"More of the Inns Still Haven't Reopened, and Some of the Roads Are Still a Mess — Wakura Is a Good Place, So Everyone Come": Is Wakura Onsen Open Again Two Years After the Noto Earthquake?
「まだまだ営業再開してない旅館の方が多いし、道もぐちゃぐちゃな箇所がある。和倉いいとこなんでみんな来てね」——地震から2年の和倉温泉は行けるのか
By Rakutaro · Tokyo, Japan
Wakura Onsen is open, but only in part, and the Japanese thread under a video on the Noto hot spring town two years after the earthquake is unusually precise about which part. A man who says he lives there (24 likes) writes that more of the inns still have not reopened and some roads are still a mess, then asks everyone to come anyway. The most concrete account (23 likes) is from someone who went in December: of the nine places taking guests then, three including Biwanso were housing only reconstruction crews, restaurants had not come back or had closed again, some inns will not take you without meals, and the evenings feel empty. Against that sit the drivers who found the roads fine and the ryokan names taking guests now.
“I live here. Thank you so much for covering this. Two full years on, I think we have come a long way back from how hopeless things were right after the earthquake. But as the video shows, more of the inns still haven't reopened, and some of the roads are still a mess. I think a full recovery for Wakura Onsen is still a long way off. And yet there's a part of me that is looking forward to seeing Wakura change and become something new. I intend to keep watching over it. Wakura is a good place, so everyone come!!!!!!!!!!!”
地元民です 取り上げていただき本当にありがとうございます 今丸二年経ちまして、地震直後の当時の絶望的な状況からよくここまで立ち直せたなと思っております。 でもまだまだ動画の状況の通り、営業再開してない旅館の方が多いし、道もぐちゃぐちゃな箇所があったりします。 和倉温泉の完全復活にはまだまだ時間はかかると思います。 でも変わっていく、新しくなっていく和倉温泉を見れるのを楽しみにしている自分がいたりもします。 今後も見守っていきたい所存です 和倉いいとこなんでみんな来てね！！！！！！！！！！！！
What Japanese visitors do instead
Kagaya say they are aiming to reopen by building a 40-room building on the site of their group inn Matsunomidori and on land they own. What to do with the site of the main building is still under consideration. There are also places already operating, TAOYA run by Ooedo Onsen, and Biwanso, and Hanagoyomi, and Hosenkaku, and Hotel Kaibo, and since visiting is the best kind of recovery, I hope people will come to Wakura Onsen.
加賀屋さんは、加賀屋松乃碧跡地と所有する土地に客室40室の建物を建てて、再開を目指すとのことです。 本館跡地は活用を検討するとのことです。 営業中の大江戸温泉のTAOYAや美湾荘さんや花ごよみさんや宝仙閣さんやホテル海望さんなんかもありますから、訪れるのが一番の復興になりますので、和倉温泉にお越しいただけたらと思います。
— @ACCORDPLEO1110 likesI managed to get as far as Nanao in autumn (that was what my schedule allowed). There were detours, but the roads were fine. I'm planning to go again by motorbike in May, so I'll leave a little money behind, small as it is.
秋に七尾までは行けた（自分の日程的に）迂回路もあったけど、道路は問題なかったな。５月にまたバイクで行く予定なので、少ないながらお金を落としてこようと思います。
— @Centerson80259 likes
Places named in this article
- Biwanso (Yukemuri no Yado Biwanso)Wakura Onsen, Nanao
The inn with cheap single rooms that the most-liked comment (100 likes) remembers; another commenter says it is where his family stays and he is relieved it has reopened. Listed by the ryokan association as operating.
Sources: wakura.or.jp — checked 2026-09-23
- TAOYA WakuraWakura Onsen, Nanao
Named (10 likes) as one of the places already taking guests, run by the Ooedo Onsen group.
- HanagoyomiWakura Onsen, Nanao
Named in the same comment (10 likes) as operating.
- HosenkakuWakura Onsen, Nanao
Named in the same comment (10 likes) as operating.
- Hotel KaiboWakura Onsen, Nanao
Named in the same comment (10 likes) as operating; the association lists it as operating on a provisional basis.
Sources: wakura.or.jp — checked 2026-09-23
- KagayaWakura Onsen, Nanao
Closed. The inn the thread treats as the symbol of the town; one commenter (6 likes) says leaving the damaged building standing is itself demoralizing.
- Jubankan (formerly Park Hotel)Wakura Onsen, Nanao
Closed. Two commenters had stayed there and learned from the video that it had shut, as of the comments.
- Wakura Onsen SoyuWakura Onsen, Nanao
The town's public bathhouse, open normally, 500 yen for adults.
Sources: hot-ishikawa.jp — checked 2026-09-23
Named in the source comments. Where a note gives a price, opening status or rule, we checked it against the linked source on the date shown — everything else is what the comments said. All of it can change; check the map listing before you go.
