A return trip to Kanazawa turns unexpected as an Akiya visit takes a strange turn along a day of castles, museums, and exploring the city.
Kanazawa is usually a calm kind of destination. A place known for gold leaf, samurai streets, craft museums, and one of the most beautifully preserved castles in Japan. But during our latest trip, something happened that we never expected. What was meant to be a simple look at a few Akiya turned into one of the most surprising moments we’ve experienced since moving to Japan.
The full story (including what we actually found inside the house) is in the full video, which is available further down this preview.
A Return to Ishikawa Prefecture
This was our second time in Kanazawa. The first visit happened months earlier with our friend Yoshi, when we were still early in our search for a potential Akiya investment. The city stayed with us. Not just for the real estate, but for the atmosphere. It’s one of the places that feels both accessible and quietly historic, only a couple hours north of Tokyo but with a completely different pace of life.
So we went back. This time with a clearer idea of what we wanted to explore.
Walking Through Kanazawa’s Highlights
Between house viewings, we made time to see parts of the city we missed during the first trip.
Kenrokuen Garden, one of Japan’s three most famous gardens, was calm and open even in the colder months.
Kanazawa Castle, recently restored, looked almost unreal in its size and symmetry.
And the Ishikawa Prefectural Museum of Traditional Crafts gave us a deepened understanding of what makes Ishikawa special, with its detailed and hands-on exhibits that show step by step how Japan's traditional crafts are really made.
It’s a rare city where traditional craft, contemporary design, and everyday life all fit together without feeling forced.
The Akiya Search Continues
We viewed multiple properties during this trip, including the one where we got a real shock.
Like many places in Japan, Kanazawa has pockets of vacant homes that still have potential. The exteriors were typical for the region: tiled roofs, compact footprints, and layouts shaped more by decades of family life than by symmetry or modern design.
But one particular property stood out.
Not because it looked special on the outside.
But because once we stepped inside… we immediately realized something was off.
We won’t spoil it here. The video captures our real-time reactions as we came across something most people would never expect to find during a normal house viewing.
Why We’re Sharing These Akiya Journeys
Akiya exploration is unpredictable. You can walk into a house that looks abandoned but turns out to be structurally sound, or into a place that looks fine but reveals something completely unforgettable inside.
For us, filming these trips is a way to document the real experience:
the travel, the neighborhoods, the local culture, and the unexpected things that happen when you start looking seriously at old Japanese homes.
Kanazawa gave us all of that in one trip.
Watch the Full Video
The full story includes:
- The strange discovery inside an Akiya.
- How the craft museum and castle fit into the day.
- Why Kanazawa keeps pulling us back.
- What this means for our future Akiya search.
We left a lot out of this preview on purpose.
The moment when we found that thing — you need to see it yourself.
Special thanks to Yoshi at AkiyaAir. If you're considering buying a home in Japan, contact us through this form to ask us more about how we did it, and we can help you get connected.
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