multiday Noto Peninsula Plus! the Alps Bike Tour

We meet at our hotel in Kanazawa at 5:00 PM. After an introductory meeting and bike fitting, we take a stroll through the city and enjoy a welcome dinner in town.

Kanazawa is a city of half a million inhabitants which is sometimes given the moniker of Little Kyoto, on account of its being a nerve center of cultural life in the region. Kanazawa has great food, beautiful wooden townhouses, and serene gardens.

However, the one thing that Kanazawa is known for, above all else, is its gold leaf craft. In fact, Kanazawa in Japanese literally translates to “gold marsh”. Gold leaf is real gold that has been hand-beaten into a weightless, paper-thin sheet, which is then used in a range of products, from home decor to paintings, and even in food. The small town of Kanazawa makes all of Japan’s gold leaf. So significant is the gold leaf craft of Kanazawa that UNESCO recognizes the Kanazawa gold leaf craft as an intangible cultural heritage of the world. A local delicacy we suggest you must try when in Kanazawa is the gold leaf ice cream, which is, as the name suggests, ice cream with gold leaf on it.

Yet another Kanazawa highlight is the Kenrokuen Garden, considered one of the three most beautiful landscaped gardens in Japan.

With so much to explore, you’ll have your hands full in Kanazawa even before our cycling adventure has begun. This is why we recommend that you arrive a day earlier in Kanazawa to explore some of it on your own. Kanazawa is a 3.5-hour bullet train journey from Osaka and 3 hours by bullet train from Tokyo.

Near Kanazawa, we have the opportunity this morning to visit a traditional soy sauce factory, which is among the tour's highlights. Later, we begin our cycling journey by heading due west towards the Sea of Japan and then taking a sharp northwards course to ride along the beach. The ride takes us to the famous Chirihama Nagisa Driveway — an 8 km stretch of hard-packed sand on which it is permissible to drive and bike. This makes it perhaps the only driveway of its kind anywhere in the world. We stop by the beach for lunch and then continue onwards to our destination, which is the small town of Hakui noted for its silk textile production.

We get on our bikes in the morning and continue heading due north along the coast. The sea is our constant companion on this day, and we cross several quaint fishing villages as we ride along the rugged Noto coastline. A particularly interesting phenomenon we get to observe this day is the fascinating rock formations along the coast, where the turbulent sea has shaped the rocks into interesting shapes over thousands of years. As we near the end of the day’s ride, we might get to catch the sun going down into the sea behind the famous Hatago Iwa, or “married rocks” that are considered sacred in the Japanese Shinto religion. We end the day’s ride at Togi, a town known for its ancient gold and silver mines.

Since Suzu is the northernmost tip of the Noto peninsula, we now start biking in a southerly direction. We bike past fishing villages and white sand beaches, where we get off our bikes and dip our feet in the sand, relaxing for some time. We then get back on our bikes and ride through Noto Jima Island, a small island cut off from the rest of the Noto Peninsula by small strips of the Sea of Japan, forming natural bays. We ride over the bridges that connect the island to mainland Noto, and since it is quiet all around, we get to stop and admire the view of the bay from the bridge. We then ride onwards to our destination for the day, the famous Wakura Onsen.

Wakura Onsen is a system of hot water springs located close to Nanao Bay and was founded over 1,200 years ago. It is one of the oldest hot spring resorts in the region. The large ryokan offers guests excellent baths with gorgeous views. Today don't miss soaking in one of Wakura's world-famous hot springs and catching a glimpse of bottlenose dolphins from Noto Island.

As we head inland by van away from Noto Peninsula, we experience a change of scenery from the ocean to mountain landscapes. Today we shuttle (about 2hrs) inland further to Hida Takayama, the foothills of the Japan Alps! After cycling out of the village, we start climbing on quiet mountain road where we see local farmers working on rice fields. After a pleasant downhill, we meet the Miya River where we are likely see local fishermen at work. The river flows through all the way to our destination Hida Takayama, often described as the little Kyoto because of the similarity of construction and atmosphere. We try some Hida beef here, the local specialty known as one of the best beef in Japan!

Today, we cycle along the Hida Seseragi Highway, tracing the lively mountain streams. Passing through quaint villages, traditional shrines, and verdant paddy fields, we reach Gujo-hachiman, a castle town that thrived during the 16th century. Strolling leisurely along its atmospheric streets, adorned with ancient houses and water channels, we make our way to Gujo-hachiman Castle. Tonight, we indulge in the regional delicacy of Unagi eels, freshly caught from nearby rivers.

Derived from melting snow and rainfall in the central mountain ranges, the Nagara River is renowned for its pristine waters and serene allure. Today, we ride alongside this tranquil river to Mino City, renowned for producing the finest quality Japanese papers known as Mino Washi. Our ultimate destination, Gifu, beckons us with a festive dinner cruise along the Nagara River, offering a glimpse of Ukai, the traditional cormorant fishing method, from the comfort of our boat. (Please note that cormorant fishing is seasonal from May 11th to October 15th. During other times, we enjoy a traditional Japanese dinner at our accommodation instead.)

The tour concludes following breakfast today. For transportation to Gifu station, a taxi ride of approximately 20 minutes is available, costing around JPY 2,000 per taxi. You can take a train from Gifu to Tokyo for 2.5 hours, and 1.5 hours to Kyoto.