Road trip from Osaka to Noto Hanto and back again
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December 24, 2014 - Road trip from Osaka to Noto Hanto and back again
In order to avoid the potential loneliness the holidays can sometimes bring for a foreigner in Japan I planned a 2-day road trip with my friend to Noto Hanto. We began bright and early on the morning of Christmas Eve and made our first stop at Hikone. We visited Hikone Castle and the surrounding grounds, although unfortunately the museum was closed for renovation. Whilst the castle was fairly interesting and offered views across the surrounding area from its perch on top of a hill, it was Genkyuen, the gardens that I enjoyed the most. Whether because of the season or the time of day (just after opening at 8.30am) there were very few people around, and it made for an enjoyable and peaceful walk in the crisp, clear winter morning.
The next stop was Natadera, a Buddhist temple near the onsen town of Kaga. Although I wasn't expecting much from the visit (planned really just to offer a break from driving) it was an extremely pleasant place. The grounds were draped in the previous week's snowfall, and made for a calming and tranquil wander around. Although the steps carved into the rock-side were off-limits due to the slippery conditions it was still nice to just meander around and relax after the expressway, and I'm very glad we made the stop there.
After Natadera and another hour and a half drive along the coastline that was being battered by huge winter waves we arrived at Myojoji, another Buddhist temple, this time with a lovely pagoda. The building and grounds were simpler than Natadera, and the pagoda was the undoubted main attraction here.
From then we were into Noto Hanto proper, and the coastline became more and more breathtaking. The power of the waves caused by the strong wind, the rugged rock and cliff formations and the small towns and ports we passed were really amazing. I have always loved watching, listening to and being by the sea, and this place was really great. Every corner turned and hill crested brought more amazing natural scenery, and it was driving along the coast that was the real highlight of the two days. The views were spectacular and unfortunately my pictures don't do them justice at all, but I thoroughly recommend visiting this underrated part of Japan if you get the chance!
After driving along the coast for a few hours we made it to the ryokan, right out at very tip of the peninsula, called Lamp no Yado. The staff were extremely friendly, the food (dinner was crab served in several different ways along with other dishes) was delicious, and the location was isolated (not a bad thing) and stunning. There was a private bath house with a large window that could be opened to look out across the sea, whose waves were crashing on rocks only a few metres away. The cold night air, the ocean spray and the hot water of the onsen all combined for a really great experience, and I would thoroughly recommend this place to anyone staying in the area!
The next day we set out early again, accompanied by a light Christmas morning snowfall! This time we headed back along the coast to visit a few places we passed on the previous day during the night. First stop was Senmaida, the Thousand Rice Fields. The previous night the fields had been lit up with illuminations, however since it had started raining heavily I didn't feel like stopping to take a picture! In the daytime the place was still pretty cool, and the view across the sea was great. The drive from the ryokan to Senmaida was amazing, again the coastal scenery there is something that I will remember for a long time!
Next up we headed to Wajima for the Asaichi, or morning market. By the time we arrived the market had begun winding down, but there were still plenty of elderly women around trying to sell their stuff, and I can imagine when the market is in full swing there it would have a lovely friendly buzzing atmosphere. After a lunch of great fresh seafood style okyakodon (replacing chicken and eggs with salmon and roe) we visited Kiriko Hall. Like Natadera this place was an unexpected highlight for me. From the outside the building really doesn't look special at all, and so I went in not expecting much, but the sheer size and scale of the lantern floats that are carried around during the city's summer festivals were really impressive (the largest needs upwards of 100 people to carry). The accompanying exhibits about the history of the town and festival were interesting, and the videos and artworks really helped me to get a sense of what it would be like to be there for the occasion.
After the Wajima visit we stopped off at Sojiji, an extremely old temple (I believe some parts date back to the 14th century). Again, the grounds were calm, quite and peaceful, and the temple visits provided a really great counterpoint to the raging seas and rugged rockfaces at the coast in this trip. We also met an old lady serving zenzai (a kind of red bean soup with mochi served in the winter) who told us a tale of the surrounding area and the popularity of a local purple flower with the scent of garlic that people came from all around to pick, which had become (in her words) a sad story of unsustainability as the flower was becoming rarer and rarer. This tale went on for a, ahem, fairly long time and so after finishing the soup we hurried onwards!
Up until this point we had been extremely fortunate with the weather. Heavy snowfall in the preceding week had been cleared to the side of the road, which provided stunning scenery but safe driving conditions. There was a little light snowfall on Christmas morning to make the child inside of me happy, but other than that the only times when it had rained were when we were safely tucked away in the car or ryokan. However, on the way back from Sojiji the weather started to worsen. We had planned to stop in Kaga on the way back to visit an onsen, but as snow began to fall and light fade we decided to head back to Osaka directly. The trip through Fukui-ken and Shiga-ken was an experience, with heavy snowfall on twisty roads. It was here we encountered for the first time a system I hadn't seen before, not previously living in a country with much snowfall. There were miles and miles of pipeline alongside the road which would spray hot water onto its surface in order to melt any ice that may have formed. Unfortunately on occasion this safety measure also made for hazardous conditions, as steam from the road, reflections from the water from oncoming vehicle headlights, and spray seemed to be aimed more at the windscreen of the car and less at the tarmac made driving a little tricky, but eventually we made it back safely. It was a really great trip, definitely something different from my previous Christmases, and I would recommend the area whole-heartedly to anyone looking for a more remote location to visit in Japan.
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2014/12/24 - Road trip from Osaka to Noto Hanto and back again |
