Japan Hour: Road Trip on Gono Line (Part 1)
There is still a lot to see in Japan. A spontaneous trip on a local line across Japan. Let's walk freely and aimlessly.
We will surely find beautiful scenery and heart-warming encounters. From the first station to the last, we'll look for places that cannot be found in the guidebook. The locals always know the best places. So all aboard on this trip of enquiry and discovery. This time, the journey takes place in the middle of summer on the Noto Railway which runs along the coastline of the Noto Peninsula. From the train windows, you can see peaceful rural landscape and a fisherman's town attracting travellers.
(Fisherman's town) Let's get off the train at a new station and discover great places in Japan. Is there any nice spot or scenery that only the locals know about? -Look at that! -Amazing! -It's pretty. -This looks like a lake. A spectacular seaside view found through enquiring the locals. (A spectacular view) What is this? -It smells great. -Fish on a boat. Awesome! -Is this a natural oyster? -Yes.
Our travellers enjoy fresh local seafood... Incredible. and traditional craftsmanship unique to the region. About 4.5 million yen. -What? -For four pieces.
Our travellers also face some incidents. The Anamizu-bound train is over there. -What? -That's it! Let's go back! We want to go to Anamizu. Let's go back! The train is arriving! It turns out to be a hectic journey! -It's closed. -They're closed today. This TV show is really nasty. A spontaneous two-day overnight journey with nothing planned.
-Thank you. -Thank you. Bye. Let's get started. Our spontaneous local line journey of enquiry and discovery.
(Nanao City, Ishikawa Prefecture) The journey begins in Nanao City, Ishikawa Prefecture, surrounded by the calm sea and gently-sloping mountains. Wakura Onsen, one of the most famous hot springs in Hokuriku, is located here. The city is the centre of Noto's tourism. (Wakura Onsen) This is where Nanao Station, the first station of the Noto Railway, is located. Let's meet our travellers.
Nice to meet you. Nice to meet you too. -Ms Akai, right? -Yes, my name is Saki Akai. -You're Mr Hidekazu Akai's... -Yes.
For me, he's a legendary boxer. -Sure. -You're his daughter. -Yes, I'm his daughter. -Great. That makes me nervous. Why is that? In the blue corner, we have Daisuke Naito, a former world boxing champion. He currently works as a TV personality.
In the red corner, we have Saki Akai, the daughter of Hidekazu Akai who's known as "Rocky of Naniwa." Another round! She works as a TV personality as well as a professional wrestler. (TV personality and professional wrestler) -Here you go! -It hurts! What are you doing? Here's her special move called Cobra Twist! -What is this? -All right. Now that they're all fired up, they head to the station. This is it. Noto Railway.
This is it. There are not that many stations. These are all the stations? Okay. There are not many stations. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven. Let's go to all these stations then. We can if we want.
We need to find 10 entries, right? -Yes. There not enough stations. -If we go to all of these... Finding one entry per station wouldn't be enough. The Noto Railway has eight stations total, including the first station.
That's the fewest number in the show's history. So our duo will try to stop at all the stations. (Nanao, Wakura Onsen) They'll now head to Wakura Onsen Station, the neighbouring station.
Let's get the 190 yen ticket. Two of them. Thank you. That's so few. Right? Mr Naito? The Noto Railway's ticket vending machine is the one next to you.
Nanao is a shared station with JR. How do we get in? -Which railway are you using? -It's... The Noto Railway. Okay. You're going to Wakura Onsen? I'm sorry but you've got the wrong tickets.
-I'll give you the correct ones. -Did I get it wrong? It's not these? Mr Naito bought the JR tickets. -I'm sorry. -This one is for the Noto Railway.
-Sorry. We need two tickets. -Sure. No problem. -You can only get one at a time. -Okay.
-Sorry about that. -Thank you. The train is leaving soon, right? What time is the train? It's leaving at 9:04 am so you still have time. (5 minutes to the 9:04 am train) The train is leaving in five minutes.
(Noto Railway) By the way, there is only one train every hour. Our duo needs to be very careful not to miss trains. -Let's go. -For this...
-How do we get in? -That's for JR. -Please go this way. -This way? Take the train that's on the platform.
