Noto, Ishikawa
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| Noto 能登町 |
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| — Town — | |
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 Noto
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| Coordinates: 37°18′N 137°9′E / 37.3°N 137.15°ECoordinates: 37°18′N 137°9′E / 37.3°N 137.15°E | |
| Country | Japan |
| Region | Chūbu |
| Prefecture | Ishikawa |
| District | Hōsu District |
| Area | |
| • Total | 273.45 km2 (105.58 sq mi) |
| Population (October 2004) | |
| • Total | 21,863 |
| • Density | 80/km2 (200/sq mi) |
| Time zone | Japan Standard Time (UTC+9) |
| Phone number | 768-62-1000 |
| Address | 927-0492 |
| Website | Town of Noto (Japanese) |
Noto (能登町 Noto-chō) is a town located in Hōsu District, Ishikawa, Japan.
On March 1, 2005 the town of Noto and the village of Yanagida, both formerly from Fugeshi District, merged with the town of Uchiura, formerly from Suzu District, to form the new town of Noto. Also on this date, Fugeshi District merged with Suzu District to become the newly-created Hōsu District.
According to October 2004 population statistics, the town has an estimated population of 21,863 and a density of 80 persons per km². The total area is 273.45 km².
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[edit] Name
The old name (before merger) and the new name (after merger) have the same pronunciation ("No-to"), but the characters are different.
- Old: 能都 ("central Noto area")
- New: 能登 ("Noto area itself")
[edit] Roads
- Main Roads
- Route 249 (a road that loops the prefecture, following the coast)
- Suzu Road (an east west road cutting through the center of noto-town that connects suzu to the toll road and the airport)
- Prefectural Road 6 (a north south road that connects Ushitsu to Wajima with Yanagida in the middle.)
[edit] Products
- Kanburi (adult yellowtail fish captured in winter)
- Strawberries of Akasaki
- Blueberry Jam/Vine of Yanagida
[edit] Abare Festival (あばれ祭り)
Every year in the first week of July, the town of Ushitsu comes alive with the 2-day Abare Festival, better known as the 'Fire and Violence' festival.
Visitors can watch Kiriko (キリコ) and Mikoshi (みこし) (large floats) being carried through the streets, eat delicious festival foods, hear Taiko drums and see many people dressed in their summer festival wear (ゆかた).
The Kirikos and Mikoshis are first blessed by priests and sake is poured over them and into the mouths of the men who carry them. From this point onwards, sake flows freely all night long. The kiriko are sponsored by neigborhoods within ushitsu and are usually carried by local residents, or former residents.
On the first night of the festivities the mikoshi and kiriko make their way through the streets of ushitsu (a village inside of Noto Town) and finally gather in front of the city hall to weave around large bonfires resting on the top of large poles. Groups of men (and rarely women) work together to carry the large wooden kiriko while children sit atop it playing drums and flutes. The men often carry the kiriko so close to the suspended bonfires that they suffer minor burns from the falling sparks. The children usually wear wet towls draped over their heads to protect them from the sparks.
On the second night the kirikos once again weave their way around town but the main attraction is the wooden mikoshis that are carried (by about 12 men) down the main street to be blessed. The men carrying the mikoshi continually thrash it against the ground and grind it into the asphault of the street, doing their best to break it as much as possible. After passing 3 different checkpoints where they stop to pray, receive blessings, and drink sake; the men will throw the mikoshi off a small bridge (roughly 7 meters tall) into a small river that runs through the middle of town. The men will then jump into the river and bash the mikoshi against the bridge's concrete support beam while splashing one another. After that they will take the mikoshi a short way up the road to a second river and throw the mikoshi off the side of the road into the second river. At this point they will bash the mikoshi up against a hard bit of the road to attempt to further shatter the the top of the mikoshi. However at the second river a bonfire, which has been lit above them, showers sparks and flaming debri down upon their heads as they attempt to destroy the mikoshi. The men vigorously splash one another to protect themsleves from the fire. Then the men will retrieve the mikoshi from the river and take it to a Shinto Shrine (じんじゃ). In front of the shrine there is a large bonfire on the ground in which they will repeatedly throw the mikoshi and then retrieve it afterwards. when they believe that they have properly destroyed the mikoshi they will take it through the gate of the shrine where the priests will judge if it has been properly destroyed. If the priests decline to take the mikoshi into the shrine, the men will return to throwing it in and out of the bonfire and smashing it upon the ground before returning it to be inspected by the preists once more. Eventually the priests will accept the mikoshi into the shrine. This happens twice, the first wooden mikoshi being destroyed between 10:00 p.m. and 12:00 a.m. and the second between 12:00 a.m. and 2:00 a.m.
Despite the name, the Fire and Violence festival is safe to attend for all ages. The 12 men destroying the mikoshi are the only ones that are in any danger of physical harm.
[edit] External links
Media related to Noto, Ishikawa at Wikimedia Commons
- Noto official website (Japanese)
- One person's photos of the 2009 Abare festival: [1]
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