2 days/1 night from Tokyo to Kanazawa enough?

I already have 5 full days in Tokyo on a 21 day/20 day itinerary. Instead of spending another 2 days in Tokyo, I am considering traveling to Kanazawa on the earliest train, arriving at around 9am, explore the town and leave the following day. Kenrokuen and good food are my top reasons.

- Catch the earliest Kagayaki train that would arrive at Kanazawa at 8:46 AM
- Explore Higashi Chaya District, Omicho Market
- Spend the night at a ryokan
- Visit Kenrokuen for the sunrise
- Continue exploration
- Return to Tokyo for dinner.

May I ask which season you will be traveling to Kanazawa? The fall and spring are especially beautiful in Kanazawa with its both major and other smaller parks. I think two days will give you a good idea about the city. The castle and garden are sure both nice but I also very much enjoyed its museums including DT Suzuki Museum. I wrote about my days in Kanazawa here if that would help: https://bizarrejourneys.com/kanazawa/

Lots of people do Kanazawa as an overnight from Tokyo, especially weekend trips.

Sounds good. With getting up so early you�fll have enough time in Kanazawa. For the Ryokan just plan that you�fll need to checkin early. Something like 17:30 ( they�fll tell you) so you can have your (early) dinner there.

This is plenty of time to get a taste as there is plenty to see in this city. Do note that tourism is really taking off in this city so a non weekend date if possible would get rid of some of those weekend crowds

I would be visiting in late October, arriving in Kanazawa on a Monday and returning to Tokyo on a Tuesday.

Kanazawa has lots of museums which are worth visiting, but be careful as some are closed on a Monday or Tuesday. Just checking before you leave which day each museum is open. For example, the DT Sukuki building was closed when I went, but I could still see the outside.

Monday/Tuesday should be a good time and it should have cooled down to a really nice temperature around then...

Some posts I made of Kanazawa are below. Feel free to look at them or ignore them..

https://www.japan-guide.com/community/mfedley/report-3279
https://www.japan-guide.com/community/mfedley/report-3280
https://www.japan-guide.com/community/mfedley/report-3281

Where else are you going? Kanazawa could work well as a stopover between Tokyo and Kansai, to save travel time.

Unfortunately, this is a last minute tack-on to my itinerary since I had 2 days left on my rail pass as well. This is the portion of my trip where I send a few days in Tokyo before departing the country. I would have already been to the Kansai region for 7 days in an earlier portion of my trip.

Are your exact dates the 21st and 22nd or the 28th and 29th of October 2019?

The 21st and 22nd. Many museums are closed on Mondays and the 22nd is a national holiday (Emperor Enthronement Ceremony) but my main attraction of interest, Kenrokuen, has no closing days.