-I see. -It's already here. Thank you for everything. There's no one at the ticket gate. Interesting.
Notoriana? What's that? -There's only one train car! -Yeah. Having only one train car is quite common for a local line. Let's see what they find on their journey. Interesting seats. Yeah. Because they need to go back to Tokyo by the end the day tomorrow, the journey's time limit is set at 4:00 pm tomorrow.
The Noto Railway opened in 1988, taking over the Noto Line of the former Japanese National Railways. To revitalise the community, they made trains decorated with comic and anime characters related to Noto. These trains are very popular. All right. Let's go! (9:04 am) With the boxing bell ringing, finally, our martial artist duo's journey on the Noto Railway begins! What kind of journey do you want this to be? What kind of trip? Well, because we're in Noto and Kanazawa, and since I love to eat, I'd love some good seafood.
-I'd love to try their seafood. -That sounds good. For me... I would love to meet different people. That's important. I get lonely easily. So I like people, even though I'm not a huge fan of crowded places.
Look at that. We're in the countryside. Rice fields. It looks peaceful. When I look around, I notice that I don't see any tall buildings. In the city, you don't get to see this much sky.
-That's true. -Right? Is that the sea? Is it? What is this? -It's a pond. -Is it? No, it looks like a river. Is it a lake? (Akauragata) This is Akauragata, which is a freshwater lake. It is known as a scenic spot in Nanao City. The Noto Railway runs along the eastern side of Noto Peninsula, which extends into the Sea of Japan.
(Ishikawa Prefecture) The shoreline of Nanao Bay has an intricate shape. These are also some islands in the bay. (8 stations, 33.1 kilometres long) The route distance is 33.1 km and there are 8 stations in total. Their goal is to enquire local residents and make an original guidebook with 10 entries.
They can only have a timetable and a map to help them. It's peaceful. I like it.
We need to find entries for our original guidebook. Let's do it. (Wakura Onsen Station) -We're already arriving. -Already? That was quick. I hope to find a hot spring. All right. I'm not sure if there'll be people here.
I'm sure we'll find some people. The town is this way. Let's go. We need to push the button. Interesting.
-We need to push the button. -The doors don't automatically open. And your tickets? Do we give the tickets here? Really? -Sorry. -Thank you very much. Thank you very much.
They'll try to stop at all the stations, and their first stop is Wakura Onsen Station, the second station. (Nanao, Wakura Onsen, Anamizu) It's strange, we'd usually leave our tickets here. Mr Naito? What? -What is this? -At this station... Are you listening? -Sorry. -Listen to me. -Ouch. You surely are a martial artist. -It's not that painful.
I'm impressed. We need to decide how much time we'll spend at this station, -and check the timetable. -That's true. I'm usually the careless one, but you're more careless than me.
Please try to get along! It's about 9:10 am right now. -We took this train. -This is it. -The next train is at 9:58 am. -We only have 50 minutes. Or we can take this train.
Then we'd have two hours here. -Why not take the earlier train? -Sure. Let's find something quickly. Yeah, let's quickly find one. Let's see.
What can we do? What is here? There's nothing here. Don't say such things and go enquire the locals first! Hello. Shall we talk to them? -Can we ask you some questions? -Sure. -Great. -Well...
-Are you a local resident? -Yes. We're visiting this station for the first time. Around Wakura Onsen Station, is there a nice spot or scenery that only the locals know about? -Right now? -It can be a character or a store too. You came at a good time because we have Hoto right now. Sorry? We have large Hotos like that in different parts of the town. -In different parts of the town? -Yes.
There are six of them in total. You should go check them out. -Where shall we go? -Where? From the station, keep going straight. -Okay. -I see them over there.
-It's a festival. -You get to see all of them. They are huge Hotos. -They look exactly like that. -I see.
-Thank you very much. -Thank you for the great information. -Thank you very much. -Nice. We've got a great piece of information. Yeah. -Let's go over there. -We don't have a lot of time.
If we find something very interesting, -we can always take a later train. -That's true. Right when they thought they had a good start... I didn't say anything but...
-Did you fart? -No, not that. I didn't ask anything earlier, but what are Hotos? I thought it was some kind of food. I thought so too, but he was pointing at that image. I wasn't sure if that was what he meant. Look, it says "Hotto Ishikawa" over there. -Hotto? -Is that a play on words? -Hotto... -Is that so?
