Shirayone Senmaida Onsen

Shirayone Senmaida Onsen in Wajima city, Ishikawa Prefecture, lies near the most photographed agricultural landscape on the Noto Peninsula, the Shirayone Senmaida, or Thousand Rice Paddies of Shirayone, a spectacular cascade of over 2,000 tiny terraced rice fields descending from forested hillsides to the edge of the Sea of Japan in a landscape that embodies the ancient satoyama tradition of small-scale, biodiversity-rich farming recognised by the FAO as a globally important agricultural heritage system. The siliceous spring water provides therapeutic bathing in the context of one of Japan's most beloved rural cultural landscapes, offering bathers the unusual experience of soaking in mineral waters while overlooking the terraced paddies that reflect the sky and flicker with fireflies on summer evenings. The 2024 Noto earthquake that devastated much of the peninsula has given visits to Shirayone and its onsen an additional dimension of solidarity with a community engaged in patient cultural reconstruction.