The family had already expressed interest in Shirakawago so I helped them find and book the previous night in one of the local thatch roof inns.

Days at Shirakawago can get crowded once all the buses arrive, so visiting the museum late in the afternoon before, and spending the night in the village so they could walk around after the masses left was a perfect start, meaning the next morning, after a traditional breakfast, and a walk around the still-quiet streets, we could be on our way well before the day-trip crowds return.

I met them there with the bikes, but because Shirakawago is in a valley, and let's be honest, no one really wants to ride up and over the mountain. Also, the road over is a toll road where bikes are not allowed, providing the perfect excuse for catching a lift. Instead of starting riding at Shirakawago, I gathered their luggage and took the bikes to a Chugu Onsen Visitors Center on the other side of the mountain where cycling was allowed.

The visitor center seems nice, but everyone was just anxious to get on the bikes, so maybe this is a place better visited after riding up, when taking a break would be more welcomed. This still gave plenty of downhill to cruise on the way to Kanazawa along the White Road. Along the way were some small waterfalls and other scenic stops, as well as castle ruins, and the Ishikawa Insect Museum, which I am told they did not stop at — but I did.

This trip was self-guided, so I only have hearsay of what transpired after we parted, however I continued along the road into Kanazawa as well to make sure everything is OK and they are off to a good start.

They reported arriving in Kanazawa right on schedule and finding their inn — a small guest house with a cheerful host. The rooms were small but the location great. No meals included this night, as there are plenty of places to eat out in Kanazawa. The local home-prepared meals would be later in the week.

We did not do much for their planning in Kanazawa, as they had already intended to visit so already had their own plans. Of course, having the bicycles available by default made getting around a bit easier, I suppose. It is of course easy enough to rent some city bikes. For more about Kanazawa, check out some of the links below.

As Kanazawa is a well-known and well-documented destination, we only use it as a rest day on our trips, not as a main attraction. There are plenty of online guides, as well as local guides for hire that know the area more intimately than we do. If you are interested in adding it as a stop, we are happy to research and arrange opportunities or a local guide that fits your interest.

Waking up early to check out and explore the Kanazawa morning market where sushi for breakfast is a norm, and it was back on the road again after a day of castles, gardens, tea houses, and morning markets that Kanazawa is famous for.

The main highlight I plotted for them on this day was the Chirihama Beach Drive—an 8-kilometer stretch of beach that is actually compact enough to ride a bike or even drive on with a normal car. In summer, the stretch is lined with small food stalls selling skewers, shaved ice, and grilled shellfish.

The rest of the route includes some 25 km of bicycle and walking path which are sometimes grown over or covered by sand drifts. There are a few unfortunate places where the best path is on the busy car road, but overall, if it is not too windy, it is easy to keep off the road with a little bit of navigation—just keep the ocean on your left.

The ride is long enough though, that leaving the beachfront to check out some of the inland neighborhoods doesn't feel like you're missing anything. And after all, it is only the first day of many coastal rides.

We had two options for endpoints for the day; we chose the closer option. There is no such thing as arriving "too early," as the sooner they arrive, the more time to take a swim at the beach and head directly to the hot spring to soak and clean up. The inn that was decided on was a small family-run minshuku. I had arranged for them to have dinner and breakfast—featuring seafood, of course.

Today they will ride across the peninsula, over a mountain—a short divergence from the coastal riding, but the morning includes hopefully cool morning breezes. There was some debate in the planning stage about whether or not to order breakfast at the inn, a homemade traditional Japanese breakfast, or forego the breakfast in order to enjoy an early dawn ride along the coast.

Laziness won out, and they opted to sleep in. Although, the inn was close enough to the beach that anyone who happened to be awake could easily spend sunrise on the beach and be back in time for a nap before breakfast.

After breakfast, it was really just about 30 km of coastal riding with small, lighthouses, a Japanese Garden that is not quite as well-known as Kanazawa's National Treasure, and the famous Ganmon Rock Formation.

The afternoon has a short uphill climb that leads to a long downhill cruise through rice fields and small hamlets with several possible routes to the night's accommodation. We had options to stay at a larger hotel with onsen, or a much simpler small cafe and guest house. They chose the guest house and loved it. The onsen was still close enough to walk or ride to, and had a cafe and restaurant as well, so dinner was taken care of.

Today the main attraction planned is experiencing rural life at a farmer's house—hopefully arriving by early afternoon. This leaves them with 30 kilometers—8 of them uphill. No problem.

The guest house did not have a set breakfast like the previous night, and the cafe run by the guest house did not open early enough, so being forewarned, they winged it and had purchased some breads and snacks the night before to have their own dockside sunrise breakfast picnic. While the cafe was not officially open, the host provided them with fresh brewed coffee.

The ride was very straightforward. An easy first half along a pretty much empty coastal road into the small town of Anamizu where they could stop for a break and grab something to snack on, or a more substantial but simple noodle or teishoku lunch set.

The afternoon has a short uphill climb that leads to a long downhill cruise through rice fields and small hamlets with several possible routes to the night's accommodation. We had options to stay at a larger hotel with onsen, or a much simpler small cafe and guest house. They chose the guest house and loved it. The onsen was still close enough to walk or ride to, and had a cafe and restaurant as well, so dinner was taken care of.

Eventually they would leave the coast for an hour or so uphill ride into the hamlet where they would meet their farmer host.

