What to Do in Hokuriku: Crafts, Villages, and Living Traditions

Travel
Written By Japan Suite

Beyond the table and the hotel, Hokuriku is a landscape of craft, ritual, and heritage. From Zen temples and mossy shrines to UNESCO-listed villages and traditional workshops, the region invites travelers to witness the making of art, the rhythms of daily life, and quiet moments of reflection. In this final installment, we guide you through activities and cultural experiences that bring Hokuriku’s history and traditions vividly to life.

Part 4

Hokuriku offers experiences rooted in making, movement, and quiet observation. Visitors can explore centuries-old villages, walk through preserved geisha districts, and witness traditional crafts such as metal casting, knife making, and washi paper production. In Ishikawa, long-established traditions of lacquerware and Kutani ceramicware reveal how surface, form, and function evolve through generations of artisans. From moss-covered shrine paths to hands-on workshops and Zen meditation, these activities show how history and daily life remain closely intertwined across Toyama, Ishikawa, and Fukui.

Learn About Local Crafts

Metal Casting in Takaoka (Toyama)

Metal casting has shaped Takaoka for over 400 years, producing objects ranging from tea kettles to Buddhist altar fittings. Workshops allow visitors to observe traditional sand-casting techniques and experience the process firsthand, offering insight into how utilitarian forms become refined craft.

Kumiko Woodworking (Toyama)

Kumiko is a heritage woodworking technique that assembles thin wooden strips into intricate patterns without nails or glue. Factory tours and hands-on sessions introduce this delicate lattice work, traditionally used for architectural panels and screens.

Kumiko Woodwork

Washi Paper

Washi Paper in Echizen (Fukui)

Echizen has produced washi paper for over 1,500 years. Local studios open their doors for demonstrations and workshops, showing how fibers are transformed into paper used for calligraphy, lighting, and packaging.

Knife Making in Echizen (Fukui)

Echizen’s forged blades have been made for more than 700 years. Visitors can observe hammering and sharpening techniques and learn how blade-making connects with Echizen’s lacquerware tradition through finished handles.

Lacquerware in Yamanaka (Ishikawa)

Yamanaka Onsen remains one of Japan’s most important centers of lacquerware, known for lathe-turned wooden forms and layers of natural urushi. The craft emphasizes durability, warmth, and balance between surface and shape—qualities that continue to influence contemporary tableware.

Kutani Ceramicware (Ishikawa)

Kutani ware is known for its painted surfaces and evolving visual language. While rooted in historic palettes and motifs, modern makers reinterpret the tradition through personal styles and experimental forms, demonstrating how Kutani remains a living ceramic culture.

Yamanaka Lacquerware Oryoki

Ceramic from Ishikawa

Explore Historic Places

Ainokura Village (Toyama)

This remote UNESCO World Heritage Site is composed of traditional thatched-roof houses set deep in the mountains of Gokayama, offering a rare view of rural architecture preserved across centuries.

Higashi Chaya District (Kanazawa)

One of Kanazawa’s historic geisha districts, Higashi Chaya features Edo-period teahouses and small craft shops, including those dedicated to gold leaf, for which the city is renowned.

Heisenji Hakusan Shrine (Fukui)

Originally founded in 717, this moss-covered shrine complex sits along a cedar-lined mountain path, offering a meditative walk through forest and stone.

Ainokura Village

Higashi Chaya　©石川県観光連盟

Experience Traditional Culture

Geisha Performances (Kanazawa)

Select venues in Kanazawa offer bookable performances that include music, dance, and traditional games, providing a respectful introduction to geiko culture.

Zen Meditation at Kippoji Temple (Fukui)

Founded by Zen master Dōgen, this temple offers meditation sessions and simple vegetarian meals, connecting visitors with Echizen’s spiritual traditions.

Toyama Glass Art Museum (Toyama)

Designed by Kengo Kuma, the museum houses international glass works and integrates library spaces into its cedar-clad interior, linking contemporary design with traditional materials.

Geisha

Toyama Glass Art Museum

Hokuriku is a region best experienced through making, walking, and observing. Rather than focusing on single landmark attractions, it offers encounters with craftspeople, historic towns, and landscapes shaped by centuries of daily use. Activities here tend to be immersive and tactile — inviting visitors to slow down and participate, rather than simply pass through.

This story is part of a four-part exploration of Japan’s Hokuriku region, looking at how food, craft, and landscape shape daily life along the Sea of Japan coast.

Read the full series:

Part 1: Introduction
Part 2: Where to Stay
Part 3: Where to Eat
Part 4: What to do

Japan Suite
Showcasing traditional Japanese crafts and the artisans who create them — their stories and their art in words and visions. Japan’s hand-made crafts have played an integral role in the lives of Japanese for centuries. They are created in response to basic, everyday needs and have long been used in the daily rhythms of life. They come from the earth and from nature, and they are prized for their simplicity and long life. Craftspeople pour their passion, pride and energy into their handiwork, creating objects that can far outlive their creators, but in doing so, they carry on the artist’s legacy. The artisans know their objects can live hundreds of years, and they want to be just as proud of it in 100 years as they are today. So, everyday household items take on a life of their own, their own spirit and their own story. They are unique, one-of-a-kind creations with a character and spirit that grows stronger with regular use. The artist creates the object, but that is just the beginning of the journey. In the hands of its owner, a relationship is created, one that is nurtured across time. Just as we do, these creations will change over time developing new imperfections and new character. Each region and each artisan have their own character. In Japan, this is known as meibutsu. The legacy has been passed down by Japanese artists across time down to today’s craftspeople who are advancing and redefining this tradition. We applaud these artisans, and we strive to support them as they re-interpret the heritage of their predecessors — and we are proud to introduce their work, their stories and the passion they put into their creation here at Japan Suite.
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Where to Eat and Drink in Hokuriku: Ramen, Sushi, Soba, and Sake