Rojo Park Marunouchi koen Town
Rojo Park was built on the site of the third enclosure of Komatsu Castle, which the third lord of the Kaga clan, Toshitsune Maeda used as his residence in his later years. The park is also known for its beautiful cherry blossoms.
Kibagata Park Kiba Town Tel: 0761-43-3106
This park affords a beautiful view of Mt. Hakusan, and the lagoon is surrounded by natural parkland. In addition to a large parking lot, it has many park facilities, including a rest house, a dock and tennis courts. The park is known as a good spot for bird watching and hera-crucian fishing. Various projects have been undertaken to clean up Kibagata Lagoon.
A watercourse that leads clean water from Dainichi River directly into the lagoon, the Seseragi water channel, to which some of this water is diverted, and a "water and greenery" park, with aquatic plants that clean the water by absorbing nutrients, were constructed in April 2000. The large amount of water in the park makes it popular with visitors.
Suehiro Park Suehiro Town
This park is situated on the old bed of the Kakehashi River, which became wasteland after river improvement works were conducted. In order to improve the scenery the site was turned into a wooded area.
Ikoi-no-Mori Park Yoshitake Town Tel & Fax: 0761-24-4558
A vast forest and the Kiyomizu and Kagami Bridges over two ponds make walks in this park a real pleasure. The park is also a good place for bird watching, and families can enjoy the Wanpaku and Fureai areas, as well as barbecue facilities.
Okura-dake Plateau Ogoya Town
From spring to fall come and breathe the fresh highland air as you enjoy healthy leisure activities such as hiking. In the autumn the cosmos are at their best. The plateau is popular for its beautiful nature, and the fact that it is only about a 25-minute drive from the city.
Remains of Ataka-no-Seki Ataka Town Tel: 0761-21-6734
The kabuki play Kanjincho has made Ataka-no-Seki famous all over Japan.
Eight hundred years after it was erected, the stone signpost of the checkpoint still stands discreetly in the pine forest overlooking the Japan Sea. Besideit, the bronze statues of Benkei and Yoshitsune, and of the barrier keeper Togashi are exposed to the sea breezes. Here visitors can get a taste of the romance of bygone days. On the grounds are Ataka-no-Sekisho Hall, with many historical records and treasures on display, and the Kanjincho-no-Sato Ataka View Terrace rest house, from which you can get abird's-eye view of the Japan Sea. A good place to turn your thoughts to the distant past over a cup of coffee.
Kanjincho-no-Sato Ataka View Terrace
Closing days: Wednesdays, year-end
Opening hours:
9:00 am - 7:00 pm (June - October)
9:00 am - 5:00 pm (November - May)
Ataka-no-Sekisho Hall
Closing days: Wednesdays, winter
Opening hours: 9:00 am - 4:30 pm
Admission: Adults \200, Children \100
Komatsu Tenmangu Shrine Tenjin Town Tel: 0761-22-2539
Komatsu Tenmangu (also known as Bairin-in) is a 1/4 scale replica of Kitano Tenmangu, and enshrines Sugawara Michizane, an ancestor of the Maeda family. In the olden days it was thought that illness was caused by evil spirits, and the direction that was the most hated for the bad luck it produced was called kimon. Atago Yofukuin Temple (which no longer exists) was built in the kimon direction from Komatsu Castle, as was Komatsu Tenmangu Shrine. Takaoka Castle, Kanazawa Castle, Myoryu-ji Temple (Ninja-dera Temple), Komatsu Tenmangu Shrine and Komatsu Castle are all on the same kimon line. Komatsu Tenmangu Shrine housed a guardian deity that was very important to the Kaga clan. On the grounds of the shrine there is a stone tablet inscribed with Matsuo Basho's haiku.
Birthplace of Hotokegozen Hara Town
In the Heian period Hotokegozen traveled from Karumigo (present-day Hara Town), Kaga to Kyoto, where she became renowned as an expert dancer. She received the patronage of Taira Nokiyomori, but she feared for the safety of Gio and Gijo, who had served Kiyomori up until then and had been abandoned by him. She ended up leaving Kiyomori to visit Gio and Gijo. This story is written in The Heike Monogatari. Hotokegozen's grave and the remains of her villa still exist today.
