6 Best Bars in The Japan Alps and the North Chubu Coast, Japan

Located in the Ichibangai bar and restaurant district, this cluster of a dozen covered food stalls, each with counters that barely seat six or seven people, is a great place to try Hida-gyu beef, Takayama ramen, yakitori, and other dishes that pair well with Takayama's sake. You'll probably end up chatting with locals too.

This jazz bar has been popular with locals since the 1970s. Sit at the bar or on the corner sofas and choose from the extensive list of cocktails. Eonta is in a quasi-dilapidated two-story building a few blocks southeast of the castle.

Run by two French brothers, Furansu has become one of Kanazawa’s standout cocktail bars. Bartenders can mix classics but will also create unique concoctions, employing everything from local gold leaf to matcha and homemade bitters.

Founded in 2016, the Matsumoto Brewery makes a great selection of pale ales, bitters, and stouts, which you can try, along with guest beers, and simple bar bites at this taproom in the sleek Media Garden complex, halfway between the station and Nakamachi. They also have a smaller taproom in an old kura in Nakamachi (closed Tuesday), although that closes by 7 pm.

Kanazawa’s first craft brewer when it launched in 2016, Oriental Brewing has several pubs in Kanzawa and Toyama, including this main branch in Higashiyama, near Higashi-Chaya. The eight taps here always include a mix of domestic guest brews and Oriental’s own creations—things like wheat beer with spicy sansho pepper and stout using locally roasted tea—all served in 350 ml glasses. To go with that, they also serve Neapolitan-style pizzas.

Two blocks east and one block south of the city hall, you'll find this bar, popular with the foreign locals.