6 Best Restaurants in Kanazawa, The Japan Alps and the North Chubu Coast

This shop specializes in fu, or wheat gluten. Its adjacent restaurant offers kaiseki-like lunch sets that change monthly but are centered on the wheat gluten and in-season vegetables like shiitake mushrooms. Lunch is served from 11:30 to 2; after that, coffee, tea and sweets are served until 6.

As the seasons change, so do the menu options at this kaiseki ryori–focused showplace in the Kanazawa Tokyu Hotel. In spring your meal may include hotaru-ika (firefly squid) and iidako (baby octopus) no larger than your thumbnail, in fall expect matsutake mushrooms to make an appearance. Dinner courses can be very expensive, though the the cheapest menus are much more reasonable. The prices are similar at the far more atmospheric main branch-cum-traditional inn by the Sai-gawa River (the Tokyu surroundings are smart, yet a little sterile), although getting a reservation there is far harder.

You might be surprised to find a funky Balinese eatery alongside the Sai-gawa River, but the nasi goreng, satay and other familiar dishes all taste like the real deal. From Kata-machi Scramble (the area's central intersection), turn right just before Sai-gawa Bridge, and follow the narrow lane along the river.

At this place in the renowned Kenroku Garden, excellent fish and vegetable dishes have been carefully prepared for nearly one hundred years. The prices are still reasonable, and the garden views from the tatami are an added bonus.

Slip into this little shop, in business since 1859, for a scoop of delicious sofuto kurimu (soft-serve ice cream) or a cup of tea. You can relax in the small garden in the rear or on benches out front. At the far end of the Tate-machi shopping street, the heavenly scent of roasting green tea leaves wafts out the door. The café is open daily 9:30 to 6:30.

On the south bank of the Sai-gawa River close to the Sakura-bashi Bridge, this Michelin two-star restaurant serves Kaga specialties. Dinner in a private room overlooking the garden is a splurge but worth it. In traditional Japanese style, the meal finishes with rice, pickles, and soup; in autumn the broth is clear, with herbs and a shrimp dumpling. If you want to experience the food without the high price of dinner, lunch sets start at half the cost of dinner. It's a fancy place, so you'll want to dress up a bit, and you'll need a reservation at least three days ahead.