Japan Biking – Noto Peninsula

Optional
Tokyo Extension

What is included:

• 2 or 3 nights lodging (our favourite 4-star hotel)
• 1/2 day guide
• City Guide Tokyo (itineraries and restaurant suggestions)

Cost:
2 days/2 nights – US $595 pp
3 days/3 nights – US $795 pp (if doing the 3 days, you can opt for a ½ day cycling on the 3rd day)

Noto

We start cycling right from the airport in Noto crossing from the middle of the peninsula to the northern coast. There is almost no traffic on our route and we’ll stop at a 500 year old temple for lunch. The quiet road passes through rice paddies including  the Senmaida Rice fields, a hillside of terraced rice fields along the Sea of Japan. There are over 2000 small rice fields that must be worked by hand, (senmaida literally means ‘a thousand rice fields’). Wajima is centered around a protected harbor on the Sea of Japan. Famous for its morning market (dating back over 1,000 years) and its lacquerware, the city’s most well known handicraft. We will host a welcome reception before dinner at a local restaurant. Ride Distance: 48 km; 650 m gain or 60 km; 725 m gain.

Wajima

Visit the morning Asaichi (morning market) in Wajima, perhaps enjoying a coffee at a cool bar. Ride along the coast stopping at a Sojiji Temple for an introduction to Zen Buddhism. There were over 16,000 temples across the country when Zen Buddhism was popular and many of these have been restored and interesting to view. After lunch, there is an option to continue to ride through small farming villages back to Wajima, stopping to learn about laquer-ware at a renowned artisanal shop.  We will dine at the fantastic Atelier de Noto restaurant on this night. Ride Distance – 37 km; 610 m or 65 km; 975 m.

Suzu

Bike from Wajima through the interior of Noto, winding along quiet roads and passing through small villages. We will visit a washi paper making studio where you will have the opportunity to  make paper using ancient methods. Lunch will be at a local restaurant along the way whose specialty is Noto beef. Arriving to Notojiso Lodge, you will marvel at the outstanding views of Koiji Beach and the Mitsukejima rock which juts out of the sea; this area was first discovered by Kobo Daishi, one of the most important figures of Japanese Buddhism. Take a hot spring and enjoy dinner in the hotel’s restaurant.  Ride Distance: 50 km; 750 m gain  Hotel – Notojiso Lodge at Suzu Hot Springs

Suzu

Today we will ride around the tip of Noto Peninsula, stopping to learn about salt farming en-route to a lunch venue owned by a former mermaid diver. Women used to free-dive naked for clams while their husbands sat in their boats to haul up the catch. Hike to an outstanding lookout point and then pass Rokkosaki lighthouse and Sanctuary Cape, one of three power spots in Japan, along with Mt. Fuji in Yamanashi and Bungui-toge in Nagano. We head out to a restaurant tonight featuring fresh seafood and other delicacies. Ride Distance: 58 km; 700 m gain

Noto to Wakura Onsen

Ride from Suzu through sleepy fishing villages, forests and pastoral landscapes along the coast, with a morning stop at a strawberry farm.  After lunch at an Italian cafe on the coast, we will continue south and enjoy a tour of a sake brewery run by one of the few female sake makers in Noto and then along a dramatic stretch of coast to Anamisu. From here, we transfer 30 minutes to the hot spring town of Wakura Onsen. The onsen at Tadaya is sublime. This is a free night for dinner and your guides will offer lots of recommendations.  Ride Distance – 42 km;  600 m or 67 km; 860 m gain

Wakura Onsen

Today we bike the quiet roads of Noto Island along quiet coastal roads and past lush rice paddies through verdant landscapes. Wakura Onsen is a hot spring resort town with a 1200-year history. Walk over to the Musee de H and try the pastries at Tsujiguchi’s pastry shop. He was born in Nano-city in 1967 and at 23, became the youngest to win 1^st prize at the National competition for confectionary skills. He studied in France and opened his first patisserie Mont Saint Clair in Tokyo in 1998. You’ll have a free night for dinner and we’ll provide recommendations – there are lots of great options. Ride Distance: 51km; 760m gain or 66km; 814m.

Kanazawa

We will explore more of Nanao region this morning cycling around Nanao Bay, including a stop at a cool coffee shop/café; we’ll aim to be back at our hotel by noon to shower and change (love those onsens) to transfer to Kanazawa for lunch at a unique Japanese/French bistro. Afterwards, we visit Kanazawa Castle, which was built in the 1580s, after the defeat of the Peasant’s Kingdom, Japan’s only Buddhist fiefdom. For our final night celebrations, we will walk through the samurai district and enjoy dinner at an acclaimed restaurant. Ride Distance: 30 km; 315 m gain loop or 71km; 830m.

Departure Day

For those that wish to visit Kenrokuen Garden you can do so OYO after breakfast. Begun in the 17th century, these gardens are celebrated for its classic landscape designs incorporating ponds and streams. You can definitely spend 1-2hours here!

You can depart at your leisure; the hotel will arrange taxis to Kanazawa station – the Shinkansen train gets you to Tokyo in 2h30 or you can reach Kyoto in 2h19.

If you are doing the Extension to Kyoto, you might want to plan to arrive after lunch, as check-in time is typically 3pm.

Optional
Kyoto Extension

What is included:

• 2 or 3 nights lodging (our favourite 4-star hotel)
• Full day guide (tour will include: Kinkaku-ji Temple, Fushimi-Inari Shrine, Kiyomizu-Dera District – Kiyomizu-dera temple; San-nen-zaka quarter, Yasaka Pagoda & Gion district)
• City Guide Kyoto (information and restaurant suggestions)

Cost:
2 days/2 nights – US $595 pp
3 days/3 nights – US $895 pp