Ishikawa Ongakudo is a music hall and performance center which is located right outside Kanazawa Station’s Kenrokuen Exit, or East Exit. The building has three venues: the Concert Hall, the Hogaku Hall, and the multi-functional Koryu Hall. The Concert Hall is used for classical music, chamber music, piano recitals, and orchestral concerts. The Hogaku Hall is used for traditional Japanese music and performing arts, including kabuki theater productions, buyo dance, nagauta singing, sankyoku chamber music, rakugo comedies, and bunraku puppet theater.
Ishikawa Ongakudo Music & Performance Hall
Ishikawa Ongakudo hosts musical artists from all over the world and is also the home of the Orchestra Ensemble Kanazawa who perform more than 100 concerts every year. Because of its location it is very easy to stop by when you are in Kanazawa and check the event schedule. A major annual event is the Ishikawa-Kanazawa Gargan Music Festival, also called Gargan Music Festival, which is held around the Golden Week holiday period with Ishikawa Ongakudo as a main venue. Dates, venues, and ticket prices vary by performance.
The entrance to Ishikawa Ongakudo
The Facilities
The Concert Hall has seating for 1,560 audience members on three levels, and features lacquered walls, a pipe organ, and excellent acoustics. The “shoe-box” shape of the hall is based on a famous classical music hall, the Gewandhaus in Leipzig, Germany. This shoe-box style is said to increase the reflection of sound from the sides of the hall and so produces a particularly rich sound. The entrance to the Concert Hall is on the 2nd floor of the Ongakudo on the north side of the building. Wheelchair access is provided for and there are 8 wheelchair spaces. There is also a bar corner for refreshments, and a cloakroom and foyer.
This kabuki puppet display on the 1st floor has a turntable and recorded sound
The Hogaku Hall has 727 seats, or 691 seats when the hanamichi walkway is used. These include 40 Japanese-style box seats and 5 wheelchair spaces. Because the hall is used for traditional theater productions, it has a revolving stage, lifts, trapdoors, and a movable hanamichi walkway. The entrance to the Hogaku Hall is on the 2nd floor of the Ongakudo on the south side of the building. This hall also has its own bar corner, foyer and cloakroom.
A display of traditional instruments
In addition to the two performance halls there is a Koryu Hall, or cultural exchange hall, which is connected with the 1st floor and basement level near the underground plaza. This multi-functional space is used for exhibitions, performances, dance events, meetings, and other flexible layouts. It can hold 300 people, or 150 people in tiered seating. On the 1st floor of the building there are also some displays of instruments and costumes used in classical music and traditional Japanese music performances.
An ikebana flower arrangement exhibition in the Koryu Hall
Access
Ishikawa Ongakudo is a 1-minute walk from Kanazawa Station’s Kenrokuen Exit, or East Exit, on the taxi-rank side. The Ongakudo has a parking area for 152 cars in its second basement level. The first 30 minutes are free. After that, the fee is 400 yen for up to 1 hour and then 200 yen for every 30 minutes after that. The parking lot is open from 9:00 to 22:00, and there is a 1,000 yen maximum for overnight parking from 23:00 to 7:00. Visitors attending paid performances can receive an 800 yen cap for one parking use on the day. The parking space can be accessed from the east side of the building.
The information and ticket box is on the 1st floor
Telephone: 076-232-8111
Open: 9.00 – 22.00
Ticket Office: 9.00 – 19.00, excluding closed days
Telephone Bookings: 076-232-8632, 10.00 – 18.00, excluding closed days
Article and original photos by Michael Lambe. All rights reserved. Last updated 28-May-2026.
