Flathead Fishing Watchtowers are a unique, historic cultural element in the Anamizu area of the Noto Peninsula. They were first reported in the West by the young Percival Lawrence Lowell (1855-1916) who later went on to fame as an astronomer at Harvard University, his alma mater. (The Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona was founded by him.) As a young man from a wealthy and prominent Boston family he traveled extensively in Far East in the 1880s, including an overland trilp from Tokyo to the Noto Peninsula where he was one of the first non-Japanese to visit. As a result of his experiences on that trip he wrote "Noto: An Unexplored Corner of Japan" published in 1891. It is in that book that he describes seeing the Flathead Fishing Towers.
This itinerary begins at the Anamizu Station. It includes stops at all the flathead mullet fishing towers in the Anamizu and Hosu area. Several are not easily seen from the road.
30
km / 18.5
miles
-
49
minutes
1.
Flathead Mullet Watchtower - Station - ボラ待ち櫓
Courtesy of Walter L. Keats
Courtesy of Walter L. Keats
Min/Max Time :
5 / 5
Minutes
MapCode :
283 228 028*85
Description :
There is a smaller model of an actual watchtower located on the platform at the Anamizu Station.
A 10 m/33 ft tall scaffold is set up in an inlet to watch flathead mullet. It is made of logs that are combined to form a structure in the shape of a pyramid, and there is a seat at the top. People watch the 25 m²/270 ft² net at the bottom of the inlet, and pull it to catch fish when a school of fish comes along. The origin of this traditional fishing method is not clear, but it was used from the Edo period until the end of the war. In 1889, an American astronomer, Percival Lowell, visited Noto and described the watchtower as being “like the nest of the mythological bird Roc”. There used to be more than 10 watchtowers, but they gradually disappeared due to a decrease in the number of fish, and the amount of time and labor required for fishing. Fishing has not been conducted since 1996. The watchtowers that exist today are for tourism purposes only. They are part of the Noto Satoyama and Satoumi, a Globally Important Agricultural Heritage System (GIAHS).
Courtesy of the Noto Satoyama and Satoumi Digital Archive Website.
Hours :
Open daily 24/7
Address :
Omachi, Anamizu, Hosu District, Ishikawa 927-0026
0.2
km / 0.1
miles
-
(1
minutes)
2.
Flathead Mullet Watchtower - Model - ボラ待ち櫓
Courtesy of Walter L. Keats
Min/Max Time :
5 / 5
Minutes
MapCode :
283 228 028*85
Description :
There is a model watchtower located in front of the Anamizu Library, across from the Anamizu Station.
A 10 m/33 ft tall scaffold is set up in an inlet to watch flathead mullet. It is made of logs that are combined to form a structure in the shape of a pyramid, and there is a seat at the top. People watch the 25 m²/270 ft² net at the bottom of the inlet, and pull it to catch fish when a school of fish comes along. The origin of this traditional fishing method is not clear, but it was used from the Edo period until the end of the war. In 1889, an American astronomer, Percival Lowell, visited Noto and described the watchtower as being “like the nest of the mythological bird Roc”. There used to be more than 10 watchtowers, but they gradually disappeared due to a decrease in the number of fish, and the amount of time and labor required for fishing. Fishing has not been conducted since 1996. The watchtowers that exist today are for tourism purposes only. They are part of the Noto Satoyama and Satoumi, a Globally Important Agricultural Heritage System (GIAHS).
Courtesy of the Noto Satoyama and Satoumi Digital Archive Website.
Hours :
Open daily 24/7
Address :
Omachi, Anamizu, Hosu District, Ishikawa 927-0026
4.9
km / 3.1
miles
-
(7
minutes)
3.
Flathead Mullet Watchtower - F - Parking - ボラ待ち櫓
The actual location of this watchtower is in the water. Parking space is on an entry road.
A 10 m/33 ft tall scaffold is set up in an inlet to watch flathead mullet. It is made of logs that are combined to form a structure in the shape of a pyramid, and there is a seat at the top. People watch the 25 m²/270 ft² net at the bottom of the inlet, and pull it to catch fish when a school of fish comes along. The origin of this traditional fishing method is not clear, but it was used from the Edo period until the end of the war. In 1889, an American astronomer, Percival Lowell, visited Noto and described the watchtower as being “like the nest of the mythological bird Roc”. There used to be more than 10 watchtowers, but they gradually disappeared due to a decrease in the number of fish, and the amount of time and labor required for fishing. Fishing has not been conducted since 1996. The watchtowers that exist today are for tourism purposes only. They are part of the Noto Satoyama and Satoumi, a Globally Important Agricultural Heritage System (GIAHS).
Courtesy of the Noto Satoyama and Satoumi Digital Archive Website.
The actual location of this watchtower is in the water. Parking space is on an entry road.
