Abandoned karaoke bar, Kanazawa, Ishikawa, Japan

In today’s Daily Jigsaw Puzzle, we visit Kanazawa, the capital of Ishikawa Prefecture, on Japan’s central Honshu coast ♥

Kanazawa is a city where tradition, artistry, and quiet elegance have flourished for centuries. Nestled between the Sea of Japan and the Japanese Alps, it rose to prominence as a castle town under the powerful Maeda clan during the Edo period (1603–1868). Unlike many Japanese cities, Kanazawa was spared major bombing in World War II, preserving much of its historic architecture and layout.

The city is famed for Kenrokuen Garden, often listed among Japan’s top three landscape gardens. Created for samurai leisure, its name means “garden of six qualities,” combining seclusion, spaciousness, antiquity, and harmony. In the city’s geisha and samurai districts, like Higashi Chaya and Nagamachi, you’ll still find preserved teahouses and earthen-walled lanes.

Kanazawa has long been a center for traditional crafts such as gold leaf, lacquerware, and Kaga-yūzen silk dyeing. This pride in craftsmanship shines through in the city’s cuisine, festivals, and refined aesthetic sensibilities.

The abandoned karaoke bar in today’s image may evoke the past, but karaoke remains beloved in Kanazawa—locals still frequent sleek, soundproof booths to sing after work, alone or with friends.

Back in 1700, Kanazawa was already among Japan’s largest cities, with a population over 100,000—a “Tokyo of its day.” By 1950, it had grown to around 180,000. The population peaked at 465,699 in 2015, before gently declining to 463,000 in 2023, echoing Japan’s aging demographic trend.