Wajima
輪島市37°23′ N 136°54′ ECityHokuriku and Noto
Wajima is the lacquerware city on the Noto Peninsula's north coast, and its morning market trades again at a supermarket site in town while a small set of inns takes guests. Rooms are scarce because recovery crews fill many of them, and Route 249 through the city runs on one lane at many points, so book early and check Ishikawa's road map first.
Road closure
Roads on the Noto peninsula still carry closures and detours after the 2024 earthquake
Ishikawa Prefecture's live road map on 11 October 2026 showed 150 restrictions in the Noto towns, 35 of them full closures and about 100 one-lane sections. Route 249 has been closed in Suzu between Utsuyama and Umagase since January 2024, the Noto Satoyama Kaido runs one lane between Nanao and Nakajima until 25 December 2026, and the Hakui to Ganmon cycle path is closed at Shika. Check the prefecture's map before you plan a ride, and travel with care for towns that are still rebuilding.
Checked 2026-10-11 · douro.pref.ishikawa.lg.jp
Photo Catalogingcsusb1 · Wikimedia Commons · CC0 and others, credited in the gallery
Who should base here
Stay a night for the morning market, with a room booked well ahead.
The Wajima tourism association keeps a list of the city's lodgings and says many of them are full with people working on the recovery, so reservations are hard to get. Its April 2026 list of member inns open for stays names nine small places, most of them room-only, with Oyado Tanaka able to serve dinner and breakfast. Hotel Route Inn Wajima on the harbour planned to reopen its main building on 18 September 2026.
The Wajima Morning Market trades from 9:00 to 13:00 inside the Power City Wajima Wai Plaza store at 41 Takuta-machi and closes on Wednesdays. The tourism association's information centre sits in the Michi-no-Eki Wajima Furatto Houmu building at the old station and opens from 9:00 to 17:00.
Ishikawa's road map on 11 October 2026 showed one-lane sections at about 15 points on Route 249 inside Wajima, including Shinbashi-dori to Sonrichi and the Wajima-nuri Kaikan to Fukami until 31 March 2027. Prefectural Route 38 is closed between Uiri and Shimoyama, and the prefecture warns it may close again in heavy rain. The Nanao to Wajima road is closed in Mii between Nagasawa and Koizumi until 17 December 2027.
Worth knowing
- Leave the morning market for a day other than Wednesday and come early, since some vegetable sellers pack up before 13:00.
- A passenger boat to Hegurajima takes general visitors on weekdays from Wajima port, the tourism association says.
Quick answers about Wajimaよくある質問
Is Wajima a good place to stay?
Stay a night for the morning market, with a room booked well ahead.
Within 12 km
Places to stay nearby宿
Within 12 km