This guide covers the Shiroyone Senmaida rice terraces, Wajima-nuri lacquerware, the morning market at Wai Plaza Wajima and the routes in, with the times and fees you need.
In Wajima you can look out over rice terraces that slope down to the sea, and see Wajima-nuri lacquerware such as black soup bowls with lids and gold maki-e. The town has a museum of lacquer art and a morning market as well. The terraces are a short taxi or bus ride from Michi-no-Eki Wajima.
The morning market is held inside Wai Plaza Wajima as a permanent market. The sections below start with the terraces, then cover the lacquerware and the market, and end with the routes in and the times, fees and closures, so that you can plan the day in whichever order suits you.
Shiroyone Senmaida, the Terraced Rice Fields by the Sea
A farmer stands on the grass above terraced paddies that reach the water.
Shiroyone Senmaida is a hillside of many small paddies. The Senmaida rest house runs a shop with set opening hours. A restaurant in the same rest house keeps its own hours, so a meal there needs to fit into the middle of the day rather than the evening.
Low evening light falls on paddies filled with water, above the coastline.
Drivers can reach the terraces from Kanazawa Station by way of the Noto Satoyama Kaido. From Michi-no-Eki Wajima, a taxi or a bus is the other way up. Visitors without a car can therefore ride the express bus from Kanazawa Station as far as Michi-no-Eki Wajima and change there.
Wajima-nuri at the Museum and the Lacquerware Hall
Black lidded soup bowls stand together, and a gold pattern decorates a lid.
The Wajima Museum of Urushi Art is the town's museum of lacquer art. A city bus runs from Michi-no-Eki Wajima to the museum. The museum can also be reached on foot from the Wajima Ekimae stop. Express buses from Kanazawa also run on to the museum.
The museum keeps set opening hours and takes no new visitors a little before closing. It is also closed over the year-end days. The museum has posted a notice of a temporary closure, along with a date until which it stays open. Parking at the museum is available around the clock.
A dark building stands under a blue sky.
The Wajima Lacquerware Hall carries the name of the town's lacquerware, and it posts its own opening hours. Its parking lot has set times for use, and visits outside them need to be booked ahead.
A stacked lacquer box shows a round pattern in gold and colour on its lid.
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The Morning Market at Wai Plaza Wajima
The Wajima Morning Market is held as a permanent market inside Wai Plaza Wajima, and that is where to head for it. It opens in the morning and closes in the early afternoon, so it suits the start of the day before the terraces or the museum.
The market is closed on Wednesdays, and irregular closures are possible. The Challenge Shop of the Wajima Morning Market at Wai Plaza Wajima operates on Saturdays and Sundays. A weekend visit lines up with the Challenge Shop, while a midweek plan needs to work around the closing day.
Getting there
An express bus runs from Kanazawa Station to Michi-no-Eki Wajima. Drivers from Kanazawa reach the museum by way of the Noto Satoyama Kaido. Kanazawa itself can be reached from Tokyo by rail, which makes it the natural place to change for Wajima.
Noto Satoyama Airport has a bus and a taxi into Wajima. A flight from Haneda Airport reaches the airport, so the air route is the other way in from Tokyo. From the airport, the taxi is the quicker way into Wajima.
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Kanazawa by express bus to the Wajima Museum of Urushi Art | about 3 hours |
| Kanazawa by car to the Wajima Museum of Urushi Art via the Noto Satoyama Kaido | about 2 hours |
| Kanazawa Station by car to Shiroyone Senmaida via the Noto Satoyama Kaido | about 2 hours 10 minutes |
| Michi-no-Eki Wajima by taxi or bus to Shiroyone Senmaida | about 15 minutes |
| Michi-no-Eki Wajima by Noranke city bus (Umi course) to the Wajima Museum of Urushi Art | 10 minutes |
| Wajima Ekimae stop at Michi-no-Eki Furatto Homu on foot to the Wajima Museum of Urushi Art | about 25 minutes |
| Noto Satoyama Airport by bus to Wajima | about 30 minutes |
| Noto Satoyama Airport by taxi to Wajima | about 25 minutes |
| Haneda Airport by plane to Noto Satoyama Airport | about 60 minutes |
| Tokyo by Hokuriku Shinkansen to Kanazawa | about 2 hours 30 minutes |
If you would rather have the day arranged for you, look at guided tours around Wajima.
New to rural buses and one-man trains? See how to ride them, step by step.
Hours, fees and closures
Electric-assist bicycles can be rented in town, and the rental keeps fixed hours.
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Wajima Museum of Urushi Art hours | 9:00 to 17:00, last entry 16:30 |
| Wajima Museum of Urushi Art year-end closure | December 29 to 31 |
| Wajima Museum of Urushi Art temporary closure notice | closed October 20 to 23, open until November 30 |
| Wajima Museum of Urushi Art parking | available 24 hours |
| Wajima Lacquerware Hall hours | 8:30 to 17:00 |
| Wajima Lacquerware Hall parking lot | 8:00 to 12:00, booking needed outside these hours |
| Permanent Wajima Morning Market inside Wai Plaza Wajima hours | 9:00 to 13:00 |
| Permanent Wajima Morning Market closing day | Wednesdays (irregular closures possible) |
| Permanent Wajima Morning Market start of operation | July 10, 2024 |
| Challenge Shop at Wai Plaza Wajima | Saturdays and Sundays, 9:00 to 13:00 |
| Senmaida rest house shop hours | 10:00 to 15:00 |
| Senmaida rest house restaurant hours | 11:00 to 14:00 |
| Wajima tourist information center hours | 8:30 to 17:00, no closing days |
| Rental bicycle hours | 9:00 to 17:00 |
| Electric-assist rental bicycle, 1 hour | 500 yen |
| Electric-assist rental bicycle, half day (4 hours) | 1,500 yen |
| Electric-assist rental bicycle, 1 day (8 hours) | 2,000 yen |