Share this tour
Offered languages
- English
Unlike standard onsen or museum tours, this experience explores how festivals, hot springs, and local communities are connected in the Noto Peninsula. As you walk through Wakura Onsen with a local guide, you will learn how the region developed through maritime trade, fishing culture, and community traditions shaped by life along the Sea of Japan.
At the Wakura Onsen Festival Hall, discover the meaning behind Noto’s famous festivals beyond their colorful floats and performances. Learn how festivals developed as religious and community traditions connected to safety at sea, successful harvests, and relationships between local communities. The tour also explores modern challenges such as depopulation and earthquake recovery, as well as local efforts to preserve festival culture through community participation and volunteer support.
By combining local history, everyday life, & living festival traditions, this tour offers a deeper understanding of Noto culture beyond ordinary sightseeing.
What's Included
Meeting and pickup
The meeting point is Yumoto no Hiroba in the center of Wakura Onsen. Your guide will be waiting for you with a yellow signboard. Please check the map for detailed location information.
The tour ends in front of Wakura Onsen Soyu, the town’s public bathhouse. The area is close to inns, cafés, and the Wakura Onsen hot spring district, making it easy to continue exploring after the tour.
Itinerary
-
1
Bentenzaki Hot Spring Park is one of the places where visitors can experience the origins of Wakura Onsen. The hot spring is said to have been discovered around 1,000 years ago as a rare seaside onsen flowing from beneath the sea. From this area, learn how Wakura gradually developed from a natural hot spring site into one of Noto’s best-known onsen towns during the Edo period. The park also offers views of Nanao Bay, reflecting the close relationship between the sea, local communities, and life in the Noto Peninsula.
10 minutes • Admission ticket free -
2Wakura Onsen Omatsuri Hall
The Wakura Onsen Festival Hall introduces the vibrant festival culture of the Noto Peninsula through large festival floats, traditional decorations, music, and immersive displays. Visitors can learn about the unique characteristics of festivals held across different parts of Noto and discover how these celebrations developed through fishing communities, local beliefs, and regional trade networks. The museum also explores how festivals continue to support local identity and community connections even as rural communities face modern challenges such as depopulation and natural disasters.
1 hour 10 minutes • Admission ticket included -
3Wakura Onsen Soyu
Wakura Onsen Soyu is a public bathhouse used not only by visitors, but also by local residents as part of everyday life in the onsen town. In addition to its bathing facilities, the building functions as a community and tourism space where people gather and interact. Before local festivals, residents sometimes use the multipurpose rooms to practice festival music and prepare for upcoming events, showing how festival culture remains closely connected to daily life in Wakura Onsen today.
30 minutes • Admission ticket free
Additional info
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
Tags
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Cancellation Policy
- For a full refund, you must cancel at least 24 hours before the experience’s start time.
- If you cancel less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.
- Any changes made less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time will not be accepted.
You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.
Your guide to the flawless travel experience
Popular Countries
Get our app
