Kenrokuen Garden hosts tea ceremony from 10 October

Kenrokuen Garden will host part of the Kanazawa Castle and Kenrokuen Grand Tea Ceremony from 10 to 12 October 2026 in Kanazawa, Japan, alongside the garden's local name Kenrokuen. The public event will bring tea practitioners and selected contemporary utensils to four tea rooms around the garden and neighbouring cultural sites.

Kenrokuen Garden tea ceremony runs from 10 October

The three-day programme is scheduled for Saturday 10 October to Monday 12 October 2026. The event is organised with seven tea schools and 12 groups from Ishikawa Prefecture, which will present tea ceremonies using selected new utensils made by craft artists.

One of the four venues is Shigure-tei inside Kenrokuen Garden. The other locations are Gyokusen-an in Kanazawa Castle, Shoto-an at the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa, and the Former Nakamura Residence at Nakamura Memorial Museum. The official event listing places the garden venue and the dates on the same programme page.

Shigure-tei connects the programme with the garden

Shigure-tei gives the event a direct setting within the landscaped grounds rather than leaving the garden as a nearby landmark. Tea rooms, ponds, bridges and changing seasonal plantings form part of the garden's strolling layout, so the October programme combines a scheduled cultural activity with one of Kanazawa's principal historic landscapes.

Kenrokuen Garden covers 11.4 hectares on elevated ground in central Kanazawa beside Kanazawa Castle. Its name refers to six qualities traditionally associated with a fine landscape: spaciousness, tranquillity, artifice, antiquity, water sources and broad views. The garden is designated as a Special Place of Scenic Beauty by the Japanese government, a status noted in Kanazawa's official visitor information.

The Grand Tea Ceremony therefore uses Shigure-tei to place the October 2026 programme within a named historic part of the garden, while the other three tea rooms extend the event into the surrounding cultural district. This arrangement also links the garden directly with Kanazawa Castle and nearby museums.

Visiting Kenrokuen Garden: what travellers from Western Europe should know

• The tea ceremony takes place from 10 to 12 October 2026, with Shigure-tei in Kenrokuen Garden among the four named venues.
• The garden is part of the programme, but the event uses several separate tea rooms, so the relevant venue should be checked before attending a particular ceremony.
• Kenrokuen Garden stands at 1 Kenroku-machi in Kanazawa, next to Kanazawa Castle. From Kanazawa Station, buses serve the Kenrokuen Garden and Kanazawa Castle Park stop, which is about a three-minute walk from the garden.
• The grounds are a strolling garden with landscaped slopes, ponds, bridges and gravel paths. Visitors using wheelchairs can borrow mobility equipment at several gates, while some routes include steeper slopes.
• Japanese is the official language and the national currency is the Japanese yen.
• Entry requirements depend on your nationality; UK travellers can check the FCDO travel advice at gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice, Irish travellers the Department of Foreign Affairs at ireland.ie.

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Frequently asked questions about Kenrokuen Garden

When does the Grand Tea Ceremony take place at Kenrokuen Garden?

The Kanazawa Castle and Kenrokuen Grand Tea Ceremony is scheduled for 10 to 12 October 2026. Shigure-tei inside the garden is one of four venues.

What is Kenrokuen Garden?

It is an 11.4-hectare strolling garden in central Kanazawa beside Kanazawa Castle. The Japanese government designates it as a Special Place of Scenic Beauty.

Where is Kenrokuen Garden and how do you get there?

The garden is at 1 Kenroku-machi in Kanazawa. Buses from Kanazawa Station serve the Kenrokuen Garden and Kanazawa Castle Park stop, about three minutes on foot from the grounds.