TravelTips24 : Japan : Honshu : Chubu : Ishikawa

Ishikawa

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Ishikawa prefecture (石川県 Ishikawa-ken) is in the central Chubu region of the main Japanese island Honshu.

Culture and History

Ishikawa Prefecture is a peninsula located in the center of the western coast of Japan. Its 581 km coastline is bordered by the Sea of Japan. Ishikawa Prefecture has a rich history and beautiful scenery, which makes it a shame that it isn't visited more often. Perhaps the most well-known city in Ishikawa is Kanazawa, its capital, which also boasts one of the three most beautiful landscape gardens in Japan. Ishikawa has an enormous rice yield (annually, approximately 100 million koku) and is noted for its traditional handicrafts, including gold leaf, lacquerware, and silk dyeing.

Ishikawa is also the home of Mount Hakusan, a sacred mountain. The foot of Mount Hakusan is surrounded by villages influed by traditional Japanese lifestyles. The most northern region of Ishikawa is called the "Noto" region, where one can find an incredible number of festivals, in addition to extensive distances of natural beauty. This region also bodes well for those interested in outdoor sports and relaxation. The Noto region has extensive sky and water sports available. Ishikawa is also well known for its number of ski resorts and hot springs.

Cities

  • Hakusan - Near Mount Hakusan, this newly born city (2005) boasts some of the best Taiko drumming in Japan, with the internationally acclaimed Asano Taiko group.
  • Kaga - the southern-most city in Ishikawa. Well-known for its hot spring resorts and exquisite natural beauty.
  • Kanazawa - the prefectural capital and one of Japan's best-preserved samurai towns. It also has the largest gold leaf production in Japan and boasts one of the three most beautiful landscape gardens in Japan.
  • Komatsu - the second largest city in Ishikawa. Location of the Komatsu Airport, which connects to a variety of locations across Japan, as well as a few international airports.
  • Nakajima - the largest oyster cultivation district on the Sea of Japan. The town is becoming a town known for its theater due to its annual Noto Nakajima Drama Festival.
  • Nonoichi - a city of 40,000 located to the south of Kanazawa. It features an archeological site from the late Jomon period and is facing a rapid increase in population.
  • Noto - features an excavated archaeological site of the early to late Jomon period (Mawaki Ruins Park). The town is also noted for its unique traditional festivals.
  • Oguchi - located near Gifu Prefecture and surrounded by a mountain range, Oguchi features rich nature and traditional culture, such as a kind of classical puppet theater (Bunya Ningyo Joruri). It is also noted for its two ski resorts.
  • Suzu - located at the northern most tip of the Noto Peninsula. It features both sandy beaches and rocky shorelines. The city is best known for its scenic beauty, historic lighthouses, and Mitsuke-jima Island, located off of the coast of the city.
  • Tsurugi - the town boasts a panoramic view of the Kaga plain and the Sea of Japan and offers the opportunity to do various sky sports. It is also known for its traditional wood carvings of the head of a lion-like imaginary beast (shishi-gashira).

Other destinations

  • Hakusan National Park
  • Noto Peninsula — hot springs and rugged scenery
  • Notojima — the largest island in Ishikawa, located in Nanao Bay. It features a bathing area, campground, aquarium, glass art museum, and other facilities.

Travel to Ishikawa & Visa Requirements

Flights and airtickets to Ishikawa

Komatsu Airport IATA: KMQ — Ishikawa's primary airport, located in Komatsu. JAL offers flights into the Komatsu Airport from Tokyo Haneda Airport (1 hour) and Okinawa Airport (2 hours 10 minutes). ANA offers flights from Tokyo Haneda Airport (1 hour), Tokyo Narita Airport (1 hour 10 minutes), Sapporo New Chitose Airport (1 hour 30 minutes), Sendai Airport (1 hour), and Fukuoka Airport (1 hour 15 minutes).

Noto Airport — a small airport located in Wajima. Flights come in from Tokyo Haneda Airport (1 hour).

By train

Kanazawa Station — Ishikawa's largest train station. The train station was recently rebuilt and is a sight to see in itself, with its large wooden Japanese gate, glass, and steel. It is located on the West Japan Railway's Hokuriku Line. Although the Kanazawa Station is not the only train station in Ishikawa, it is the hub from which the smaller cities can be reached.

From Tokyo Station (via Maibara) — there are two routes that can be used to reach the Kanazawa Station from Tokyo. This route takes the hourly Tokaido Shinkansen Hikari train and transfers at Maibara (米原) to the Shirasagi (しらさき) limited express. This takes a little over 4 hours and a regular ticket costs approximately

Destinations in Ishikawa:

Kaga / Kanazawa / Komatsu / Nonoichi / Noto Peninsula /

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This page was last edited at 17:42, on 22 September 2008 by Wikitravel user Episteme. Based on work by Jani Patokallio, Tonya Smith, Tammy Wik and Colin Jensen, Wikitravel user(s) Texugo, Morph and Jinx and Anonymous user(s) of Wikitravel.

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