FAQ
- Can you stay in Wakura Onsen in 2026?
- Yes. The Wakura Onsen ryokan association lists eleven inns operating, three more open only to disaster-recovery workers, and five still closed, including Kagaya. That is a more open town than the nine the December visitor above described, but still under two thirds of it.
Sources: wakura.or.jp — checked 2026-09-23
- Is the public bath in Wakura Onsen open?
- Yes. Wakura Onsen Soyu, the town's public bathhouse, is listed as operating normally, 7:00 to 21:00, closed on the fourth Thursday, 500 yen for adults and 150 yen for elementary school children. It is the easy answer for a day trip if you are staying in Kanazawa rather than in the town.
Sources: hot-ishikawa.jp — checked 2026-09-23
- When will Kagaya reopen?
- Not soon. The comment above about a 40-room building reflects the plan as it stood in January. The groundbreaking for the replacement building, designed by Kengo Kuma on the site of the group inn Matsunomidori, was held in August 2026, and Kagaya is now aiming to reopen at the end of fiscal 2028 with 33 rooms.
Sources: chunichi.co.jp — checked 2026-09-23
- What should you know before booking Wakura Onsen right now?
- Two things from the thread. Dinner in the town is not a safe assumption, because restaurants are still thin and some inns will not take you without meals, so check the plan you are booking. And a solo traveler is not guaranteed a room here even on a weekday, which was true before the earthquake and is unlikely to have eased.
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This is one of 1 roundups for Wakura Onsen. See them all →
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Of the nine places that had reopened, three including Biwanso were still taking only reconstruction workers when I went in December. Restaurants haven't reopened either, and some have closed recently, so the evenings feel lonely. There are also places you can't stay at without taking meals, and I came away worried that as more people stay shut inside their inn, the onsen town itself will hollow out.
再開した宿泊施設9館のうち、私が行った12月時点では美湾荘含めまだ3館は復興業者のみの受け入れでした 飲食店も再開していない・最近閉めている店もあり、夜は寂しい感じがあります 食事付きじゃないと宿泊できない所もあり、宿で完結が増えると温泉街が廃れてしまう懸念を持ちました
Biwanso had cheap single rooms, and they gave you the pickup service and the same attentive hospitality as everyone else. For a broke solo traveler it was the best ryokan there was. It's a big inn, so I had assumed it would be rebuilt, and learning that it is being taken down was a shock. I just want to say thank you.
美湾荘は、1人用のお安い部屋があり、一般客と分け隔てなく送迎や手厚いおもてなしをしてくれて、ビンボー一人旅には最高の旅館でした。大きな旅館であり再建するものと思い込んでいたので、取り壊しを知りショックです。ただただ感謝を伝えたいです。
The name Wakura comes from "waku-ura", the bay where hot water wells up in the sea, and almost all the flat land is reclaimed. They knew the ground was bad, which is why there was no large-scale collapse. The demolition work is being done by public bodies, and on top of that the rights have to be sorted out, mortgages and so on. Biwanso is where my family stays when we use Wakura Onsen, so I'm relieved it has reopened at all. The fact of the damage doesn't change, so I'd like them to use this as a chance to build the next era.
そもそも和倉の語源は入江の海にお湯が湧いているという意味の「湧く浦」が語源で、平地のほとんどが埋立地。 地盤が悪いのは分かっていたので、大規模な倒壊がなかったのはその予見があったからですね。 解体は公的機関によるものである上に抵当権などの整理など権利関係の見直しも必要なのでしょう。 美湾荘はウチで和倉温泉を利用する際に泊まってますが、まずは営業再開できてホッとしています。 被災の事実は変わらないので、これを機に新しい時代を築いていただきたいものです。
I once went on impulse after watching Hanayome Noren, the Fuji TV documentary. It was a wonderful place. The inn I stayed at then was Jubankan. I had no idea it had closed 😢 I went once more after that with my wife. I didn't realize the scars of the damage were still this bad. I really hope they can get back on their feet. Maybe I'll go one more time ✨
フジＴＶノンフィクションの花嫁のれんを見て衝動的に行ったことがあります。とても良いところでした。その時に宿泊したのが十番館。閉館していたとは😢 その後も一度嫁さんと行きました。まだこんなに被害の傷跡があるとは。なんとか立ち直ってほしい。もう一回行ってみるか✨
So "Jubankan" is the old Park Hotel. I stayed there once. Well, back then the Noto Railway was all still running too… Still, recovery isn't simple. For the local government this is all outside normal business, and they're short of people and everything else. Before complaining that the administration and the politicians are bad, how about thinking it through a little?
「十番館」って、昔の「パークホテル」のことか。以前泊まったことあるわ。 まあ、あの頃はのと鉄道も全部健在だったからなあ…… しかし、復興も簡単にはいかないですね。役所にしてみれば、すべて通常業務外のことですし、人手も何もかも足りてない。行政や政治が悪い、と文句を言う前に、少しは考えたらどうだろうか。
I wish they hadn't gone with Kengo Kuma for the design of the rebuild.
