Oku Noto by Rail: The Noto Satoyama Satoumi Sightseeing Train

Nanao Station, the starting point for the Satoyama Satoumi, is 1 hour and 30 minutes from Kanazawa Station on the IR Ishikawa Railway Nanao Line.

The rail cars include gallery space for showcasing traditional crafts.

Passengers can reserve a bentō for their trip featuring sushi from Wakura Onsen’s famed Nobuzushi (train fare + ¥3,050). A selection of sweets is also available by prior reservation (train fare + ¥2,030).

The railway mail car, one of only two still remaining in the country, was in service until 1986.

The mail sorting space inside the car. Stamped postcards placed in the mailbox there will be delivered with a special postmark.

The car has four-person box seats as well as seats facing outward so that passengers can comfortably enjoy the view.

Fukaura fishing port lies in a calm inlet.

A traditional fishing stand overlooks Nanao Sea’s calm, mirror-like surface. Fishers wait atop the stand for bora, a type of mullet, to enter their nets.

Migrating swans winter on marshland around Nanao Bay.

Atsuatsu-tei is open every year from mid-January to mid-March on weekends and public holidays. It is exclusive to Noto Satoyama Satoumi train passengers, but reservations are required.

The four-hectare slope facing the sea holds 1,004 rice paddies, the smallest of which is only 50 centimeters square. All the work, from planting seedlings to harvesting the rice, is done by hand, as the paddies are too small to accommodate farm machinery. (© Pixta)

The Aze no Kirameki illumination event takes place every year from late October to early March and features 25,000 solar-powered LED lights outlining the paddies’ contours.

The train makes its return trip in autumn’s late afternoon light.

Train attendants on the Noto Satoyama Satoumi.