Find Amazing Festivals and Peace of Mind at Japan’s Noto Peninsula

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Safety and Amazing Destination: Wakura Onsen

NANAO, Japan, March 3, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Japan is on everyone’s list of safe, must-see travel destinations. In Japan’s Noto Peninsula there are UNESCO World Heritage and Japan Heritage registered local festivals that are held every year. Noto Peninsula juts out into the Sea of Japan from the center of Japan’s main Honshu Island and is close to Kanazawa City, a premier destination for foreign visitors.

As it is a remote peninsula, Noto features traditional Japanese landscapes untouched by modernization. There people living sustainable lifestyles abound, and the peninsula’s distinctive heritage is passed on to today, such as rice terraces carved out of the hillsides that stretch right down to the sea, cuisine featuring ancient fermentation techniques, Wajima lacquerware (a traditional craftsmanship known in the West as “Japan”), and UNESCO World Agriculture Heritage. Especially worth mentioning are the many traditional festivals held throughout the peninsula. Monumental parade floats called “Kiriko” are massive towers carried by groups of men from noon until night in dynamic processions full of energy.

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In a fishing village near the main resort town of Wakura Onsen is held a festival called the Issaki-Houtou-Sai, where gigantic 10-meter-tall structures weighing 2 tons are carried by some 100 young men. 6 of the “Houtou” gather in the town center, making this the biggest festival in the peninsula. Held once every August, this energetic festival can now be experienced virtually in the metaverse. By searching for “Amazing NOTO Festivals” using VRChat, you will be immersed into a 360-degree world with actual visuals and sounds from the festival. Or tourists can virtually visit the Wakura Onsen Omatsuri Kaikan festival hall and have their avatar gaze up at a towering Houtou and do interactive festival-related activities. They will be provided with a special opportunity to touch the heart and essence of Noto’s legendary festivals.

Visitors can start planning their visit to Noto, feeling reassured that the people of Japan are taking strict precautions against the spread of Covid.