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Gardens Calendar Published 2026-11-01

Ropes Against the Snow: Kenroku-en's Yukitsuri Season Begins on 1 November

Every 1 November, gardeners at Kenroku-en in Kanazawa begin yukitsuri — tying pine branches with ropes against the heavy Hokuriku snow. The work runs to mid-December, and the rope cones stay until mid-March.

On the morning of 1 November, gardeners in Kanazawa climb to the top of tall poles in Kenroku-en and begin throwing ropes. It is the start of yukitsuri season — the annual work of tying up the garden's pine branches so that the heavy, wet snow of the Hokuriku winter does not snap them. The ropes go up weeks before the snow arrives, and the finished cones of straw rope, more than anything else, are the sign that winter is coming to the Sea of Japan side of the country.

Why the ropes go up

Snow on the Sea of Japan side is not the dry powder of the mountains. It falls wet and heavy, and a single night of it can load a pine branch with enough weight to break it. Yukitsuri — literally 'snow hanging' — answers with geometry: a central pole is raised beside the tree, ropes are fanned out from its top to the tips of the branches, and the load is carried by the pole instead of the wood. The technique is used on garden trees all over Kanazawa, but at Kenroku-en it is done at a scale, and with a finish, that has made it famous: the garden's own managers note that the result is valued as much for its beauty as for its protection, and the rope cones have become the representative winter landscape of the garden.

Six weeks of work, starting with one tree

Preparations began about two weeks before opening day. The two most celebrated pines — the great spreading Karasaki Matsu and the Gangetsu Matsu — were fitted with seven central poles between them. From 1 November, starting with the Karasaki pine, gardeners stand at the pole tops and hand the ropes down branch by branch; that high work continues until mid-November, weather permitting — rain postpones it. The rest of the garden's trees, great and small, follow through to about mid-December, on weekdays. Only then is the garden fully dressed for winter.

The timing gives November visitors a double season. The maples are turning while the first ropes go up, so for a few weeks the garden holds autumn colour and winter geometry at once. Once the snow comes, the cones carry their white load exactly as designed — and they stay in place until mid-March, when they are taken down again. Kenroku-en is open every day; in the winter season (mid-October to the end of February) the hours are 8:00 to 17:00, last entry 16:30, and admission is ¥320 for adults, ¥100 for children, and free for visitors aged 65 and over.

The other great gardens in winter

If you want to see the craft rather than just the result, come in the first half of November, in the morning, while the gardeners are still working at the pole tops and the ropes are going out hand over hand. After mid-December the work is done and the garden settles into its winter composition — hundreds of rope cones standing in rows among the pines — which keeps its full effect, especially on the days when the snow they were built for is actually falling.

Kenroku-en is counted among Japan's three great gardens, and its two peers handle winter very differently. Korakuen in Okayama enjoys the mild Setouchi climate and stays green and open under winter sun, while Kairaku-en in Mito is planted with some three thousand plum trees and comes into its own at the end of winter, in February and March. Of the three, only Kanazawa must dress its garden against the snow — which is why the first day of November, when the ropes begin to fly from the pole tops, has become a small festival of craftsmanship in its own right, watched by crowds who come as much for the gardeners as for the garden.

Sources

• Ishikawa Prefecture Kanazawa Castle & Kenroku-en Management Office — 'Yukitsuri work at Kenroku-en is beginning' (official garden diary)
• Kanazawa City Tourism Association — Kenroku-en yukitsuri work (event details, admission and hours)

This article was written for this guide from the sources above. Seasonal timing shifts with the weather every year — each garden's own announcements are the authoritative source.

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