{Inter} Cultural Japan

“The fancy took me to go to Noto,” writes astronomer Percival Lowell in his travel book Noto (1891) - and off he went, to a place at that time virtually unknown. The man who would later discover the canals on Mars and speculate about intelligent life on the red planet, seems to have enjoyed wild places and inconvenient travel. Unfortunately, Lowell’s travel account spends more time telling us about the hazards of the trip to Noto, than about the beauties of the peninsula itself. Happily, modern travelers do not face any inconvenience anymore, thanks to the new Noto Airport the area now is only one hour from Tokyo.

[Cliffs on Noto’s Sotoura West Coast]

Noto is an axe-shaped peninsula, with a rugged and eroded (but beautiful) west coast and a more indented, sheltered east coast. Most places to see are on the west coast. Noto’s charms are low-key, but real and the scenery is unspoiled by billboards or pachinko halls - instead you will find sleepy fishing ports, villages huddled together for protection against wind and waves, and a quiet agricultural inland. The best means of transport is a car (can be rented at the airport, or in Kanazawa if you travel from the capital of Ishikawa prefecture) - bus service is spotty and the trains only go as far as Wakura Onsen since the demise of the line to Wajima. There are also tourbuses. See this JNTO pamphlet for more information about how to get around.

Here are the 10 best spots in Noto:

• 1. Sojiji (officially: Daihonzan Sojiji Soin). Soto Zen temple with attractive halls in a meditatively green garden. The buildings are from the Meiji-period, after a fire destroyed the old ones, but the atmosphere is authentic. The temple was founded in 1321 and stands in the town of Monzen (”before the gate,” the town traditionally catering to the needs of a temple). With Eiheiji, Sojiji used to be one of the two head-temples of the Soto School, but after the fire in 1891 the main temple was rebuilt in Yokohama; Noto’s Sojiji was also rebuilt and sitting far from the hustle and bustle of the world, still is a strict training centre for Zen monks. If you reserve in advance it is possible to stay overnight in the shukubo, take part in a Zen session and have a vegetarian meal. [0768-42-0005]

[Sojiji Temple]

• 2. Wajima Lacquer Art Museum. Wajima is the cultural heart of Noto and its most interesting town, although the (in)famous Morning Market with elderly women hawking everything conceivable is a tourist trap. Most of all, Wajima is a capital for lacquerware (urushi) and you can see the best laquerware in the Wajima Lacquer Art Museum [0768-22-9788], both the local Wajima Nuri, as well as some stunning modern lacquer art. You can see craftsmen at work in another facility, the Wajima Lacquerware Center [0768-22-2155]. Another place to visit is the Kiriko Kaikan [0768-22-７１00], a hall housing the giant and colorful paper lanterns used in Noto’s festivals. Those festivals are held in summer in various　places in Noto.
• 3. Gojinja Daiko. Wild, thunderous drumming by men wearing demon masks and seaweed wigs, said to commemorate a ruse to scare off the army of an invading warlord by villagers pretending to be a huge army. The main festival is on July 31 in Nabune, but all summer you can see short performances in front of the (disused) station of Wajima.

[Shimo Tokikuni-ke and its magnificent thatched roof]

• 4. Shimo Tokikuni-ke and Kami Tokikuni-ke. Two magnificent traditional (Edo-period) farmhouses. The local Tokikuni family claims descent from a Taira clan noble exiled here in the late 12th c. Most impressive are the immense thatched roofs. Shimokuni-ke has a nice garden and has just been refurbished. Kamikuni-ke is now being restored; this was the richer house of the main branch of the family, even sporting a curved entrance gable. Both houses stand close together in Sosogi. [0678-32-0075, Shimo Tokikuni-ke]
• 5. Myojoji. Nichiren sect temple in a contemplative environment near Hakui. Founded in 1293, the fine buildings date from the early 1600s when the temple was restored by the Maeda clan. Especially lovely is the five-storied pagoda; the best place to view it is from the shoin, with a small traditional garden in between. [0767-27-1226]

[Futuristic structures of the Noto Glass Museum]

• 6. Noto Glass Art Museum. More than the glass, it is in the first place the hypermodern architecture of contemporary architect Mozuna Kikko (1941-2001) that attracts visitors to this museum. The plan hints at something cosmical. The exhibition features glass from all over the world, including Japanese artists as the internationally renowned Fujita Kyohei; outside also stand various scultptures. The museum faces Toyama Bay on picturesque Noto Island. [0767-84-1175]
• 7. Coast of Noto Kongo, Monzen and Sosogi. Dramatic views of impressive sea cliffs created by the pounding waves of the Japan Sea. Ganmon is a deep grotto in a rock that projects into the sea; Yase no Gankai, a periously overhanging cliff 50 meters above the roaring waves. There are also two “wedded rocks” as in Ise. Several narrow inlets sheltered by high cliffs are said to be places where Yoshitsune, when on the run for his brother Minamoto no Yoritomo, hid with his boat. Some of these cliffs will be familiar to viewers of Japanese TV thrillers, where the last scene in which the criminal confesses is often set at such a dramatic point - a convention started by Matsumoto Seicho (in Zero no Shuten, a story in fact set in this area).

[The sunset at the coast near Monzen is the most beautiful in Japan]

• 8. The sunset from the Sotoura west coast, especially from the area near Monzen, is reputedly the most beautiful in Japan. You look right to the west from here and can watch the blazing sun sink into the sea until the last flicker of light is gone. The red light seems to create a path on the waves that leads directly to the Pure Land of the Buddha Amida… (some people seem to take that literally, so at Yase no Dangai there are many signs warning against suicide!).
• 9. Senmaida (”thousand rice fields”). In a hillside overlooking the sea tiny, terraced rice fields have been carved out, the smallest (it is claimed) only the size of a hat. I guess they are at their most beautiful in spring when the fields are filled with water.

[Senmaida]

• 10. Keta Shrine. One of the greatest shrines of the Hokuriku region, in Hakui. Stands near a sacred primeval forest where nobody may enter at the seashore. Founded in the 8th c., the present buildings date from the mid 17th c. The main hall presents a picturesque scene.

(Unfortunately, there is still little detailed information about Noto on the web - to my regret therefore almost all links point to Japanese-only sites…)

Do you have other suggestions?