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Kanazawa in April
Good month: April is at the start of the recommended season (April – May, October – November). Plan around: Golden Week Crowds (29 April – 5 May). Cherry blossom (hanami) and Golden Week can fall this month.
The season runs to the end of May, next month.
2 days in Kanazawa in April · from ₹20,008 for two
Stay, food & local travel; getting there extra
Before you book April
Closures, crowds and rules at Kanazawa this month.
Heads up
Golden Week Crowds (29 April – 5 May)
Golden Week is a run of national holidays from 29 April to 5 May: shinkansen and domestic flights sell out, hotels raise prices, and sights are packed. Book transport and rooms early, or plan around those dates.
What’s on in April
Timing a trip around these changes what you pay and what you can book.
Cherry blossom (hanami)
Cherry trees flower for about a week, from late March in Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka to mid-April in the Alps towns and late April in Sendai; Okinawa's come in January and Hokkaido's in early May. Parks fill with picnics under the trees. It is the dearest and most crowded time of year: book hotels four to six months ahead, and expect Kyoto rooms at two or three times the usual price.
Golden Week2027: 29 Apr–5 May
Four public holidays in a week, when much of Japan travels: shinkansen and domestic flights sell out, hotel prices rise, and sights are packed. Avoid travelling between cities on the first and last days.
What it costs
For two sharing a room; 2 days on the ground, getting there not included.
Budget
₹20,008 for two
- Room a night₹6,050
- Food a day, each₹2,756
- Main sight entry, each₹190
Mid-range
₹44,163 for two
- Room a night₹12,100
- Food a day, each₹6,360
- Main sight entry, each₹190
Luxury
₹1,06,911 for two
- Room a night₹33,280
- Food a day, each₹14,840
- Main sight entry, each₹190
What April does to prices
- Golden Week is a run of national holidays from 29 April to 5 May: shinkansen and domestic flights sell out, hotels raise prices, and sights are packed.
- It is the dearest and most crowded time of year: book hotels four to six months ahead, and expect Kyoto rooms at two or three times the usual price.
- Four public holidays in a week, when much of Japan travels: shinkansen and domestic flights sell out, hotel prices rise, and sights are packed.
Totals cover the room (taxes included), food, local transport, entry and a 10% buffer: the figures the planner opens on. These are typical rates; Tourisma has no month-by-month rates for Japan yet, so they don't move with the month.
Getting there
Fly into Osaka (KIX), 232 km away
Then: Train · 3h (Thunderbird + Hokuriku Shinkansen via Tsuruga)
Flights from India: from 5 cities, one way from ₹24,000
Fly into Tokyo (HND), 296 km away
Then: Train · 2h 54m (Hokuriku Shinkansen (Kagayaki))
Flights from India: from 7 cities, one way from ₹22,000
Routes compared
Entry rules
E-visa before you fly for up to 90 days, about ₹1,300
- Book an appointment at the Japan Visa Application Centre (VFS Global) for your area and apply for the single-entry tourist visa, no more than three months before you travel. Walk-ins ended in February 2026. The visa fee is ₹500, plus VFS's service charge of ₹800.
- Apply 3-4 weeks before you fly: processing takes at least 5 working days. The visa comes as an eVISA (an electronic notice), not a sticker; keep it on your phone and as a printout for the airline and immigration.
- Before you fly, fill in Visit Japan Web (vjw.digital.go.jp) for one immigration and customs QR code. It is optional; paper cards are handed out on the plane.
- At immigration, your fingerprints and photo are taken and you are given the stay the visa allows (up to 90 days).
Carry: Passport with at least two blank pages, valid for the whole stay; Visa application form with a 45 x 35 mm photo; Flight booking in and out of Japan; Day-by-day schedule of the stay with hotel bookings; Bank statements for the last 3-6 months and income-tax returns for the last 2-3 years (the VFS centre's checklist says which); Employees: a leave letter or NOC; self-employed: business registration; The eVISA notice, on your phone and printed.
Indians need a visa for Japan, but it is cheap: ₹500, unchanged when Japan raised its visa fees five-fold for most countries in July 2026. JESTA, Japan's planned online travel authorisation, is for visa-free nationalities and is not due before 2028.
Checked 2026-10; confirm with the embassy before you fly.
Elsewhere in Japan in April
Also in season this month.
- Nagano (Jigokudani Snow Monkeys) · great month
- Beppu · great month
- Fukuoka · great month
- Hakone · great month
- Himeji · great month
- Hiroshima & Miyajima · great month
- Kobe · great month
- Kumano Kodo (Hongu) · great month
Nearby in Japan Alps & Hokuriku:
Want this as a real plan?
Kanazawa in April, day by day, priced for your group.