the square hotel KANAZAWA

Rooms and decor

The Square Twin runs about $97 a night and measures 24 sqm — 6 sqm bigger than the Forza. It is done in natural wood with indigo-and-gold walls and Noto Hiba wood flooring, with two 120x200cm twin beds, Sealy bedding and four duck-down pillows. There is a 120cm desk, plenty of outlets and a Bluetooth speaker. The 5 sqm bathroom has a separate tub and shower plus a Toto Washlet (not a unit bath), with Aesop Geranium Leaf products from Australia. From a 7th-floor room you can see Kanazawa Castle about 400m away.

Food and amenities

The heart of the hotel is the 11th-floor rooftop onsen, with an indoor bath and an outdoor stone bath. It runs on regular water topped up with Kaga salt and minerals rather than a true hot spring — if you want the real thing, head to the Mitsui Garden — but the outdoor bath still pulls in distant mountain and sea views, plus stars at night, and it holds its own. It opens 15:00-24:00 and 06:00-10:00. The sky lounge on the same floor is open 15:00-22:00 for sunset views over the Castle and Kenroku-en, with free-flow wine, beer and juice and a 17:00-19:00 happy hour that is free for guests. The breakfast buffet runs about $17 for 80-plus Japanese items, including Jibuni, five kinds of sashimi and gold-leaf Japanese sweets.

Location and getting there

From JR Kanazawa Station, take the Loop Bus for around $1.40 (about 5 minutes, get off at Musashigatsuji) or walk roughly 12 minutes (900m); in the evening a taxi runs about $5. The building is a black-and-gold-brown square block of 11 floors, opened in 2019, with a 6-meter lobby done in minimal Modern Japanese style — black marble floors, Noto Hiba wood walls, pendant lighting and ikebana in every corner. From the lobby it is a 1-minute walk (80m) to Omicho Market — reviewers suggest going around 8:30 for a Kaisendon (around $17) at Ohmi Cho Ichiba Sushi. From there it is a 5-minute walk to Kanazawa Castle Park, a wooden castle first built in 1583 and restored in 2001, with the Kahoku-mon Gate looking best around 10:00. Another 10 minutes on foot reaches Kenroku-en, one of Japan's three finest gardens (alongside Korakuen in Okayama and Kairakuen in Mito), about $2 to enter.

Things to know before booking

The big trade-off is distance from transit — it is a 12-minute walk (900m) from JR Kanazawa Station, the furthest of the station-area picks, though the Loop Bus and a cheap taxi both close the gap. Rates also climb to around $147 during cherry-blossom season in April and autumn leaves in November, so book early for those windows. And unlike the ANA Crowne Plaza, there is no swimming pool here. You can borrow a bike free from the lobby, which makes the central position even more useful.

Our take

the square hotel KANAZAWA is the pick for couples who want a rooftop onsen, a Modern Japanese design feel and a central base. It scores 9.1/10 across 178 reviews — third-highest in this group — and opened in 2019, so it still feels new. At around $97 it sits mid-pack, about $11 more than the Mitsui Garden but with rooms 2 sqm larger, 4-star service and a free sky lounge. A good fit if you value design, a rooftop soak and walking out to the Castle and Kenroku-en.