• Abutting the remarkable Toyama Bay, Takaoka is a city with a diverse history of over 350 years. Known as the “Kitchen of Kanazawa”, it produced large amounts of food, metal working and pottery. As the second city of the Kaga Domain, much wealth was poured into the city, mostly in the form of building great temples. Two of those great temples, Zuiryuji and Shokoji, still remain and are considered National Treasures. On this tour you will see those temples, try your hand at metalworking and see the Amaharashi Coast with a view of the snow-capped Tateyama mountains in the background.

Start your tour at Kanazawa Station, where your guide will greet you begin the tour. The meeting point will be outside the shinkansen ticket gate, in front of the information center sign. We will then head to the shinkansen to take the train to Takaoka at 8:26. Arrive at Shin-Takaoka Station. You will have time to go to the bathroom before heading out. It is about 15 minutes on foot to the first temple of the day. Arrive at Zuiryuji Temple. We will take our time walking through the grand layout and historical decorations and architecture. Make sure to take a long look at complexity of the ceiling of the central Buddhist alter and the statue of the toilet god in the main alter.