The area had a small NPO organization that was making an effort to revitalize the aging village. The NPO helped to manage and organize farm stays at the elderly locals' homes, taking care of logistics and leaving the hospitality to the hosts. This was perfect in that we did not really have to worry too much about choosing a place. We left it up to the organizer to match the family with the perfect host for them.

Of course there is a language barrier with the hosts, but it was nothing that smiles and gestures could not overcome. Upon arrival they were shown to their room, given tea and sweets, as is tradition for entertaining guests, and later taken to the field where they helped the farmer with some simple tasks for the afternoon.

Dinner was a home cooked meal, dining together with the hosts, eating what they would normally eat—with a few extra embellishments, I am sure, to show off the abundant local delicacies they are proud of.

There is an onsen a short drive down the mountain. The hosts offered to drive them there, or just take a shower and bath in the house.

Today was a bit longer, but with a special reward at the end: a more luxurious seaside ryokan inn.

There were a few routes to choose from—one through the mountains, one along the coast, and one a mixture. All routes were generally the same distance. The mountain route had a little more uphill, but nothing that would put it on a different level of difficulty. The mountain route would probably have a little less car traffic, but since I had never ridden that route before, this was just a guess.

In the end, the clients chose the coastal route as it seemed to be a little less monotonous and also offered a shortcut if needed (but it would not be needed). It also passed through several small towns that were more likely to have something to eat—although I suggested they have only a light lunch, as the dinner would be quite large and elaborate that night.

The ride had no particularly noteworthy points of interest—plenty of small shrines and a small art museum—but it didn’t need anything because the coast and beaches were enough to make the ride worth it.

The night would be at a very remote ryokan—so remote that it was once only accessible by boat. They chose a rather luxury-end accommodation with hot spring and course dinner.

There were also accommodations nearby to fit other budgets, but given that the previous night was a very modest guest house, and the next night in Wajima would also be a moderately priced accommodation with dinner in the town, it felt like the perfect place to splurge.

Upon arrival, there was nothing more to do than check in, relax, take a walk to the observation deck, and explore the nearby rocks.

Today's ride is the real highlight of the trip. For people who only have a day or two, this is the portion of the Noto Peninsula that people would naturally choose.

50 kilometers among some of the most beautiful coast, with just enough up-and-down to make it a challenge.

In addition to the scenery, there are two Suzu Tennen-Shio Salt Making museums, and the Ante Salt Farm, where visitors can see the process of traditional sea salt production, as well as take part in some of the steps.

Getting closer to Wajima, there are art galleries, a festival float museum, and the famous scenic Shiroyone Senmaida Rice Terraces.

NOTE: Remember that this trip was prior to the 2024 earthquake.

We planned Wajima as a full day with two nights. The town was a relatively off-the-beaten-path tourist hot spot, with all the interesting attractions and culture of other places, but its remote location made it more difficult to access. Day trips from Kanazawa by bus were popular, but it was not nearly as crowded as Shirakawago.

Its popularity did allow for a wide variety of accommodations at various budget levels. I had presented them with some options and my recommendations from past trips. They chose a small Japanese-style guest house near the bay, just a few minutes from the morning market.

NOTE: Remember that this trip was prior to the 2024 earthquake.

Although at the time Wajima was starting to show up on tourist radars, there was still not nearly as much material in English as there was about Kanazawa. However, there was enough that I was sure the family would have no trouble filling their rest day without a down-to-the-minute itinerary from me, so I made note of some of the things that I knew were popular and that other visitors had enjoyed on previous trips, and left it to them to choose.

Of course, there was the morning market, making some lacquerware (Urushi), and the father and son apparently even found some time for fishing in the harbor.

After a restful day, they were ready for the challenging hills ahead, but the day's ride was such a short distance, they could have walked up the hills and made it to the destination with no problems. The ride included a lot more coast as well. Again, not a lot of special points of interest—the journey itself was the attraction.

The things they did pass by included a bamboo and fence-lined coastline used for protection against coastal weather, which they later said (perhaps tongue-in-cheek) was better than the famous bamboo grove in Kyoto. There was a historic building and townscape, and at the very end, The Longest Bench in the World—quite a sight to see.

The accommodation for the night was a great little fisherman’s inn right on the water, overlooking the rocks and the tiny Togi Port where the local fishermen head out in the morning. There was also an onsen a short bike ride away.

The innkeeper had mentioned the possibility of taking the family out octopus hunting in the rocks, although it was not the best season so the chances of finding some were not high. She did make sure they were able to witness the boats coming in with their catch and took them down for a closer look at the fishermen working in the harbor.

The final day had arrived. I had been tracking them throughout the journey, keeping in touch. There were only a few questions and suggestions along the way, but mostly they did not need any on-trip assistance from me. Communication with innkeepers was possible with a translation app and gestures.

For today, though, I would be picking them up in Wakura Onsen, so I had come to Wakura the night before to be there just in case—fearing that luck might give out with a flat tire or bicycle malfunction. Any other day, that would just be part of the adventure, but today it was important that they not miss their departure train.

It was only 30 km from their inn to Wakura with barely any climbing. After watching the fishermen in the morning and enjoying their last traditional breakfast of the trip, they headed out on their bikes. They arrived in Wakura by noon.

I gave them the option to drop off all luggage and go for a quick loop around Notojima Island, but, as expected, they were more than happy to just take a noon bath in the hot spring, change into fresh clothes, and enjoy some soba and soft serve ice cream before catching a train from Wakura Onsen Station for the roughly six-hour ride back to Tokyo.