4 Best Sights in Noto-hanto (Noto Peninsula), The Japan Alps and the North Chubu Coast

Just south of the village of Suzu is a dramatic offshore rock formation called Mitsuke-jima, a huge wedge of rock topped with lush vegetation, connected to the shore with a pebbly path popular with lovers, who can ring a bell here to wish for everlasting love. Locals, however, also have a very unromantic name for it: Gunkan-jima (Battleship Island), because it resembles a warship sailing to attack.

This seldom-visited but well-tended temple complex sits a few miles north of the town of Hakui, in the southwest of the peninsula. The temple, founded in 1294 and belonging to the Nichiren sect of Buddhism, has a five-story pagoda dating from the 1600s. A large, colorful Buddha statue sits inside a squat wooden building. The influence of mainland Asia is visible in the gargantuan, wooden guardian deities.

Although inland buses will get you around faster, the coastal route is recommended for its scenic value. On the west coast, the 16-km (10-mile) stretch between Fuku-ura and Sekinohana, known as the Noto Seacoast, has fantastic wind- and wave-eroded rocks, from craggy towers to partly submerged checkerboard-pattern platforms. Among the best is Gan-mon, a rock cut through the center by water. Gan-mon is about 45 minutes north of Hakui and is a stop on tour-bus routes. Check out the website of Gan-mon Cruise for details of boat tours, if you want to see the coast from the water.

The southern gateway to the Noto Peninsula, thanks to being a Shinkansen stop, Takaoka is mostly known for its traditions of copper, bronze, and iron smithing, and remains a major bell-casting center. No wonder it has one of Japan's three oldest Daibutsu (Great Buddha) statues. The Takaoka Daibutsu is made entirely of bronze. A short walk from the station is Zuiryu-ji, a delightful Zen temple. A sprawling park, Kojo-koen, is particularly stunning in autumn, with its red-and-silver maples. With Yamachosuji and Kanayamachi, the city also has a pair of historic merchant districts dotted with old buildings.