Salon de thé Kaikaro
Two-century-old teahouse with a gold-leaf woven tatami room and vermilion-lacquered stairs, still hosting geisha performances.
This guide to Salon de thé Kaikaro in Kanazawa opens with its proprietor, Hanako Baba, explaining a rule geisha teahouses almost never break: regulars only, family only, never a stranger off the street. From there it traces the building back to 1820, when Kanazawa belonged to the Maeda, lords of the Kaga domain and second only to the shogun in wealth, and the purpose-built houses that wealth created for samurai and merchants to drink, listen to music, and forget rank for an evening. The staircase inside is lacquered a deep vermilion by craftsmen from Wajima, a detail worth pausing over before you climb it.
Audio guides are written and narrated by AI.