Toyama · TakaokaNo.480★Open in map →

Kanayamachi Foundry Quarter

localOff the trail — and worth it

The oldest quarter of Takaoka, built for the metal casters the city was founded on. It is one stone-paved street of lattice-fronted houses, still working, and the first casters' district in Japan to be given national preservation status.

FromTakaoka Station north exit (Ainokaze Toyama Railway)
~20 minOn foot from Takaoka Station
Kanayamachi Foundry Quarter

Directions ↗

The sweet spot

Kanayamachi is signposted, listed and a short walk from the station, so it is not a hidden find. What it has instead of scale is continuity: one block, one trade, four centuries on. The workshops are businesses rather than exhibits, and that is the part which does not show up in a photograph of the street.

Where it is

8 more notes in Toyama · open the map →

What to look for — in walking order

Kanayamachi streetMiyuki Meinaka / Public domain

Yamachosujithe storehouse-fronted merchant street passed on the walk in from the station
The Kanayamachi pavingstone underfoot with copper hearts and stars set into it here and there
Takaoka Municipal Museum of Casting Historymoulds, tools, documents and early cast goods from the same block
The casting and pewter workshopsstreet-level ateliers running short hands-on sessions for visitors

How to actually get there

Takaoka Station north exit → Yamachosuji, the storehouse street, on the way north-west.
Yamachosuji → Kanayamachi, where the paving turns to stone and the lattice fronts start.
Work along the street, watching for the copper shapes set into the paving.
Finish at the casting museum, or book into one of the workshops for a session.

On foot from Takaoka Station: Leave Takaoka Station by the north exit, named Kojo-Koen, and walk north-west for about 20 minutes. The route passes the storehouse street of Yamachosuji, so the walk counts as part of the visit rather than a transfer. Takaoka sits on the Ainokaze Toyama Railway between Toyama and Kanazawa, and the shinkansen stop at Shin-Takaoka is one station away on the JR Johana Line.
Return to Takaoka Station: Walk back the way you came. Takaoka is the junction for the Ainokaze Toyama Railway and for the Himi and Johana Lines, so services toward Toyama, Kanazawa and the shinkansen at Shin-Takaoka all start from the same platforms. Nothing on this street is lit for evening, so plan to be walking back in daylight.

Directions from my location (Google Maps) ↗

About the place

The street runs about 500 metres, paved in stone, with wooden fronts standing close on both sides. The lattice is the thing itself: rows of thin vertical slats, known locally as samanoko, set across the ground floor so a house can be shut and still take light. Behind those fronts the workshops still cast and finish metal, and several of them sell their work or teach it. Kanayamachi was listed as a national preservation district in 2012, the first casters' quarter in the country to be given that status.

How to enjoy it

The museum on the street opens 9:00 to 16:30 and closes on Tuesdays. Admission was 300 yen for high-school age and above when this was checked, and free below it; the exhibits plus the short film take about half an hour. The workshops keep shop hours, so a weekday afternoon finds both the street and the trade open.

Background & history

Maeda Toshinaga opened Takaoka as a castle town in 1609 and needed an industry to anchor it. He brought in seven master casters from within his domain and gave them this block to work in. Their trade is the ancestor of the metalwork Takaoka is still known for, and the quarter held its street line and its house fronts through the centuries that followed, which is why so much of it is still standing.

Before you go

Cash: The street is public and free to walk. The casting museum charges admission and the workshops charge for their sessions, so bring cash as well as a card. Nothing else here is ticketed.
Good to know: The museum takes Tuesdays off, and the following day instead when a Tuesday falls on a public holiday; it also closes over the New Year. The workshops are private businesses with their own closing days. The street is stone and open to the sky, so rain and winter snow are felt directly underfoot.
Another way: By local bus, the Kaetsunou service stops at Kanaya, two minutes on foot from the casting museum. By car it is about 10 minutes from the Takaoka interchange on the Noetsu Expressway, with a small car park at Kanaya Ryokuchi Park.
After you get off: From the north exit of Takaoka Station, head north-west through the town centre. Yamachosuji and its storehouse fronts come first; carry on and the paving turns to stone as the lattice houses begin. It is level walking on pavement the whole way.