This itinerary covers sites in and around Wajima City on the north coast of the Noto Peninsula. You can choose to only follow this itinerary, or you can combine this itinerary with one or more of the "Noto Peninsula" itineraries, and/or "Festival" itineraries, as you like and have the time for. It is not necessary to "drive" to all the places in the city. You may find it more convenient to walk some since some of the sites are close together.
It should take about one-day. Once you select it and save it, you can change/customize it. If you plan to continue on, you can add other Noto Peninsula itineraries starting from Wajima. Although we recommend beginning the string of Noto Peninsula itineraries from the Kanazawa Station (MapCode: 41 558 874*22), you can begin it from other nearby "gateways," e.g. the Komatsu Airport (MapCode: 120 529 748*33) or the Noto Satoyama Airport (MapCode: 283 475 067*52). All have several rental car outlets.
Note that, if possible, we highly recommend you also visit the Shiroyone Senmaida Rice Terraces at dusk for a "light up", if operating during your visit (usually the winter months). You can then still return to Wajima City to see a performance of the Gojinjo Daiko.
It should take about one-day. Once you select it and save it, you can change/customize it.
If you have extra time you can spend any extra time in Wajima enjoying the local public onsen (hot bath) at the Noto no Sho Ryokan at the east end of Wajima along the coastal highway #249. In the evening you should definitely take in a performance of the Gojinjo Daiko at the Noto Wajima Onsen Hotel (MapCode: 283 800 875*25). Nightly performances are at 21:10.
ACCOMMODATIONS: There are a variety of accommodation options in Wajima City where you can spend the night, if you wish. There are considerably less accommodation options, other than local minshukus (B & Bs), between Wajima and Suzu to the east. One of the nicer hotels/ryokans in Wajima is the refined Noto no Sho Ryokan (MapCode: 329 193 788*85) with its own onsen, located to the east of the city proper. Another noteworthy option further to the east is the beautiful Lamp no Yado Ryokan (MapCode: 913 056 436*47), an isolated, 15-room ryokan located right on the northeast Noto coast.
You can also easily reverse the itinerary, if you wish, just by following the MapCodes in the reverse order.
27
km / 17.1
miles
-
56
minutes
1.
Wajima Morning Market - 輪島朝市
Courtesy of Walter L. Keats
Courtesy of Walter L. Keats
Courtesy of Walter L. Keats
Courtesy of Walter L. Keats
Courtesy of Walter L. Keats
Min/Max Time :
30 / 90
Minutes
MapCode :
283 828 226*25
Description :
The Wajima Morning Market (also called the "Asa Ichi") is reported to be over 1000 years old, making it the oldest, continuous local market in Japan. It is open daily from about 08:00 to about noon. The vendors are mostly women, wives of local fishermen, although there are also numerous traditional shops. There is a spot in the middle of the market where people can grill any produce they purchased in the market. There is also a relaxing foot bath. Several of the specialties of Wajima are lacquerware and sake.
Hours :
Open daily 08:00 - 12:00. Closed the 2nd & 4th Wednesdays of the month.
Address :
1-115 Kawaimachi, Wajima, Ishikawa 928-0001
0.6
km / 0.3
miles
-
(3
minutes)
2.
Morning Market Rest Area & Footbath - 朝市御休憩処
Courtesy of Walter L. Keats
Courtesy of Walter L. Keats
Courtesy of Walter L. Keats
Min/Max Time :
5 / 15
Minutes
MapCode :
283 828 198*30
Description :
The Morning Market Rest Area & Footbath provides locals and visitors a place to sit down and relax between shopping and have a nice soothing footbath.
are on display at The Wajima Kiriko Art Museum displays a number of kiriko, the large votive lanterns paraded along with mikoshi portable shrines during the various Kiriko festivals held in various parts of the Noto Peninsula in the summer and fall seasons. From the lavish kiriko decorated entirely of Wajima-nuri lacquer to the massive kiriko, which is the size of a four-storied building, a variety of kiriko welcome visitors.
At the Wajima Art Studio Nagaya visitors can watch craftsmen making various items using the famous Wajima lacquering techniques. Visitors can also make items themselves. The studios were built in 2003 to recreate a craftsmen's area that burned in a fire in the past.
Parking available at the Marine Town Parking Lot (MapCode: 283 829 273*00).
Hours :
Open daily 09:00 – 17:00. Closed Wednesdays.
Address :
66-1 Kawaimachi, Wajima, Ishikawa 928-0001
0.1
km / 0.1
miles
-
(0
minutes)
5.
Yurari Footbath - 足湯 湯樂里
Courtesy of Google Maps - Masato TM
Courtesy of Google Maps - Alejandro Moreno Giménez
Courtesy of Google Maps - Alejandro Moreno Giménez
The Yurari Footbath provides an refreshing interlude to ones perambulations around Wajima City. A highlight of this site is the separate Wandafuro, a dog footbath. There is a parking lot behind the footbath building.
