Nanao

Nanao was once the economic, cultural, and political capital of Noto province, in what is today known as Ishikawa prefecture. Though it has a history dating back to 718, little remains of the city's past.

The modern city of Nanao was established in 1939, and was expanded in 2004 to include several surrounding towns.

Climate:

The climate of Nanao is much like the rest of Ishikawa prefecture - wet and unpredictable. Though the rainy season lasts from July until August, Ishikawa is notorious for its cloudy weather and sudden rain showers all year round.

Summer tends to see more sunny days with temperatures between 25-30°C, while winter is somewhat mild, rarely dipping below 0°C. Snowfall tends to vary year by year, but one can expect at least a few blizzards in the winter months.

Spring has the mildest weather, where winter has melted and flowers (especially cherry blossoms) start to bloom, and it's not yet as hot and humid as summer will become.

Tourist information site:

The tourist associations of Nanao City and Nakanoto Town jointly maintain a bilingual guide site.

By train:

Nanao is on the JR Noto Line and has local trains coming north roughly every hour from Kanazawa via Tsubata. Limited express trains from Kanazawa stop at Nanao on their way to the JR Noto Line terminus, Wakura Onsen. Nanao is also the terminus of the private Noto Railway to/from Anamizu to the north, and the station shares both lines.

By plane:

Noto Airport (NTQ IATA) a small airport. All Nippon Airways from Tokyo-Haneda are offered twice daily.

Nakajima Taxi, ☏ +81 767-66-0114. Taxi service from the airport to Nanao/Wakura. It takes about 1 hour and costs ¥1,300, and must be booked in advance.

Komatsu Airport (KMQ IATA) is a larger airport than Noto's, and it offers flights to/from a variety of destinations including: Haneda, Narita, Sendai, Fukuoka, Naha, and Seoul. There is an airport bus that goes to Kanazawa station and takes about 40 min and costs ¥1130. From Kanazawa station it's 1.5 hours and ¥1,280 by local train to Nanao.

By car:

Travelling by car is the easiest way to navigate Nanao and its surrounding areas. Coming by car from major cities via expressway, Tokyo is 5 hours away, Osaka is 4.5 hours, and Nagoya is 4 hours.

Entering via express toll roads:

Get off the Hokuriku expressway at Kanazawa East IC (金沢東IC) and take the Noto toll road (能登有料 Noto yūryō).

You can enter Nanao at any one of four toll road exits: Uwadana Yada (上棚矢駄), Nishiyama (西山), Tokuda Otsu (徳田大津), or Yokota (横田).

Entering via local roads:

The #159 and #2 roads head into Nanao from the south.

The #1 heads south-east from the upper Noto into Nanao.

The #160 heads into Nanao from the north-east.

By bus:

While the bus does go most everywhere around Nanao, it should be avoided if at all possible. It's slow and relatively expensive compared to the train.

One out-of-the-way area the train cannot go is the scenic Notojima. You can take a bus (能登島交通 Notojima Kōtsū) there from either Nanao or Wakura stations.