Speaking of sightseeing spots in Hakui City, Ishikawa Prefecture, it is “Chirihama Nagisa Driveway”, “UFO”, “Myojoji Temple” and “JOJO Stone”!

Hakui City in Ishikawa Prefecture is located on the west side of the base of the Noto Peninsula, facing the Sea of Japan to the west, and a sandy beach called Chirihama stretching north to south. Chirihama is known as the “Chirihama Nagisa Driveway,” where you can drive your car along the beach. To the east is Himi City, Toyama Prefecture, where Fujiko Fujio Ⓐ’s “Manga Road” is located. To the north is Shika Town, which has “Noto Kongo“, a superb view spot on the Noto Peninsula, and Nakanoto Town, which has “Amenomiya Tumulus”, which is said to be the tomb of the king who ruled the Noto Peninsula. To the south is Houdatsushimizu Town, where “Moses Park,” which maintains a burial mound said to be the tomb of Moses, famous in the “Old Testament,” is located.

Origin of the place name of Hakui

The place name “Hakui” comes from a myth that three dogs brought by Iwatsukuwake-no-Mikoto, a prince of the 11th Emperor Suinin, ate the feathers of a monstrous bird that was tormenting the people of this area and exterminated it. “Hakui” means “(animal) eats feathers” in Japanese. There is a burial mound of Iwatsukuwake-no-Mikoto on the precincts of Hakui Shrine, which is located in Hakui City.

Chirihama Nagisa Driveway

Chirihama Nagisa Driveway is the only sandy beach in Japan where you can drive your car along the beach, which is rare in the world. It is a sandly beach that doubles as a beach and a sightseeing road that stretches for about 8 km from Houdatsushimizu Town in Ishikawa Prefecture to Hakui City in Ishikawa Prefecture.

Every year from May to November, many sand sculptures called “Chirihama Sand Statues” are displayed at Chirihama on the Hakui City side where the rest house is located.

space science museum “Cosmo Isle Hakui”

Because there have been many sightings of UFOs since ancient times, Hakui City has been promoting itself as a “UFO town” for tourism.  As part of this, Hakui City will build the space science museum “Cosmo Isle Hakui” to display real rockets used by NASA and real spacecraft from the former Soviet Union. Not only UFO enthusiasts but also many tourists visit to see real spaceships, meteorites, space development materials, etc.

JOJO Stones

In front of JR Hakui Station and its surroundings, there are onomatopoeia objects that use the “drawing characters” of manga. They are called “JOJO stones” in Internet circles, and it is popular among tourists to take commemorative photos in front of these onomatopoeic objects, posing like characters from “JOJO’S BIZARRE ADVENTURE.” This pose is called “JOJO standing.”

Myojoji Temple

Myojoji Temple was built in the late Kamakura period (12th century). It is said that Nichizo, grand-disciples of Saint Nichiren, founded the temple. During the Edo period, it prospered under the patronage of the Maeda family of the Kaga clan. There are 10 national important cultural properties in the precincts, including a five-storied pagoda.

Keta Taisha Shrine

Keta Taisha Shrine, which is said to have been built more than 2,000 years ago, is the Ichinomiya of Noto Province (present-day Ishikawa Prefecture) that enshrines Onamuchi-no-mikoto (Okuninushi no Mikoto). The Ichinomiya is a shrine occupying the highest rank among the shrines of a province. It is said that during the reign of the 8th Emperor Kogen, Onamuchi-no-mikoto led more than 300 gods by boat from Izumo Province (present-day Shimane Prefecture) and pioneered the Noto region, that the building of the shrine was built during the reign of the 10th Emperor Sujin, with Onamuchi-no-mikoto as the guardian deity.

Access to Hakui City

From Tokyo

It takes about 3 hours from JR Tokyo Station to JR Kanazawa Station by Hokuriku Shinkansen.

From Osaka

It takes about 1 hour and 30 minutes from JR Osaka Station to JR Tsuruga Station by limited express train. Transfer to the Hokuriku Shinkansen at JR Tsuruga Station and it takes about 40 minutes to JR Kanazawa Station.

At JR Kanazawa Station, transfer to the IR Ishikawa Railway Line (bound for Nanao), which directly connects with JR Tsubata Station and takes about 1 hour to JR Nanao Line Hakui Station.