Highlights
- 200-plus street performances across the city
- Professional and student jazz bands
- An easy bar-hop between stages in Korinbo and Katamachi
Background & story
The Hokuriku region's largest jazz festival, drawing 100,000-plus visitors to hundreds of street and venue performances by pros and amateurs alike.
Good to know for visitors
- Getting there
- Central venues are walkable or a short bus ride from JR Kanazawa Station. Open directions in Google Maps ↗
- Booking & entry
- Check tickets and details on the official page (button above).
- Paying
- Free street performances; paid special concerts vary.. Smaller venues in Japan are often cash-first — carry some yen (cards/IC not guaranteed).
- Language
- Mostly in Japanese — a translation app on your phone helps.
- Good for
- music fans, groups of friends, culture seekers
Good to know
Grab the venue map on arrival and bar-hop between stages in the Korinbo/Katamachi core.
Frequently asked questions
- When is Kanazawa Jazz Street 2026?
- 19-21 September 2026, Saturday to Monday, with a pre-festival reception live on Friday 18 September from 17:00 to 21:00. The organiser's site listed these dates as of 4 September 2026. The Monday is Respect for the Aged Day, a public holiday in Japan, so it falls on a three-day weekend.
- Is Kanazawa Jazz Street free?
- The street performances are free, and they are the bulk of the festival - more than 200 sets across around 20 locations in central Kanazawa. The special concerts are ticketed: the organiser sells them through Lawson Ticket and Ticket Pia, with sales having opened on 17 July 2026.
- Where is it held, and how do I get there?
- Central Kanazawa. The Korinbo and Katamachi area is the core of the street stages, and the ticketed special concerts are held at the Hokkoku Shimbun Akabane Hall. All of it is walkable or a short bus ride from JR Kanazawa Station. Pick up a venue map when you arrive and hop between stages.
Getting there
Central Kanazawa streets and around 20 venues — Central Kanazawa City, Ishikawa