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Sado | Noto | Kanazawa | Wakasa || Chubu Area: Japan Alps | Mt. Fuji | Pacific Ocean Coast
This is the region, made up of Niigata, Toyama, Ishikawa and Fukui
Prefectures, between the Japan Alps and the Sea of Japan. It experiences heavy snowfall in winter and high temperatures
in summer and is the country's main rice-growing area. Its coastal
scenery, especially on the large Noto Peninsula, is among the
most beautiful in Japan. On the other hand, the area also has
a half dozen of Japan's 16 nuclear power plants.
A craftsman making wajima-nuri lacquerware |
A stone lantern in Kenrokuen, Kanazawa |
Sado Island
The fifth-largest of Japan's islands, Sado has a rich and varied
history. It was a place of exile during medieval times, but prospered
from the early-17th century when gold and silver mines were opened.
The Sado-kinzan gold mines are now a museum, located near Aikawa.
It was an independent province until the late-19th century and
now is part of Niigata Prefecture. The island is a rough H-shape
with a plain sandwiched between northern and southern mountain
ranges. There is a lot of picturesque coastal scenery and people
also visit to see the old customs that live on here, such as the
okesa dance. In 1999, the birth of a rare toki (crested ibis) chick named Yuu-Yuu on the island became the focus
of national media coverage. A popular attraction of the port town
of Ogi is a trip in the harbour in a round, wooden tub-boat. These boats
were originally used by ama (women divers) for harvesting shellfish and seaweed. More recently,
Ogi has become the venue for the annual Earth Celebration festival, held in August. The 3-day festival is hosted by the
wonderful drum group Kodo and features the group playing with top-class musicians from
around the world. The festival attracts hundreds of people from
Japan and abroad. Ogi is also one of the island's ferry ports,
connecting with Naoetsu on the mainland. The other is Ryotsu to
the northeast which connects with Niigata. The trip takes 1 hour by hydrofoil or 2 hours 30 minutes by
ferry.
Noto Peninsula
This peninsula is largely mountainous and there is quite a difference
between its 'inner' and 'outer' coasts. The 'outer' coast is bounded
by the Sea of Japan and is rugged with lots of cliffs. The 'inner'
coast, around and Toyama Bay, has many indents and inlets with great views of the Alps to
the south. Myojoji temple, located halfway up the west coast, and
Sojiji temple, near Wajima on the north coast, are important Buddhist centers (although
the Sojiji site is now a branch temple - the original was moved
to Yokohama in 19911). The coastline near Sojiji is known as Noto Kongo
and is famous for its views and rock formations. The small city
of Wajima is famous for its morning market, held on Kawai-cho
Street, and the high-quality wajima-nuri lacquerware. A few kilometers
east along the coast is Shirayone-senmaida, a scenic terrace of rice paddies overlooking the sea.
Coming back around on the 'inner' coast is the strange-looking
island of Mitsukejima, with what looks like a wig of greenery on top. There is a beautiful
view of the green islands in the small Tsukumo Bay, near Ogi Onsen.
Further south, on the far side of Nanao Bay, is Wakura Onsen
(hot spring resort). With salt water of up to 95 degrees Celcius,
it is the largest on the peninsula and very popular.
Kanazawa
Kanazawa was one of only two major cities to escape bombing during
World War II - the other was Kyoto and Kanazawa is sometimes referred
to as 'Little Kyoto'. Apart from places of historical interest,
like the remains of the 16th-century castle, the old samurai town of Nagamachi
and the geisha district of Higashi, the city also boasts Kenrokuen. Located
next to the castle, it is considered one of the three
best landscaped gardens in Japan. The park was begun in 1819 by
the powerful Maeda family and continues to attract many visitors year-round. The
city is known for such handicrafts as kutani ware (porcelain), kaga-yuzen
(printed silk) and maki-e lacquerware, which can be obtained at the Kanko-bussan-kan
(handicrafts center). Edo-mura is a village of 20 or so Edo Period (1600~1868)
buildings, located in Yuwaku Onsen, about 12km from Kanazawa.
Wakasa
Between Kanazawa and Wakasa Bay, there are a large number of onsen around the coastal city of
Kaga. The most famous are Katayamazu, Yamashiro and Awara. The former
is a modern resort on the shores of Lake Shibayamagata while the others have many traditional inns with beautiful landscape
gardens. The nearby scenic spot known as Tojimbo is made up of spectacular pillar-like rock formations, projecting
up to 90m from the sea. The scenic Echizen Coast stretches for 100km from Kaga to Tsuruga
in Wakasa Bay, with Echizen-misaki cape at its center. Echizen-yaki, sold mostly as gifts
or for the tea ceremony, is another of the ceramic wares of the Hokuriku region. The
area is also renowned for its crab seafood. The Mikata-goko (Mikata Five Lakes) are about 20km beyond Tsuruga and are a popular
recreation spot. They are in the Wakasa Bay Quasi national park,
which extends to the famous Amano-hashidate in Kyoto prefecture.
Fukui is another castle city and the capital of the prefecture. The
existing castle is a reconstruction after the original was destroyed
by Allied bombing during World War II and then again by an earthquake
in 1948. Also worth seeing is Asuwayama Park.
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