But... -No way. -That person looks like a local. -Let's ask him. -Sure. Let's ask what Hotos are. Sure.
Really? You'll ask that now? -Yeah. -Here we go. -Excuse me. -Yes? Is there a festival going on right now? No, it will start at 2:00 in the afternoon today.
At 2:00? Okay. Earlier, we heard about these large seven objects you have here. Six of them. It starts at 2:00 today. -Are they not out now? -No. Okay.
What are Hotos? -They're Kiriko. -What? Kiriko. Kiriko? -Kiriko. -Kiriko?
They're called Kiriko in Noto and Hoto in Ishizaki. -What is a Kiriko? -It's something people carry. They're tall.
It's something like that but with more decorations. Handles are attached at the sides for people to carry. -People carry them? -Yes. Is there any place where we can see them? -Right now? -They're not out yet? Are they not out right now? -They're assembling one now. -Where? -You see those lanterns? -Yes. Go straight there and turn left.
-Thank you. -Thank you very much. Bye. -We've got good information. -Yes. It starts at 2:00, but we might be able to see them assembling one.
Sure. -I'd love to see a Hoto. -Me too. -They must be huge. -I didn't know about them.
Shall we just follow these lanterns? Right then... -Welcome. -Thank you very much. Where are you going? -Well... -To see a Hoto?
Let's go together then. We're going to see people assembling a Hoto. He appears to be involved in the festival.
That? That is... It's so tall! -It about 14 metres tall. -Is that not a house? That's not a house? What? It's so tall. The one in the back? It's huge! We've got six of them. -Six of them? -Did you say Rocky? -Yes. -Rocky? I...
-Rocky of Naniwa? -Yeah, just like Rocky. All I could think of was Rocky. -Your father is Rocky of Naniwa. -Yes.
-Sorry, it doesn't matter. -It's fine. -Is this it? -I see it now. -It's huge. -It's huge.
It's huge! Here is a Hoto. In some regions in Noto, they're also called Kiriko. What kind of festival is this? This is... a fisherman's festival. -It's a fisherman's festival? -Exactly.
-We do this to pray for a large catch. -I see. This town has traditionally been a fisherman's town. Large Hotos, some as high as 14 metres, are the festival's highlight. The festival has been held for the past 120 years here in Ishizaki Town, and is called Issaki Hoto Festival. (Traditional summer festival held in Ishizaki Town since the Meiji period) They pray for safety at sea and a good catch. It's a lively festival held in the middle of summer in a fisherman's town.
-That side is the front. -This side? -The front. -Can we see the front? It looks cooler from the front. Excuse me. You look familiar. -Amazing. -Is this the front part?
-I see. -So you carry it here. How do you carry it? -I see. -It weighs two tons. It takes about a hundred people to carry a Hoto. The first entry in the guidebook, Issaki Hoto Festival held in a fisherman's town in Noto. Mr Naito. -We need to go or we'll miss our train. -Already?
-We're leaving. Thank you. -Thank you. Thank you very much. We won't make it.
-I'm not sure. -What time is it? It's about 9:46 am. -So... -9:46 am.
-Well... -I'll go ahead, -and get us tickets. -It's fine, I'll run too. I'm a professional too.
Will we make it? All right. Wait! He is indeed a former world champion. -The light is taking forever to change. -Yeah. This isn't good. (6 minutes to the 9:58 am train) Here we go. All right.
We made it. We did. They made it back to the station three minutes before the train time. This is going to be a tough filming trip.
This feels like a practice. -That's right. -Yeah. I'm covered in sweat. As expected of a martial artist duo, they have remarkable physical strength.
I hope we can sit down. No seats! The train is decorated with characters from the anime "Hanasaku Iroha". Do we go that side? Is the entrance that side? Passengers travelling to Nanao on the Noto Railway in the direction of Kanazawa... The Nanao-bound train is arriving soon. It's very cool! The train is arriving soon at Platform Two.
It's so cool inside. -All right. -It was so hot. Sorry for the commotion. -All right. -I'm hot. So hot.
