Fukura, Japan's oldest wooden lighthouse 旧福浦灯台

With its wide white wooden slats and angular shapes, the Fukura lighthouse stands out in the typically Japanese landscape of the eponymous village. Undoubtedly one of the reasons that makes this lighthouse an essential stopping point for travelers visiting the Noto Peninsula .

It all started with Monotobu Hino, inhabitant of the small coastal village, who was the first, in 1608 , to light bonfires at night at the exact current location of the lighthouse in order to avoid accidents with boats passing by. from Fukura.

It was not until 1692 that a stone lighthouse was built, still in the same place, by Choubei Hino XI. Lighthouse which will be destroyed and then replaced by a Western-style wooden lighthouse in 1876 by Kichisaburo, a building which is still in place today and which has thus become the oldest wooden lighthouse in Japan.

A scenic ride

However, despite its status, the Fukura lighthouse plays tricks on curious travelers who would like to come and admire it. Already, because you should not trust the indications of Google Maps which geolocates it in the wrong place , just at the entrance of the village. So we quickly think that the oldest wooden lighthouse in Japan is no more. To find it, just walk into the village and park your car along the port. And then, to follow the signs representing a small character with the features of a lighthouse . Don't worry, the path is very well marked since the panels are present at each intersection. Impossible to get lost!

The walk to reach the famous building lasts about ten minutes, first through the village where you can observe superb wooden houses , then on a small stony path where you can make out the sea below between the grass, before reaching this superb panorama and this white lighthouse overlooking the Sea of Japan . An invitation to contemplate the waves breaking on the rocks, installed on a small bench, also in wood, just next to the lighthouse.