----------------------------------- sanji Wed Oct 03, 2007 5:02 am Re: Noto Hanto (Ishikawa-ken) [E] ----------------------------------- Attractions on the north part Those interesting spots are located on the north part of the Noto peninsula... Soji-ji (総持寺) at Monzen Address - 石川県羽咋市滝谷町ヨー１ Telephone - 0768-42-0005 Entrance fee - 500 yen Internet - www.t-monzen.jp/~notosoin There is a famous temple in Monzen, the Sojiji temple, which was the headquarters of the Soto Sect of Zen Buddhism from the late 12th century to the early 17th century. While the original temple was constructed in 1321, the present building dates back to 1898, when it was unreconstructed after a fire. Vegetarian food available upon reservation.for reservations in Japanese only. The Sojiji is located just off the 249 and there are signs to help you find your way. Wajima (輪島) 829The largest town on the north of the peninsula, with 30000 inhabitants. It is indeed surprising to drive for hours on very small roads, crossing small villages, to finally arrive in this rather dynamic town on the north coast. There is a river in the middle of Wajima, and the city is famous for its morning market on Asaichi-dori (朝市通り): from 8:00 to 12:00 (closed the 10th and 25th of each month), shops along this street are open and busy selling mostly fish and lacquerware. The animation however disappear at noon, when everything - expect a couple of restaurants and a small supermarket - close down (the picture on the right was taken at 1 pm), so try to visit that place early. Since Wajima is known for its lacquerware called wajima-nuri, you will find plenty of shops selling it - it is beautiful, but quite expensive... A collection of summer festivals called the Kiriko Matsuri is held at more than 100 places all over the Noto Peninsula, from early July to mid September. During those festivals, impressively huge Kiriko lanterns are carried around the towns. In Wajima, the that festival is called Wajima Taisai. Interestingly, when they are not used, those lanterns can be seen at the Kiriko Kaikan warehouse just next to Wajima. The tallest lantern in display is 15 meters high, and 100 men are needed to carry it! Driving along the coast to the east will bring you at Senmaida, a famous spot where the road crosses through the middle of rice terraces. While those rice fields do not cover a large area, the view is quite spectacular, with many small rice fields packed on the top of each others along the sea. In autumn, you also can see how the rice is dried - on tall wooden walls. 830 Sosogi (曽々木) After being defeated by the Minamoto in 1185, on of the survivor of the Taira family, Taira Tokitada, flew to Noto Peninsula and found refuge in that area. His descendants lived in the Tokikuni Residence (時国家), built in 1590. This house can be visited and has a garden. Nearby is the Kami-Tokikuni-ke (Upper Tokikuni residence), built later in the early 19th century, but which is probably more impressive with its thatched roof and nice elegant interior - probably a better choice if you just want to visit one of the two places. The village itself is really small - and there is nothing else to visit. Tokikuni-ke : Address - 石川県羽咋市滝谷町ヨー１ Telephone - 0768-32-0075 Opening hours - 8:30 to 17:00 (9:00 to 16:30 from October to March) Entrance fee - 500 yen Kami-Tokikuni-ke : Address - 石川県輪島市町野町南時国13-4 Telephone - 0768-32-0171 Opening hours - 8:30 to 18:00 (to 17:00 from October to March) Entrance fee - 420 yen Cap Rokko (禄剛崎) at Noroshi (狼煙) The northern part of the peninsula, between Sosogi and Noroshi, is quite atmospheric, with very small villages located on the shore of the Japan Sea. It is worth to stop and walk a little around, just to get a feeling of how things seems to be slow going around... 831 Cap Rokko, in the village of Noroshi, is at the north and east tip of the peninsula; there is a free parking lot next to the harbor, and a 10-minutes walk uphill will bring you to an old lighthouse. There is no really nice view from there, but the white lighthouse itself is nice. It was built in 1883, following the plan of an English engineer, and now stands 46 meters above the sea on a grass field. 832 Where to stay 843Expensive but worth it, Lamp no Yado (ランプの宿) is located at Yoshigawara Onsen (よしが浦温泉) Address - 石川県珠洲市三崎町寺家10-11 Telephone - 0768-86-8000 Internet - www.lampnoyado.co.jp Rooms from 18000 yen per person, including 2 meals. For a full discussion on that great ryokan, visit [url=http://www.secret-japan.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=964]this page in our ryokan forum.