Noto Peninsula: Deep Japan

Japan’s answer to the call of the wild is Noto. Sticking out of the country’s west coast like a small bent thumb, the Noto Peninsula is deep Japan, a place where you can still find scenery, architecture and a traditional way of living that’s been gradually lost elsewhere.

Surrounded as it is by the sea, Noto’s salty existence has been tethered to fishing for centuries. Where the grumpy Sea of Japan pounds the west coast, isolated villages and towns seem to hunker down 24/7/365. The east side of the peninsula has a somewhat gentler coastline and is laced with sleepy, low-lying hamlets that seem to run one into the other.

Move inland just a few meters and the tenacious foliage quickly gives way to dense, endless groves of cedar and cypress that smother the mountainous landscape. It’s like the impossibly velvety forest of a toy train set. Mesmerizing emerald amazingness.

Exploring Noto is a bit of a chore. For starters, it’s bigger than it seems. Slow, twisty roads make getting from A to B, well, slow and twisty. On the upside, it is indeed the journey not the destination that makes it all so magic. At almost every turn there’s another striking view, another untouched traditional home. Another hurdle to exploring Noto is knowing where to go. There’s surprisingly little information available, at least not in English. So you’ll need to put in some time, roll the dice and be prepared to hit and miss. It’s worth remembering that if Noto were easy it probably wouldn’t be as special.