Noto-hantō

Introducing Noto-hantō

With its rugged seascapes, traditional rural life, fresh seafood and a light diet of cultural sights, this peninsula atop Ishikawa-ken is highly recommended.

Although day trips from Kanazawa are offered, they don’t do the peninsula justice; buzzing through the sights leaves little time to savour the day-to-day pace as the locals do. Unless you’re under your own power, a speedy trip may not be an option anyway: public transport is infrequent. With your own car, the Noto Toll Rd offers a quick, not-too-outrageously expensive compromise.

Noto juts out from Honshū like a boomerang, with few sights dotting its flat west coast; the town of Wajima is the hub of the rugged north, known as Oku-Noto.

Kanazawa tourist information office (076-232-6200) stocks the Unforgettable Ishikawa map and guide, which includes the peninsula. JNTO’s leaflet Noto Peninsula also has concise information. On the peninsula, the best tourist office is at Wajima on the north coast. Telephone information about Noto can be obtained through the Noto tourist office (0767-53-7767) in the city of Nanao (in Japanese).

Particularly in Oku-Noto, you won’t have to look far before you see shops groaning with the main regional craft – lacquerware. A large proportion of Wajima’s townsfolk is engaged in producing Wajima-nuri, renowned for its durability and rich colours. Other good bets are Suzu-style pottery (named for the Oku-Noto town at the end of the peninsula) and locally harvested sea salt and iwanori seaweed.

Last updated: Feb 17, 2009