From Wakura Onsen, the trains goes inland to the neighbouring Tatsuruhama Station. (Nanao, Wakura Onsen, Tatsuruhama) (9:58 am) Do you know any interesting place around Tatsuruhama Station? Any recommendation? Recommendation? Any interesting spot? It doesn't have to be a tourist attraction. A good restaurant that only locals know about, for example. Good restaurant? -We're arriving at the station. -Anything interesting? -We're arriving at the station. -Yeah. On the Noto Railway, our duo is heading to Tatsuruhama Station next.
Do you know of any interesting places around Tatsuruhama Station? Any recommendation? Recommendation? Any interesting spot? It doesn't have to be a tourist attraction. A good restaurant that only locals know about, for example. Good restaurant? -We're arriving at the station. -Anything interesting? -We're arriving at the station. -Yeah.
-I'm not sure. -Any nice spot? Nice spot... -Sorry. -Maybe miso manju? -What? -Miso manju.
-Miso manju? Thank you. -Miso manju. -Great recommendation. -Yeah. Great, he told us about miso manju.
Our duo got information right before getting off the train. What is this? It's a town of fittings. Fittings? What are fittings? Fittings are something like this. They are... something built by craftsmen.
I used to make fittings. Really? I used to work in a carpentry shop. It sounds like there are many interesting things to see here. -Let's check the time table. -Yeah, sure. I see those fittings. -Yeah those. -Even for the station.
It's craftsmanship, isn't it? Impressive. 11:24 am. -This would be good. -Sure.
We can relax a bit. They have 1 hour 20 minutes until the next train. I wonder what we will find in this town.
Yeah. Let's look for miso manju. Yeah, the young man we talked to earlier recommended miso manju. This looks impressive. Where should we go? I have no idea where to go.
Which direction do you think we should go? This way. -Let's go this way. -I see a crosswalk. -We're following our instincts. -Exactly. Yeah. Let's hope that the former world champion has good instincts.
It says over there. Yeah. Look.
Miso manju. He does have good instincts! (Miso manju) Noto's speciality. -Takeuchi... -It goes on for a while. -I see the same sign on that pole too. -I see it too. They must be famous. -Here we go. -Here we go.
Here we go. What? -Noto's speciality... -Noto's speciality miso manju. So it's a speciality. It looks like the store is open.
Yeah. Please ask for permission to film first. -We're on a filming trip right now. -Okay. About this store...
What will they say? -Okay. -Okay. -They said it's okay. -Let's go in. (Miso Manju Honpo Takeuchi) -Sorry for the sudden visit. -Thank you for having us. It smells great. Is this your miso manju? That's right. We sell them in pieces.
Or you can buy in bulk. You have many different things. It smells great in here. Miso Manju Honpo Takeuchi was established in 1970. The store's signature product is, as the name suggests, miso manju. It is the store's original product developed by its founder, and is now a Noto speciality.
They produce up to 10,000 pieces of miso manju a day. Oh, yeah. The skin part is slightly salty. -Yeah, slightly salty. -It's sweet inside. Does it have miso? Yes, we use miso for the skin. I thought you'd put miso in the filling but you use it for the skin.
The bean paste inside is sweet. For the skin outside, since it has miso mixed in, it has a sweet and salty taste because of the miso flavour. -It's better than I expected. -It's very good.
Mr Naito has been wondering about something. What is this store called? -This store? -What is it? Miso Manju Honpo Takeuchi. You're Ms Takeuchi. -Yes, my name is Takeuchi. -Are you the daughter -of the president? -Yes. Yes, I am.
So you're the president's daughter? -Yes, I am. -Please marry me. Wait, I'm already married. Are you married? Not yet. -So you're looking for a husband. -Yes.
You must be popular. -You're pretty. -Not really. The second entry in the guidebook, Miso Manju Honpo, where you can also meet their beautiful daughter. -Thank you very much. -Thank you.
Thank you, it was very good. -Thank you very much. -Thank you very much. By the way, are you two okay with the time? It's 11:30 am now. It's past 11:30 now. What time was the train? (11:24 am) We need to take the next train. You two seem relaxed, but are you sure it'll be okay? Tatsuruhama.
That's right. Let's see. The next train is at 12:31 pm. (1 hour to the 12:31 pm train) Let's enquire around here. Let's do that. Let's enquire.
