Maria Silva"The Hidden Kanazawa"
My Story
I came to Kanazawa from São Paulo 11 years ago for a one-year exchange program. I never left. There was something about the light filtering through the garden leaves, the silence of the samurai districts, the way craftspeople here treat their work as meditation. I learned Japanese, apprenticed with a gold leaf artisan, and discovered that Kanazawa — not Tokyo, not Kyoto — is Japan's best-kept cultural secret.
Why I Guide
I guide because I remember what it felt like to discover Kanazawa for the first time. I want to give travelers that same feeling — of stumbling into a place so beautiful you can't believe it's real. Plus, I can explain it in Portuguese, English, or Japanese.
My Hidden Gem
A tiny gold leaf workshop in the Nagamachi samurai district. The master, Mr. Tanaka, is 82 and has been applying gold leaf to lacquerware since he was 15. He doesn't take students. But if you bring manju (bean sweets) and sit quietly, he will show you how it's done.
Personality & Interests
Specialties
What Travelers Say
"Maria showed me Kanazawa through the eyes of someone who fell in love with it. The gold leaf workshop was life-changing."
"I've been to Japan 5 times and Kanazawa with Maria was the best experience I've ever had. She's a gem."