Before you go
Are you planning to go to Kanazawa by car?
There’s one thing to decide ahead of time about parking.
Park at a parking lot with space, and get around the town with a one-day unlimited-ride pass.
Kanazawa City’s website that shows how full its parking lots are, 金沢市駐車場案内 (KANAZAWA PARKING NAVI) (https://www.parkingguide-kanazawa.com/), recommends this approach.
When is it crowded? — Tourist season and the year-end and New Year holidays
Kanazawa City’s guidance says this.
“The city center gets very crowded during the tourist season and over the year-end and New Year holidays.”
Get around town on a pass
The pass is called 金沢市内1日フリー乗車券 (Kanazawa City ONE-DAY PASS). It’s 800 yen for adults (as of 2026).
It covers route buses within a set area, sightseeing loop buses and more.
You can buy the paper pass at the counters at the Kanazawa Station bus terminal, or at hotels and tourist information centers in the city. It isn’t sold on the bus.
On a smartphone, you can buy a digital pass through Norimasshi Kanazawa (のりまっし金沢), Kanazawa City’s digital transportation service.
You park just once. After that, you can get around town on the pass.
※ The parking availability guide and the pass details change from year to year. Before you go, check Kanazawa City’s guide for parking and Hokuriku Railroad’s (北陸鉄道) guide for the pass.
