Chirihama Nagisa Driveway

Chirihama Nagisa Driveway is a stretch of beach in Hakui, on the west coast of the Noto Peninsula, where ordinary cars, motorcycles and bicycles can drive directly on the sand. The fine, tightly packed sand hardens when wet with seawater, giving about 8 kilometres of firm driving surface along the shoreline. There is no toll to use it, and roadside rest stops and shops sit near the entrances. It is reached by car from the Chirihama or Imahama interchanges on the Noto Satoyama Kaido, about 40 minutes from Kanazawa, and is not practical to reach on foot from a train station. The driveway can close during high waves or bad weather, and it resumed normal operation after access routes in the wider Noto area were affected by the January 2024 Noto Peninsula earthquake.