Anamizu and Nakai Bay 穴水と中居湾
Exploring Anamizu and Nakai Bay
The Noto Peninsula in Ishikawa Prefecture offers beautiful walks in rural, unspoilt Japan. The small town of Anamizu and its surroundings, including Nakai Bay, are the heart of this peninsula with its well-preserved secrets...
The Noto Peninsula, unspoiled land
The Noto Peninsula is a part of Japan that is still relatively unknown to tourists . It extends over 100 kilometers into the Sea of Japan, on the island of Honshu. Its east coast, where Anamizu is located, is nestled in Toyama Bay and thus offers a particularly calm and green setting, as well as many very picturesque fishing villages . This peninsula is one of the few places in Japan to have been completely preserved from the destruction of the Second World War and it is still part of a traditional way of life. The region lives in harmony with the sea and is well known for its production of oysters.
To read: A day in Noto
Mitsukejima Island, off the Noto Peninsula
Adam Kahtava
Walk around Anamizu
Anamizu and its smaller bay, as well as Nakai, are included in the larger bay of Toyama. The surroundings of Anamizu are home to beautiful walks allowing you to discover green landscapes and in particular a splendid view of Nakai Bay , which can be admired by climbing near the Chifuki-in temple . The coastal path that leads to this sanctuary also connects many other temples from the Edo period (1603-1868). The village of Anamizu is also home to a small museum displaying beautiful foundry pieces, iron minerals having been mined there extensively in the past. We also advise you to taste oysters , the local product par excellence, or notodon , an original dish consisting of a bowl of rice accompanied by seafood.
In Nakai Bay there is also a famous Bora machi Yagura : a tall wooden structure , a fragile tower installed in the water and on which fishermen settle to wait for the bora , the fate of the local mule.
The best time to visit Anamizu and its surroundings is undoubtedly the summer : indeed, from July to October, the Kiriko festivals take place all over the peninsula. Bonfires, dances, music ... then punctuate the days and nights of the different villages!
To discover: Kiriko festivals
How to access it?
Renting a car is obviously recommended to be able to visit the surroundings in complete freedom. Otherwise, departures by public transport will all be from Kanazawa. Three different bus lines connect the city to the tip of the Noto Peninsula: the Wajima, the Suzu, and the Ushitsu-Suzu, the first having a frequency of 10 round trips per day.
Anamizu also has a train station: you can get there by train from Kanazawa via Nanao . The journey takes 2 hours and costs 3,230 yen (24€80, by limited express) or 2,060 yen (15€80, by local train). Finally, Noto airport (north of the peninsula) is connected to Tokyo with 2 flights per day.