建て替えのデザインが隈研吾はやめてほしかった
Kagaya is an onsen inn known across the country, and Nanao must have benefited a great deal from it, so having its demolition pushed back for a reason like that feels like it can only leave Kagaya fans nationwide, and people here, with a sense of despair. Leaving Kagaya, the symbol of Noto's hot springs, standing like that can't be good for how the place looks either.
加賀屋さんなんて、全国的にも名の知れた温泉宿で七尾市も多分にその恩恵を受けていた筈なのに そんな理由で解体を後回しにされるなんて、全国の加賀屋ファンにも、かつ地元の人たちにも 絶望感しか与えない気がします。能登温泉のシンボルである加賀屋を放置しておくのは 景観的にもよくないでしょう。
People say the recovery is slow, but the few main roads that thread through the hills were torn up, and a huge number of construction firms are working on repairing the roads so the towns can be repaired. Because of that I don't think the speed of this recovery can be compared with the Great East Japan Earthquake or other disasters. After the Noto Peninsula earthquake I went sightseeing not only in Wakura Onsen but in the two cities and two towns of Oku-Noto, and I felt that bit by bit they are getting their energy back. I really hope everyone will go.
復興が遅いとは言われるけど、丘陵地を縫うように伸びる少ない幹線道路がボコボコにやられてるので、まちの復興のための道路の復興のために、大量の建設業者が従事しています。それもあり復興のスピードに関しては、東日本大震災はじめ、その他の災害と比較はできないかなと思います。 能登半島地震後、和倉温泉だけでなく、奥能登２市２町にも観光に行きましたが、少しずつですが、元気を取り戻しているのかなあと感じました。ぜひ皆さんも行ってみてください。
I don't think it's slow at all. Think about the Great East Japan Earthquake, and expecting recovery to have moved along in a mere two years is the naive view. If anything, an onsen town already taking tourists again is on the fast side.
別段遅れてるとは思えない。東日本大震災を考えれば、たった2年で復興が進むと考えるほうが浅はかだよ。 むしろ温泉街としてもう観光客の受け入れが再開されてるのは早いほう。
With an onsen resort, once you include the underground infrastructure, the damage you can't see is large too, so it must be far more complicated. It's a tourist town, so redeveloping the area while making emergency repairs is a formidable problem, and if guests suddenly increased they wouldn't be able to take them on right away either.
温泉観光地という事だと地下のインフラとか入れると見えないところの被害も大きくてはるかに複雑な感じでしょうね 観光地なんで応急処置をしながら地域の再整備と言うのは大変な難題ではありますね、お客さんが急に増えたらそれもそれですぐには引き受けられないでしょうし
Cars can get through the roads and life goes on. But the sewer system is apparently wrecked, and properly paved roads have to wait for the sewers to be fixed, so the road back looks long. Halfway through the repairs, is how it feels.
道路は車も通れますし、生活は出来ています。が、下水道がメタメタにやられているらしく、キチンとした舗装道路は下水道を直しながらということなので、まだまだ復興の道は長そうです。復旧道半ば…という感じ
With prices rising after the earthquake, and the Thunderbird direct service from Osaka on the Nanao Line abolished, I don't think they can expect much revenue. People in nearby Kaga and Toyama, please make the trip.
地震後の物価高や七尾線で運転されていた大阪直通のサンダーバードが廃止されたので売上げ収益は望めないと思われます。 近隣の加賀や富山の方々足を運んでください。
Noto sets the bar high, they turn solo travelers away, and when I went to the tourist association desk on a weekday they told me there was nowhere a single person could stay that night and pointed me to a guesthouse. I don't have good memories of it.
能登は敷居高いからお一人様お断りだし平日に観光協会の案内所行ったら一人で当日泊まれるとこないよと民泊紹介されるしいい思い出ない
Your figure is wrong. Wakura Onsen had about 900,000 overnight guests a year before the earthquake. And Kagaya apparently had about 200,000 a year.
@gbf51 数字間違ってますよ。 和倉温泉は震災前まで年間宿泊数は約90万人てすよ。 ちなみに加賀屋さんは年間約20万人みたいです。
Biwanso treated me very well when I went alone before the pandemic, so I'm thinking I'll go again once it has recovered. That place is quiet, and the view is incredible.
コロナ禍前にひとり旅で行った時美湾荘には大変良くしてもらったので復興したらまた行こうかなと思ってる あそこ静かだし眺望すごくいいんだよなぁ
I've stayed at Jubankan, so this is sad 😢 I'm going to go and see how things are once a year ♨️
十番館に宿泊した事があるので、残念です😢 年に一度は様子を見に行こうと思っています♨️