#Eda85daysinJapan | Chapter 4 (Hokuriku) | Kanazawa - D.T. Suzuki Museum

🗓️ 16 May – 13 June 2026

📍 D.T. Suzuki Museum

Another place I spent some quiet time at in Kanazawa was the D.T. Suzuki Museum.

It was my first time there, and it felt quite surreal. The whole place is super quiet and focused — you can’t take photos indoors, which somehow helps you stay present. Learning about Dr. Suzuki’s life and how he transmitted Zen Buddhism to the West was really fascinating.

The museum isn’t just for looking at exhibits. As you move through the different spaces, it slowly turns you inward — from learning about his life through his writings, photos and books, to sitting with your own thoughts in the Contemplative Space.

When I first walked into the Contemplative Space, I was in awe of the design. Outside, the Water Mirror Garden has these quiet, man-made ripples that appear, spread across the water, and then slowly fade away. Watching them, I was reminded of the simple idea that thoughts are a bit like that too — they arise, spread across the surface of the mind, and if you leave them alone, they eventually fade back into stillness.

But because many visitors were coming in at the same time, it wasn’t easy to find the space and time to really let your thoughts settle. You can’t really blame them though — most of us were tourists, and everyone was quite eager to take photos.

So I went back a second time, right after it opened. That quieter visit let me soak it in properly.

Compared to the more open energy of the 21st Century Museum, this place feels much more inward. I liked just sitting there and taking it slow.