Our duo is surely being spontaneous. Do you see anybody? -Hello. -There's a car coming. Is there a famous place around here? There's a fitting craftsmen's cooperative. -Fittings. -That place is... They do very fine work.
-This is a town of fittings. -Exactly. Is there any place where we can go see their work? You'll have to talk to the cooperative about that. How far is that? That is... -about 500 to 600 metres far. -Really?
Thank you very much. -Great. -Bye. -Mr Naito... -They walk for about seven minutes. -Is this it? -Are they open? Are they open? It looks dark.
-It looks dark. -That's true. Is it open? -Weird. -It's closed. They're closed today! (Tatsuruhama Fitting Industry Cooperative) Too bad. They're closed on Saturdays. There are so many fitting workshops.
Yeah. Over here, and over there, too. (45 minutes to the 12:31 pm train) -This really is a town of fittings. -Yeah. Is this something to do with fittings, too? "Okano fittings". This is a private workshop. Yeah, this looks like a private workshop.
Mr Naito is very curious. Hello. Can we take a look? Sure. Thank you.
Sorry for visiting so suddenly. (Okano Tategu Kougei) I see. This is where you make fittings. That's right.
Impressive. -This brings back memories. -It smells nice. You've got so many machines. Yeah.
-What's this? -What's this? What? This is Kumiko crafts. -Kugiko? -Kumiko. -Kumiko. -Kumiko. It's very detailed. -It looks better up close. -Yeah. It's manual work.
Is it? Kumiko is a traditional technique used for sliding doors and other fittings. These are partitions in a set of four. The work is done with precision and without the use of nails. Are these very expensive? Yes, they're expensive.
-I thought so. -Yeah. -It takes a month. -It takes a month for one partition. It's about 4.5 million yen.
-Really? -For four of them. -For four of them. -So one million per piece. Yes, one million yen per piece. This is a town of fittings.
We have a 360-year-old history. -In our town. -That long? At the beginning of the Edo period, craftsmen were invited from Owari to restore Toreiji Temple in Tatsuruhama, and villagers became their apprentices, and learned the craftsmanship. That was how Tatsuruhama fittings got started. At its peak, there were around 60 fitting workshops, but now, there are 13 left. This is Nekoma Shoji that Mr Okano, who carries on the tradition, created over a period of three months.
This is the epitome of Tatsuruhama fittings. (Nekoma Shoji can be opened left and right and up and down) Would you like to try assembling one? Can we do that? Let's see. Incredible. This is harder than building a plastic model! Look. This is crazy! Look. Here we have a hexagon.
This is a coaster. -I see. -It's a coaster. For placing a glass on it. I want one. There are 27 processed wooden parts. Our duo tries the Kumiko technique.
(Kumiko experience, 1,000 yen) Do this. You get the idea, right? Yes. Am I doing it right? It looks like a snowflake.
-It's pretty. -Also... Next step is... Over here. Do this. This is interesting. Wow, this is mind-boggling! So interesting.
You do it this way. This is very interesting. Is this how you built the sliding doors that we saw? -Kumiko that we saw earlier? -Yes. -Yes, that's how I built it. -Is that so? Kumiko. Kumiko is a lot of work.
What's your wife's name? Tsugiko. -It sounds similar! -Tsugiko? -Yes. -It's Tsugiko. Very close. Tsugiko and Kumiko. This is hard. I didn't know this was how you'd build a Kumiko piece.
You do it with such precision! It's finished. I finished it, too. Incredible. -My hands hurt. -Mine too.
This is incredible. Unfortunately, this cannot be an entry as it was not a recommendation. But even so, our duo made a wonderful encounter. Let's check the timetable first. Sure, let's check the time.
Five minutes left before the next train leaves. We can take the 1:00 train, right? There's one at 1:19 pm. Really? You'll take even a later train? I wonder if there's a place for a quick meal, like buckwheat noodles. They decide to take a later train and have a meal. Yeah.
Excuse me. Yes. Excuse me.
Do you know any good place to eat around here? Place to eat? -To have a meal? -Yes. I know a ramen shop, but it might be too hot for ramen. That's fine. Do you know a good ramen shop? Yes, let's see. Pass two traffic lights on the street where you came from, and keep straight. -Go for about 300 or 400 metres. -Okay.
