Riffing about earthquake scars, zen temples, sea swims, scrapbooks, aliens, dinosaurs & 7″ records while rain falls in an engawa in Noto – a peninsula at the end of the world
Rain falls while i meander in real time memories the engawa—that in-between strip where house meets weather—inside a former fish-processing shed turned home at the ragged edge of the Noto Peninsula.
Since the New Year’s earthquake, the village is a collage of blue X’s, empty lots, demolition crews, and stubborn rebuilds. We slosh barefoot on warped floors, watch puddles ripple toward the fish auction, and listen for trucks and tide.
Sensei keeps his laboratory of samples and skeletons (yes, a whale skeleton in the rafters), Fukushima bark slides for spectral readings, and the old stories that refuse to leave.
Meanwhile, we practice indoor camping, brew tea, and make scrapbooks as Ichiro eyes the water and fireworks.
Stories from the road: the once-grand Maizuru, a chaotic tea shop and a spotless wagashi counter; a minshuku near Fukui’s Dinosaur Museum; a temple founded by Dōgen; a punk-sticker-covered shrine; and a roadside trove of antiques where a musician gifts an Edo-era samurai saké cup and a signed 1970 seven-inch record.
A postcard from the edge—loss and rebuilds, small kindnesses, and the quiet work of carrying on for the Olson O-bon Onsen Ocean roadtrip, Aug. 2025
Sit in the engawa for: Noto Roadtrip Diary – Postcard #92
(46MB, 29:53, mp3, stereo)
Bonus: Noto Fish Market and Ankou fish butchering
Along the road, we pass through:
– Maizuru, a once-grand “Grand Hotel” town now shuttered and wistful
– a chaotic tea shop and a spotless wagashi counter
– a minshuku near Fukui’s Dinosaur Museum
– a temple founded by Dōgen, where I meet a calligrapher pilgrim
– a tiny shrine plastered in punk stickers (shout-out to Ramen, the one-man Ramones tribute)
– an antique trove where I find a working Sony Walkman, an Edo-era samurai saké cup, and a signed 1970 seven-inch from the shopkeeper’s own band
There are beach coffees, rotating bridges, and rain that turns August into a sauna.
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