Hanibe Cave Ryumyoji Town Tel: 0761-47-3188
The cave entrance is flanked by a pair of Buddhist guardian god statues. Inside it is cold even in summer and if you walk toward the back you will see innumerable sculptures making up a ghastly scene of hell that unfolds before you. When you leave the maze of the cave, you can proceed to the park, in which there is a recumbent image of Buddha. Now, the second generation chief priest, Mr. Hakuma Tsugata is making the largest Buddha statue in Japan, of which the head has already been completed.
Closing days: Open year-round
Opening hours: 8:30 am - 5:00 pm (December - February: 9:00 am - 4:00 pm)
Admission: Adults \800,
Children (elementary, junior high school and high school students) \500
Groups of 20 or more: Adults \700, Children \400
Groups of 100 or more: Adults \600, Children \350
Nata-dera Temple Nata Town Tel: 0761-65-2111
A famous temple of the Shingon sect which is said to have originated in 717 when Taicho Daishi housed a multiarmed deity in a rocky cavern. The temple was reconstructed in the Edo period by the third lord of Kaga, Maeda Toshitsune. Subsequently Matsuo Basho paid homage at the temple on his visit to Komatsu and composed a famous haiku. In the fall many people go to the temple on family outings to enjoy the fall foliage.
Closing days: Open year-round
Opening hours: 8:30 am - 4:45 pm (December - February: 8:45 am - 4:30 pm)
Admission: Adults \500, Children \300
Groups of 30 or more: Adults \450, Junior high and high school students \300, Elementary school students \200
Koke-no-Sono Moss Garden Nichiyo Town Tel: 0761-65-1162
Near Awazu Hot Springs, in a beautiful, dense cedar (Nichiyo Ceder) forest there is a garden covered with a lovely green carpet. If you look closely, you will see that the carpet consists of many different kinds of moss. You can purchase moss to take home and plant in your garden.
Closing days: Snowy days in winter
Opening hours: 9:00 am - 4:00 pm (May - September: 9:00 am - 5:00 pm)
Admission: Adults \500, Elementary and junior high school students \300
Groups of 30 or more: \450
Yunokuni-no-Mori Awazu Hot Springs Tel: 0761-65-3456
A village of crafts that gathers together in a vast natural setting Ishikawa crafts such as Kutani ware, Wajima lacquerware and Kaga yuzen dyed silk, as well as Japanese -style sweets and Kaga cuisine.
The studio buildings are old houses that have been moved from their original sites and reconstructed for your enjoyment of Kaga culture.
Closing days: Year-end and New Year's holiday
Opening hours: 8:30 am - 5:00 pm (December - February: 9:00 am - 4:30 pm)
Admission: Adults \530, Students \420, Children \320
Motorcar Museum of Japan Futatsunashi Town Tel: 0761-43-4343
Five hundred cars are exhibited at this museum: classic cars from all over the world, traditional cars, popular Japanese cars, popular foreign cars and famous cars. The museum has a restaurant, a shop and toilets from all over the world.
Closing days: Year-end and New Year's holiday
Opening hours: 9:00 am - 5:00 pm (Admission ends at 4:30)
Admission: Adults (junior high school age and older) \1,000
Children (elementary school students) \500
Discount for groups of 20 or more
Discount for school groups, etc.
Aviation Plaza Hei 92 Atakashin-machi
(across from Komatsu Airport) Tel: 0761-23-4811
The only aviation museum on the Japan Sea side of the country. Displays include real airplanes, model planes and panels explaining the history of flying and the mechanism of aircrafts.
Opening hours: 9:00 am - 5:00 pm
Admission: Free (There is a charge for some simulation devices.)
Closing days: Mondays (Tuesday if Monday is a holiday)
Year-end and New Year's holiday (December 29 - January 3)
Usage fees: Multipurpose hall (approx. 1,500平方メートル) \100,000
Classroom (approx. 50 people) \16,000
Meeting room (approx. 20 people) \8,000
(*Fees are for one day.)
The facilities may be used for import fairs and other events.
Awazu Hot Springs Awazu Hot Springs Tel: 0761-65-1834
Discovered in 718 by Taicho Daishi, the priest who founded the Hakusan shrine, about 1,300 year ago, this is the oldest of the Kaga hot springs. Almost all of the inns have their own source, and the hot spring water contains rich mineral, which has since ancient times been said to make skin smooth.
