Born from the spirit of "Omotenashi"
Kanazawa's land gateway

After about two and a half hours on the Hokuriku Shinkansen from Tokyo Station, we arrived at Kanazawa Station in Ishikawa Prefecture. As soon as one exits the station, the softly shaped "Koza-mon Gate" with its spiral-shaped pillars and roof was a sight to behold.
Kanazawa Station is indeed one of the most beautiful stations in the world, having been selected as the 6th most beautiful station in the world in 2011 by the web edition of the American travel magazine "Travel & Leisure" as one of the "14 Most Beautiful Stations in the World. It was a pleasure to start the first leg of my trip here.
After leaving the station quickly, I had lunch at a nearby ramen shop and headed to a café I was curious about before heading to the hotel.

Circulating Museum of Contemporary Art

After arriving at the hotel, I first rented a bicycle and headed to "KAMU kanazawa" to see the work "Infinite Staircase" that I had been interested in for a long time.
KAMU kanazawa is a circulating contemporary art museum where several works are displayed in various locations around the city of Kanazawa. The weather was nice and we rented a bicycle to get around.
The weather was nice, and the temperature and distance were just right for touring around on a rented bicycle.
I looked around several interesting works, but the one that caught my attention the most was "Infinite Staircase" by Leandro Erlich.
The time was divided for each group so that we could watch them carefully, and the visuals were very interesting.

*As of April 2025

Surrounded by books 360 degrees
Library like a theater

We then went to the Ishikawa Prefectural Library, which was featured on the cover of "Casa BRUTUS No. 299," the highlight of our trip.
Designed by Mitsuru Senda, who has worked on numerous libraries and museums, the library opened in 2022 and is expected to receive more than 1 million visitors in 2023.
The four-story atrium hall, which houses about 80,000 books, is as grand and exciting as a theater.
I was just envious of what a luxurious place it was to spend time reading and studying in such a wonderful place.

*As of April 2025

A place that captures the tradition of Kanazawa

After relaxing at the Ishikawa Prefectural Library, guests stroll around the sightseeing spots of Higashi Chaya-gai and Kanazawa Castle, and check into the hotel "KUMU Kanazawa".
Yusuke Seki designed this hotel, which has a tea salon on the first floor reminiscent of a Kanazawa teahouse.
I decided to stay at this hotel just to see the wooden latticework on the ceiling of the lobby.
Breakfast is a Western-style set menu featuring local ingredients such as roast pork from Kanazawa butcher store NIKUO and drinkable yogurt from Noto Milk, which is popular at Wakura Onsen Hot Springs.

The "Talking about Studio with a side of Studio" is a behind-the-scenes project of the Japanese architecture tour. This is a project to meet Studio users in the area and ask them about Studio and its products and services.
This time, we had two people who are extremely knowledgeable about Studio, one of whom is an employee of Studio and the other of whom is probably the most familiar with Studio in Kanazawa.
It was a very enjoyable evening, and we had a very meaningful conversation about the differences in the sense of challenge depending on the client's type of business, the creative situation in Kanazawa, and the way of thinking about working.

Unexpectedly silver world

The purpose of my visit to Toyama was to inspect a facility that I am involved in for work and the Toyama City Library.
When I took the train from Kanazawa Station to Toyama Station first thing in the morning, I was surprised to see a snowstorm from the window of the train. It was a silver world like yesterday when I was renting a bicycle in Kanazawa's warm and sunny weather.
By the time we arrived at Toyama Station, the blizzard had turned into a light rain, but it was much colder than in Kanazawa. After depositing my luggage in a locker, I took the tram to the facility I wanted to inspect.
I was given a detailed explanation and a tour of the facilities, and I was very happy to have this opportunity to meet real people and places that I had only seen on the screen.

Forest-like library peeking through the atrium

The Toyama City Library is located in the "Toyama Kirari" building complex, along with the Toyama City Museum of Glass Art. The library has a collection of about 450,000 general books and children's books, as well as magazines and specialized materials, and was designed by the famous Kengo Kuma.
The distinctive use of wood is quite impressive, but the exterior, with its combination of glass and different materials, is also very impressive.
The escalator located in the center of the library. The view of the library through the escalator was like being in a forest, which was very comfortable.
Unfortunately, the glass museum was closed on that day, so after relaxing there for a while, I went back to Toyama Station again to look for Toyama Black Ramen, which I had to try as a ramen lover.

*As of April 2025