A 10 m/33 ft tall scaffold is set up in an inlet to watch flathead mullet. It is made of logs that are combined to form a structure in the shape of a pyramid, and there is a seat at the top. People watch the 25 m²/270 ft² net at the bottom of the inlet, and pull it to catch fish when a school of fish comes along. The origin of this traditional fishing method is not clear, but it was used from the Edo period until the end of the war. In 1889, an American astronomer, Percival Lowell, visited Noto and described the watchtower as being “like the nest of the mythological bird Roc”. There used to be more than 10 watchtowers, but they gradually disappeared due to a decrease in the number of fish, and the amount of time and labor required for fishing. Fishing has not been conducted since 1996. The watchtowers that exist today are for tourism purposes only. They are part of the Noto Satoyama and Satoumi, a Globally Important Agricultural Heritage System (GIAHS).
Courtesy of the Noto Satoyama and Satoumi Digital Archive Website.
The actual location of this watchtower is in the water. Parking space is on an entry road. It is a difficult access to the water's edge, so only for the young and adventurous.
A 10 m/33 ft tall scaffold is set up in an inlet to watch flathead mullet. It is made of logs that are combined to form a structure in the shape of a pyramid, and there is a seat at the top. People watch the 25 m²/270 ft² net at the bottom of the inlet, and pull it to catch fish when a school of fish comes along. The origin of this traditional fishing method is not clear, but it was used from the Edo period until the end of the war. In 1889, an American astronomer, Percival Lowell, visited Noto and described the watchtower as being “like the nest of the mythological bird Roc”. There used to be more than 10 watchtowers, but they gradually disappeared due to a decrease in the number of fish, and the amount of time and labor required for fishing. Fishing has not been conducted since 1996. The watchtowers that exist today are for tourism purposes only. They are part of the Noto Satoyama and Satoumi, a Globally Important Agricultural Heritage System (GIAHS).
Courtesy of the Noto Satoyama and Satoumi Digital Archive Website.
Hours :
Visible 24 hours per day.
Address :
Kawajima, Anamizu, Hosu District, Ishikawa Prefecture 927-0027, Japan
The actual location of this watchtower is in the water. There is a parking area to view the watchtower.
A 10 m/33 ft tall scaffold is set up in an inlet to watch flathead mullet. It is made of logs that are combined to form a structure in the shape of a pyramid, and there is a seat at the top. People watch the 25 m²/270 ft² net at the bottom of the inlet, and pull it to catch fish when a school of fish comes along. The origin of this traditional fishing method is not clear, but it was used from the Edo period until the end of the war. In 1889, an American astronomer, Percival Lowell, visited Noto and described the watchtower as being “like the nest of the mythological bird Roc”. There used to be more than 10 watchtowers, but they gradually disappeared due to a decrease in the number of fish, and the amount of time and labor required for fishing. Fishing has not been conducted since 1996. The watchtowers that exist today are for tourism purposes only. They are part of the Noto Satoyama and Satoumi, a Globally Important Agricultural Heritage System (GIAHS).
Courtesy of the Noto Satoyama and Satoumi Digital Archive Website.
Hours :
Visible 24 hours per day.
Address :
Anamizu
Ishikawa
2.6
km / 1.6
miles
-
(4
minutes)
7.
Flathead Mullet Watchtower - B - Parking - ボラ待ち櫓
The actual location of this watchtower is in the water. It requires a fairly long walk down hill to the water's edge to see, probably best for the young and adventurous. Parking space is on the entry road.
A 10 m/33 ft tall scaffold is set up in an inlet to watch flathead mullet. It is made of logs that are combined to form a structure in the shape of a pyramid, and there is a seat at the top. People watch the 25 m²/270 ft² net at the bottom of the inlet, and pull it to catch fish when a school of fish comes along. The origin of this traditional fishing method is not clear, but it was used from the Edo period until the end of the war. In 1889, an American astronomer, Percival Lowell, visited Noto and described the watchtower as being “like the nest of the mythological bird Roc”. There used to be more than 10 watchtowers, but they gradually disappeared due to a decrease in the number of fish, and the amount of time and labor required for fishing. Fishing has not been conducted since 1996. The watchtowers that exist today are for tourism purposes only. They are part of the Noto Satoyama and Satoumi, a Globally Important Agricultural Heritage System (GIAHS).
Courtesy of the Noto Satoyama and Satoumi Digital Archive Website.
The actual location of this watchtower is in the water. Parking space is at the top of a small hill, on the entry road.
A 10 m/33 ft tall scaffold is set up in an inlet to watch flathead mullet. It is made of logs that are combined to form a structure in the shape of a pyramid, and there is a seat at the top. People watch the 25 m²/270 ft² net at the bottom of the inlet, and pull it to catch fish when a school of fish comes along. The origin of this traditional fishing method is not clear, but it was used from the Edo period until the end of the war. In 1889, an American astronomer, Percival Lowell, visited Noto and described the watchtower as being “like the nest of the mythological bird Roc”. There used to be more than 10 watchtowers, but they gradually disappeared due to a decrease in the number of fish, and the amount of time and labor required for fishing. Fishing has not been conducted since 1996. The watchtowers that exist today are for tourism purposes only. They are part of the Noto Satoyama and Satoumi, a Globally Important Agricultural Heritage System (GIAHS).
Courtesy of the Noto Satoyama and Satoumi Digital Archive Website.