Hours :
Open daily 06:00 – 22:00
Address :
4-169-1 Kawaimachi, Wajima, Ishikawa 928-0001
1.7
km / 1.1
miles
-
(5
minutes)
6.
Wajima Museum of Lacquer (Urushi) Art - 輪島漆芸美術館
The Wajima Museum of Lacquer (Urushi) Art is the only museum in Japan which specializes in lacquer (urushi) art. This spacious Museum displays a number of lacquer art works by various artists belonging to different periods, some of whom are members of the Art Academy and persons designated as "Living National Cultural Treasures". Visitors can also watch video clips related to lacquer art. The Museum has a collection of not only Wajima lacquer art but also lacquer work from different regions of Japan as well as from overseas. The Museum gives an insight into the serious nature of lacquer art.
The Wajima Lacquerware Museum focuses on the lacquerware industry in Wajima. Wajima-nuri is widely accepted as the pinnacle of achievement in terms of lacquer art that has developed in the natural environment of Japan. The traditional heart of Japan is expressed through the tirelessly accumulated techniques of the craftsmen that produce the lacquer art. Both durable and exquisite, it has timelessly expressed the elegance of the soul of Japan. In the museum there are both valuable works on display of the master craftsmen of the past and contemporary pieces that will convince the observer of their unparalleled beauty and technique.
The Sumiyoshi Shrine is one of approximately 2,300 Sumiyoshi shrines around Japan with Sumiyoshi Taisha as the head shrine in the Osaka area. Praying to the gods here is believed to ensure maritime safety, as well as good luck in farming, waka poetry, martial arts, sumo wrestling, and to ward off disasters of all kinds.
The shrine is also the site of the festival of Sumiyoshi Shrine, a torch ceremony held at the delta of the Wajima River in late August each year. The dynamic scene of kiriko lanterns starting to dash to the delta is impressive. The portable shrine is led by drummers wearing goblin and demon masks, and lanterns attached to the top of 4-5 m/13-16 ft long bamboo stalks.
The heart of the Old Fishermen's Quarter is located on the west side of the Kawaharata River, in the multi-block area around the Sumiyoshi Shrine, between the red iron Iroha Bridge and the modern concrete Minato Birdge closest to the harbor. It is an area of rather wealthy houses built in historic style, many of them covered with shiny Wajima lacquer tiles.
The gods of the Sumiyoshi Shrine are believed to ensure maritime safety, as well as good luck in farming, waka poetry, martial arts, sumo wrestling, and to ward off disasters of all kinds.
Courtesy of www.japanvisitor.com
Hours :
Open daily 24/7
Address :
1-115 Kawaimachi, Wajima, Ishikawa 928-0001
1.3
km / 0.8
miles
-
(5
minutes)
11.
Kamogaura Saltwater Pool Parking - 鴨ケ浦塩水プール
Courtesy of Google Maps & Nakahara Yosuke
Courtesy of Google Maps
Min/Max Time :
5 / 10
Minutes
MapCode :
283 858 331*55
Description :
The Kamogaura Saltwater Pool is an actual swimming pool open to the ocean and its salt water. One can swim in the pool or just soak their feet in the pool. It is part of the Kamogaura Pocket Park worthy of a stroll around the rocks and bridges.
The Shiroyone Senmaida Rice Terraces (meaning "one thousand rice terraces in Shiroyone") are the most famous sight along the outer (northern) Noto coast. It consists of a hillside of terraced rice fields along the Sea of Japan. There are over 2000 small rice fields that must be worked by hand, and senmaida literally means "a thousand rice fields". Located along the main road (highway #249), Senmaida is easily accessible and has a parking lot and visitor center for food and toilets.
It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
In certain months in the winter the fields are lit up with LED lights in the evenings. Note that it is quite possible to view the "light up" show after dusk and still have time to return to Wajima for a performance of the Gojingo Daiko.
The Noto Wajima Onsen Hotel hosts nightly performances of the Gojinjo Daiko at 21:10. The performance uses taiko drums but all the performers wear frightening masks, a tradition unique to Ishikawa Prefecture.
The origin of the Gojinjo-Daiko dates back to 1577 when the warlord Uesugi Kenshin invaded Noto Province. As the local people were unarmed, they resisted by beating war drums and wore ferocious looking devil masks with seaweed and bark on their heads in a bid to scare off their enemies. The low sound of drums associated with the rumbling of the earth and caused Uesugi Kenshin and his soldiers to retreat.
Gojinjo-Daiko (御陣乗太鼓) is a Japanese drum which has been selected as part of Wajima City’s cultural heritage (1961) and an Ishikawa Prefecture’s intangible cultural heritage (1963). Playing Gojinjo-Daiko is strictly restricted to residents of Nafune, a small village in Wajima City, where only 250 people live, making it very rare to see a live drum performance, other than here at this hotel.
