than seafood, the fragrant and flavorful [Noto Beef and Matsutake Paper Hot Pot] comes highly recommended as well.

Taste the flavors of Kanazawa, condensed into one dish, with the [Rice Steamed with Nodoguro].

Relax and enjoy the chef's special, [Hassun] (seasonal platter), with delicious sake.

Tokiwa

Open: Dinner 6:00 pm - 11:00 pm (L.O. 10:00 pm)
Closed: Irregular
Average price: [Dinner] 7,000 JPY
Access: 2-minute walk from Kanazawa Station. Very near to Kanazawa Central Hotel East Building.
Address: 5-5, Horikawa-machi, Kanazawa-shi, Ishikawa (Map)
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Disclaimer: All information is accurate at time of publication.