A: Kanazawa Visitors Hosts was established in the spring of 2017 with their accredited area limited to Kanazawa City and has services provided in English only. Applicants for this certificate must have at least a pre-first grade certificate of STEP (Test in Practical English Proficiency) or have a minimum TOEIC (Test of English for International Communication) score of 730.
National Government Licensed Guide Interpreters, on the other hand, are certified to guide all over Japan. LINK was established in 2012 with its members providing services in Kanazawa City, Ishikawa Prefecture, and its neighboring prefectures. To obtain this certification as a guide interpreter in English, for instance, an applicant has to have either the first-grade certificate of STEP or have a TOEIC score of 840 or higher. In addition, services are provided in many languages other than English.

A: While two (2) weeks in advance is usually enough to reserve a guide, it is recommended that you make a reservation as soon as possible after your itinerary is confirmed. Even six (6) months is not too early to book a guide especially for cherry blossom (April) or foliage (November) seasons.

A: Standard rates are 30% of the guide fee for within two weeks of the reservation, 50% for within one week, and 100% for notice given on the day or the day before your tour.

A: The guiding fee covers guiding services only. Anything other than guiding services such as the guide’s transportation to/from the venue, transportation during the tour, admission fees*, meals and accommodation are at the customer’s expense. (*Many facilities exempt guides from admission fees.)

A: Please see below for transit times between Kanazawa and key destinations.
Tokyo: 2 hours 30 minutes by JR Hokuriku Shinkansen bullet train.
Kyoto: 2 hours 10 minutes by JR limited express trains.
Shirakawa-go and Takayama: Please note that Shirakawa-go is located just in between Kanazawa and Takayama and it takes about 1 hour and 10 minutes to get to Shirakawago. And then, approximately 50 minutes to Takayama by a chauffeured car. Although booking is needed, chauffeured cars allow flexibility of both time and route and can accommodate stopping in at Gokayama, for example. Highway buses are also available with required seat reservations to go to these destinations for less expense if you can plan well for departure/arrival times and the time to/from the places you would like to visit. Either way, all our members can provide guide services throughout the tour to those destinations.
Wajima: The transit time to Wajima is 1 hour 50 minutes by a chauffeured car with advanced booking. If you use the “Wajima Go” tour bus operated by Hokutetsu Kanazawa Bus, you will leave Kanazawa around 8:00 AM, enjoy the highlights of Wajima, and come back to Kanazawa around 5:00 PM. This tour includes a visit to the morning market, Wajima Lacquerware Center, Senmaida Rice Fields, Kiriko Lantern Museum, and Chirihama Beach Driveway (subject to weather) with guiding in Japanese. There is also an inter-city bus connecting between Kanazawa and Wajima (reservation not required) to take you to Wajima in 2 and half hours with no stops at major attractions. Our members will be happy to provide guiding services in both cases.

A: Since most of the attractions are located in the central Kanazawa area, able walkers can enjoy the city on foot. You can also use Kanazawa Loop buses with a one day pass which can be purchased at Kanazawa Station for 600 yen. The taxi fare will be 1,000 – 1,500 yen even to rather remote attractions in Kanazawa.

A: There is a variety of traditional and cultural experiences you can enjoy such as making gold leaf goods, painting on Kutani porcelain, wearing a kimono, Kaga Yuzen dyeing, and wagashi making. Most of these require a reservation.

A: There are seasonal geisha events in Kanazawa which you can book online, or you can ask luxury ryokan style inns or ryotei restaurants to arrange a party with geisha for you.