On your left side, you'll see the restaurant. -It's called Kohaku. -Kohaku. -It's a Chinese restaurant. -Okay. On the left side. What kind of ramen do they have? I like their bean sprout ramen.
It's salt-based ramen. -That sounds good. -They have other things, too, right? Yes, their gyoza is good, too.
-Nice. -I'd love that. -Is it popular with the locals? -Yes. -Is that so? -Great, let's go there. -Thank you very much. -Thank you. Sorry to bother you. (45 minutes to the 1:19 pm train) Our duo has already missed two trains at the third station.
Are you sure this is a good idea? I see it! -I see it! Great! -I see it. -What is it called again? -Kohaku. I see it! Our duo decided to have lunch near Tatsuruhama Station. What is the name of the ramen shop? Minmin? No, Mimi is a singer. -What was it? -The ramen shop is called Kohaku.
Yeah, it's Kohaku. -All right. -Do you see it? I see it! -I see it! Great! -I see it. -What is it called again? -Kohaku. I see it! They're open.
-Do you want me to ask? -Sure, thank you. They first ask for permission to film. -I'm nervous. -We're filming a show right now. What will they say? They said it's okay. It's fine. -Sorry for the trouble. -Thank you for having us.
Sorry to bother you during the busy lunchtime! I... -Let's split. -I want cold noodles. -Let's split our dishes. -Sure. -Let's order. -Can we order? Sure. -We'll get grilled gyoza. -Okay.
What else? -Bean sprout ramen. -Okay. -And cold noodles. -Sure. Thanks. The Chinese restaurant Kohaku is run by a married couple. It's been a local favourite for the last 30 years. Their most popular dish is the ramen made with lots of pork and bean sprouts.
Their homemade soup is made with chicken and pork bones, and it is combined with the flavours of vegetables and meat. (Soup made with chicken and pork bones) Their salt-based ramen is light and appetizing. It's perfect for the summer! -Be careful, it's hot. -Okay. -Here. -Thank you very much. Look at the bean sprouts. (Bean sprout ramen, 550 yen) -Can we get small plates? -Sure.
-Thank you for it. -Thank you for it. Try the soup. Thank you very much. It's lightly seasoned and I like it.
It's good. I like local Chinese restaurants like this. -It's old-fashioned and I like it. -Me too. (Grilled gyoza) Their gyoza is also handmade. Their dishes are all filling and reasonably priced.
(Cold noodles, 650 yen) It has a lot of vegetables, too. Yeah. The third entry in the guidebook, Chinese restaurant Kohaku, with their excellent ramen. Thank you for the food.
Thank you, it was delicious. Thank you very much, bye. Thank you very much.
It's hot. 1:30 pm? 1:21 pm? 20... 20 something, right? We should be fine. You two are not remembering the train departure time correctly. Please hurry or you'll miss the train. -We should be fine. -We should.
What's going on? Nice timing. The train. Is this it? It's at 1:19 pm. -So... -This is the train!
-Is this it? -Let's go! -We need tickets. -Oh, no! -Let's buy tickets on the train. -All right. You're so fast! Sorry! Is this the Anamizu-bound train? No, that one is the Anamizu-bound train. -That's our train! Sorry! -I'm sorry! We want to go to Anamizu. -Let's go back! -Let's go back! Sorry! The train is arriving! -Here it comes! -You're so fast! They got the trains mixed up. Please be careful.
We can get tickets on the train. Such cute decoration! So cute! Our duo made it to the 1:19 pm train. On their journey to stop at all stations of the Noto Railway, our duo is near the halfway point now. The next station is Kasashiho Station.
(1:19 pm) Could you take a photo of us? Sure. Here we go. Say cheese.
-You got it? Thanks. -Thank you very much. Let's see. It looks good.
I look very feminine. It's the sea! -That's right. -It's the sea. It's so pretty. -Yeah. -It's the sea. Students who live around here get to see this every day. I'm jealous.
I wish this had been on the way to my school. The small, single-car train runs slowly along the shores of Nanao Bay, surrounded by greenery. It's going very fast! I wish the route was a bit longer.
