1.5 hour private experience
Location: Kanazawa City, Ishikawa Prefecture
Offered in Japanese, with a friendly Deeper Japan guide interpreting in your language
Meet the Masters
What you’ll do
Learn the history of falconry in Japan and how this tradition survives in modern practice. Interact with a variety of birds and witness their training exercises. Join in on falconry training and experience a falcon landing on your arm.
Availability
Everyday
Session 1 (10:30 - 12:00)
Who can attend
Children must be 10+
Access
10 minutes by car from Kanazawa Station
For the Birds
Wings slicing sharp through sky, the predatory bird races towards an outstretched hand. Piercing golden gaze, gleaming hooked beak, and a sleek form that embodies both simmering energy and honed focus, these austere avians once gripped the arms of aristocrats and samurai warriors centuries in the past. Falconry is a tradition that predates written record: from the sparse grasslands of Mongolia to sandy Persian scenery, the practice spread to China, snaking across the Korean Peninsula, before reputedly arriving to Japan in 355 CE. Both a sport and a status symbol, falconry transitioned from a more martially-based activity to one signaling prestige for its samurai a. In the streets of Kanazawa, where the samurai spirit once thrived under the prosperous Maeda clan, the art of falconry continues to live on, a residual trace of noble ferocity. With one of the few remaining falconry masters in the region, interact with a menagerie of birds of prey, from hawks to owls, and witness this ancient practice right up close.
Cancellation Policy
Please make your booking at least 14 days in advance. See cancellation policy here.
A detailed itinerary will be emailed to you once your booking has been confirmed.
