18 Aug 2007
Noto is a long way from Tokyo (about 450 km), so I started off byf touring through Nagano. Chuo Hwy. past Suwa-ko, to Ina exit. Then R361 to Takayama, which is a very nice road indeed! Then R41 and R360 to Shirakawago. R360 is not for the faint of heart. Great sightseeing and lots of twisties, but very narrow, with very tight switchbacks. One switchback caught me by surprise, in too high a gear, so I had to slip the clutch and even put my foot down. 
Pucker factor up by one notch. 
For those who don't know it, Shirakawago is a UNESCO designated Heritage Village, with very neat thatched roofs.
Same scene in winter.
An alternative to get this far, which I did a couple of years ago, is to stay on the Chuo Hwy. to IIda, check out Kiso, which is another neat old village, then R256 and R257 to Gero Onsen (very nice!), then R41 to Takayama, then R158 and R156 to Shirakawago. On R156, by the lake/dam, there is a famous 400 year old cherry tree (Shokawa). This whole route is quite beautiful. BTW, this picture was taken in the fall. Bloody hot this time!
Anyway, by the time I got to Shirakawago, it was getting a bit late, so I got on the new tollway and blasted straight through to Himi on the East side of Noto Hanto. Pitched my tent on a campground right on the beach.
