Kenroku-en

One of Japan's three great gardens in Kanazawa, featuring seasonal landscapes, ponds, and the iconic Kotoji lantern.

Kenroku-en in Kanazawa is considered one of Japan's three most beautiful landscape gardens, originally developed as the outer garden of Kanazawa Castle from the 1620s. Its name means "Garden of Six Sublimities," referring to the six attributes of an ideal garden in Chinese landscape theory: spaciousness, seclusion, artifice, antiquity, water features, and panoramic views. The garden spans 11.4 hectares with ponds, streams, waterfalls, and meticulously maintained plantings.