How many stations have we visited and how many entries? Only three of them. This is our fourth station. It's our fourth station, and we've only found three entries so far. -This isn't good. -This isn't good. -I forgot. -Hoping to find more entries,
our duo gets off at Kasashiho Station. (Nanao, Kasashiho, Anamizu) It's 1:30 pm right now. We have about an hour.
-2:33 pm. -Okay. -Either the one at 2:30 pm or 3:30 pm. -Sure. -It depends on what we find here. -Sure. It looks like there's not much here. -This isn't good. -Don't be so honest.
I'm a bit worried. But look! We have the view of the sea. I wonder if we're close to the sea. -I want to go to the sea. -Yeah, why don't we go that way? There's nobody around.
-Nobody. -This is a bike parking space. But nobody has come to the station. Just one person.
There's only one bike. They've got a bad feeling. This isn't good. Look at the bus schedule.
Only two buses a day? Two buses in the morning, and two in the afternoon. The last bus is at 3:00. But we can see the sea. Are we right by the sea? Let's go.
Let's go. At the sea, since it's summer vacation, people might be there. -I see. A car just passed. -People might be hanging out.
Incredible! -Look at the sea. -Amazing! There are no waves. -It's very calm. -Yeah. Maybe because it's by the bay.
-It's pretty. -It looks like a lake. Yeah. I want to go fishing and swimming. The waters are really calm.
I want to fish. This is a nice place. Yeah.
Time passes gently. Noto in summer makes you want to relax for a while. They first look for people to enquire. (43 minutes to the 2:33 pm train, 1 hour 53 minutes to the 3:43 pm train) -It's so hot! -I knew you'd say that.
I wonder if there's any nice spot to visit here. -I don't think so. -Me either. This isn't good. Yeah. It's so hot! They're having trouble finding people. It's so hot.
I hear some voices. Hello. -Oh, wait. -It's you! -You're that guy. -That guy. Impressive.
Can we ask you some questions? Sorry, I'll get changed. I need to fix my hair. -It's fine. It looks good. -It's fine. Don't film me much. -It's fine. -We have a question. Do you know any interesting place around here? Or any nice spot that you think we should visit? -Nice spot? -Yes.
Is there anything? -It can be scenery. -Or a place where we can cool off. A place to cool off. -Place to cool off. -Let's see.
Any nice places? You can sit in our house and cool off. We've got nice breeze through our house. -Really? -Why don't you come in? Are you sure? Please show us your house. -Thank you for having us. -Come on in. Impressive. -Thank you for having us. -You've got a big house.
Is it okay that we have a filming crew with us? -No problem. -It's fine. If you see something weird, cut it. If there's anything you don't want us to film, let us know. This isn't good. This is a great house.
-Over here... -This way? Wow, this is wonderful! It's pretty. Nice breeze. It's cool here. We can see the sea, fields, -and mountains. -Let's sit down.
-This is relaxing. -This is nice. -I like it. -Here... I'm sure you can see the stars very well at night. Yeah, we can. If you look straight ahead, that's Wakura Onsen.
-Wakura Onsen. -Kagaya is the number one inn in Japan. It's great that you can see it from your house. I usually have a drink while looking at Kagaya. That sounds nice. While looking at Kagaya...
-Nice. -Do you want ice cream? -I'd love some. -Hey, can you bring some ice cream over? Ice cream. Thank you very much for your kindness. -Thank you very much. -Thank you.
-What's this? -This is... -It's sports drink. -Nice. This is very nice. -Is that okay? -Thank you. Is that a monaka? -Here you go. -Thank you very much.
I don't want one. Have you been living in this town for many years? -Not really. -How did you two meet? It was an arranged marriage. -Arranged marriage. -Really?
-Yeah. -Did you go to different schools? -No, same school. -Really? Same middle school.
(He was a Captain of the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force) Mr and Mrs Wakimoto has been married for 38 years now. Shinichi is a former Captain of the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force. In recognition of his achievements and contributions, he was awarded a medal. (Received a medal at the Imperial Palace last year) What are the places that you two love in this town? -Any nice place? -Do you know any nice place? Nice place? A spot with a good view -or somewhere romantic. -Let's see.
