On Route 249

By the Road

Driving around the Noto Peninsula is a delight.  First of all, there is very little traffic.  The roads are well maintained and the signage is good.  Besides being in Japanese, place names are also displayed in Roman letters.  Anyway, these days a SatNav will keep you on the right road to your desired destination.

North along Route 249 is where the Sea of Japan battles the craggy edge of the Noto Peninsula.

Then there is the scenery.  Route 249 north from Wajima, for instance, follows the coast and provides a variety of views of the Sea of Japan, which tends to be rough or at least has a swell with breaking waves.  In the winter it can be very rough though.

Buoy-o-buoy—family fun beside Route 249.

Buoy-o-buoy—an installation worthy of a second look beside Route 249.

Without reaching the northern tip of the peninsula, Route 249 turns east and negotiates a steeply rising loop in the road.  It is a surprise to suddenly find yourself high above the coast and traversing a bridge across a deep valley, which runs down to the sea.

The Kuromaru House is a tribute to the ageless skills of the carpenter.

After passing through a tunnel the road gradually descends and passes close to where the Kuromaru House stands.  This folk house deserves a post to itself.  And will get one in due course.

A little further down Route 249 we come into Suzu.  It is here that the FunaAsobi Gallery occupies and old farmhouse, which is definitely worth a visit. (Search FunaAsobi Gallery on from Noto.  Closed November to April Tel: +81 (0)768-82-3960)

But quite soon this major route turns south and begins to skirt the eastern coast of the peninsula.  More views of the sea ensue but this time it is the calmer waters of the sea proper and the almost enclosed, often mirror-like expanse of Nanao Bay.  Much further on, Route 249 becomes Route 159 and continues southward to Kanazawa.  Before that it is possible to join Route 1 and to wend your way back north to Wajima where you can reflect on all that you have seen.  And to even have a bit of a chuckle perhaps.

“I am sorry for any inconvenience caused”.

Bill Tingey Photo © Copyright

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