Kanazawa Machiya Kenroku

Hitty our host greeted us and showed us through his amazing ancestral home. We loved the small touches like a special floral arrangement and local fresh sweets on arrival. The home was steeped in tradition and had a special quality that made us feel honoured to be staying there. Kanazawa and this accommodation was the highlight of our Japan trip. We will visit again.

Nothing. It was perfect and we wish we stayed longer.

We had an amazing time staying at Hitty's place. He was extremely kind, gave us an entertaining tour of his historical house, recommenced local places to visit, booked a local restaurant for us, and very generously left a few gifts for us. The accomodation is historical, beautiful and well equipped. Floor heating and aircon to keep the house warm in the cold weather as well. Very comfortable stay for 4 adults (one couple in each room). We had a wonderful stay in Kanazawa. Staying at Hitty's was definitely once in a lifetime experience!

The environment is clean and tidy, Mr. Hitty is warm-hearted and friendly, and the space is spacious enough for five adults.

Although the hallway from the bathroom to the room is thoughtfully equipped with air conditioning, it still feels a bit cold on snowy days.

Such a unique accommodation and so cosy and gorgeous. It was fun for the kids to experience samurai culture, and I loved all the little design features and homely gestures.

Nothing. It was perfect for us!

It is one of a kind experience! The kindness of the owner and the excitement to share his heritage with you is something I have never experienced (and I travel all over the world). When you stay there you feel like you are at home, I didn’t even leave the place for a while because I wanted to explore every corner of this house. So traditional, so unique. So much history. Everything you could possibly need for an amazing comfortable stay. From the moment the owner met us and showed around the house, told us the stories of his predecessors and fed us some sweets to the traditional bath and sleeping on the traditional and comfortable mats, having the kitchen and heated floors. And the location is absolutely perfect! Book this place and you will not regret it!!

We had an exceptional stay at Hitty san’s (Host)place. Hitty san was very kind and even prepared a gift to welcome us, which was a lovely gesture. He also spent time explaining the history of Kanazawa Japan, the samurai, and his family, which added a unique and enriching aspect to our visit. The house is very unique and full of fascinating history, making it an unforgettable experience. Highly recommend this place for anyone seeking an authentic and warm stay.

Hitty, the host, was very gracious and welcoming, presenting us with some local snacks. His wife had also made beautiful ikebana displays in the house. He then showed us around his machiya, which kept the steep stairs, tatami floors and shoji walls typical of a townhouse in centuries-past Kanazawa. Fortunately for us the shoji flooring was heated and ac was installed in all rooms. There was a tea cabinet with an ecletic collection of cups and our own means to brew matcha and hojicha, (roasted tea). We also liked the large soaking tub in the wet room, felt very luxurious to have a bath! Hitty also showed us his ancestral heirlooms. He kept in communication before we arrived and offered to make any dining reservations if we required them. In short, we liked our stay a lot.

Hardly anything, if only we could stay longer! Though taller tourists beware, the stairs are quite narrow and steep.

Stayed one night at Machiya Kenroku to break the journey from Takayama to Osaka. It was a nice and pleasant stay at Kanazawa. Kanazawa deserves a visit for her Omicho Ichiba market, castle and Kenroku-en garden. We managed to end the evening with a walk through the Geisha district. Hitty’s hospitality was warm, sincere and genuine. Kanazawa was cold and wet when we visited and he heated up the place prior our arrival. It was easy to communicate with him via WhatsApp. As what many travellers mentioned, he would give a brief history of the house and it felt like a learning journey through Japan’s history on Samurais. This additional personal touch allowed us to know and understand Japan’s history much more! There’s a lot of heart and care put into the house. Every detail was looked into. Bedding was comfortable and warm. This is a traditional house so there is a need to understand that steps up to the bedroom are steep. Japanese houses are small and petite. So movement has to be small and not loud. Not an issue for us but we had to remind the teenagers to be “gentler” with the wooden sliders. What touched us most was Hitty’s graciousness. We broke one of the glasses (we felt so bad about this) and offered to pay for it. Hitty replied with a Japanese proverb, “Something with a form will break someday." And he added, “On the other hand, the memories of your trip and your family will not be destroyed. Have a nice trip 😄”. Once again, we have been recipients of Japanese hospitality, kindness and warmth with our stay here. Thank you Hitty and we wish you well and we look forward to you visiting our country soon!