-We can't go that far. -It has to be around here. -Around this area. -What about Karashima? -Karashima would be good. -There's an island called Karashima.
-Really? -Can we go there? -Yes you can, it's connected by land. -But it's an island. Is it nearby? Yes, it's nearby. -It was in Manyoshu (oldest poetry collection). -Manyoshu? -It's a place with a long history then. -Yes.
Is it very close? It's very close. -How far is it by car? -About five minutes. -We'd love to go there. -Can you take us there? -Sure. -We'd love to go. We're sorry for the trouble.
Bye. -See you later. -See you later. -Thank you very much. -Thank you very much. I'll come back if I have a chance. Yeah, come back anytime. Thank you.
Bye. Thank you! Bye! After a five-minute drive, they arrive at Karashima, which is now connected by land. -This way. -Thank you. This is how it looks. This is an interesting landscape.
-Nice! I like this place. -Wonderful. (Kasashiho Station) On the journey on the Noto Railway, our duo visits Karashima, guided by a lady they met in Kasashiho. -This way. -Thank you. This is how it looks. Is this Karashima? This is Karashima Shrine. It's also called Karashima Forest. It's impressive. There is a tunnel of trees.
Suddenly, it got cooler. What's the first thing that they see? Here is the shrine. Look at this. Is this called Karashima Shrine? A portable shrine gets taken out by boat from here. We had a festival last week.
I see some Komainu (lion-like creatures guarding a shrine). What's over there? -It's the sea. -Great, we have a view of the sea! That's wonderful! This is such a unique landscape. Normally, you go through a torii gate before going to a shrine, right? -Usually, we do. -Yeah, it's the opposite this time. You'd have to cross the sea to get here. This feels strange.
Nice. Only locals know about these places. -Yeah, only the locals know. -Yeah. (Karashima) Karashima was once only accessible by sea. That's why the shrine's torii gate still stands facing the sea.
(Karashima Shrine) The shrine sits in a quiet forest. The Island of Karashima has long been known for its spectacular scenery, and there is even a poem in Manyoshu about the island. (Shiotsu Kagaribi Koi Festival) Even now, every year in July, to pray for a good harvest and peace and quiet, ancient and traditional rituals are performed.
(Boats with a portable shrine and lanterns travel on the sea) Two bows. Is this the right way? The fourth entry in the guidebook, Karashima, recommended by Mr and Mrs Wakimoto. -Now, it's... -It's 3:00 sharp. -The next train is... -We don't have many trains.
Right now, it's 3:00. We have 43 minutes. We're safe. It's at 3:43 pm.
Yeah. -Could you give us a ride? -Sure. -Thank you very much. -Sorry for the trouble. Thank you very much for everything. (33 minutes to the 3:43 pm train) Thank you very much. Sorry, we even came into your house. -Thank you very much. -Bye.
(Kasashiho) They made a great new memory of summer. Where will they pass? Yeah, they'll pass each other, right? Yeah. "No to go". What does that mean? It's supposed to be "Noto Go".
-That's Cutie Honey. -Mazinger Z! -Is the entrance this way? -No, that's not Mazinger Z. All right. Mr Naito. Oh, yeah.
It's so hot. Hello. The next station is Notonakajima Station. Let's go on the Noto Go! (Ishikawa Prefecture) (3:43 pm) Noto Go is decorated with characters from the comics by Mr Go Nagai, a local manga artist from Wajima City, Ishikawa Prefecture. Mazinger Z speeds through Noto City! It would be fun commuting to work or school in a train like this, wouldn't it? Yeah, it would be nice.
We... At the next station, we should find accommodation. We need to think about accommodation. You're right. I forgot. Let's start thinking about accommodation -as we go. -You're right. -We should also find another entry. -I forgot about that.
Let's try that. We should enquire about that and about accommodation. -Yeah. -Okay. Yeah.
The train is arriving at Notonakajima Station. (Notonakajima Station) -We need money. -We've arrived. Oh, yeah, that's right.
-I forgot about it. -Me too. You've got it? All right. All right, let's go! It's almost 4:00 pm, and they've found four entries so far. Hopefully, they can find an entry and accommodation as planned. -We need to find accommodation. -We do. Subtitles: Iyuno-SDI Group
2022-05-03 08:41
