Traveling around Kanazawa and Ise in a Porsche 911 GT3

Posted: Posted:November 18, 2025

Ahh. I didn't have time to write about it, but in September 2025, I went on a trip around Kanazawa and Ise in a 997 Porsche 911 GT3.

My husband and I don't usually have time to travel long distances, so in many cases, we go to our destination in a Porsche first, then my husband meets us on the Shinkansen and we go home together on a Porsche trip. This is the opposite.

Because I was unusually short on time, my husband took the Porsche to the destination first, and I later took the Shinkansen to the destination and met up with him.

We met up in Kanazawa City, Ishikawa Prefecture. There is a place we visit every year, so our goal was to go there.

After being picked up at Kanazawa Station, we took a leisurely drive across the vast land in the GT3.

After completing our objectives in Kanazawa, we headed to Mie Prefecture.

Oh, and on the way, we stopped at a parking area...

Speaking of Kanazawa, you can also enjoy black curry.

We also stopped at Tsuchiyama SA in Koka City, Shiga Prefecture.

There is only one goal here.

Yes, that means buying curls, which are now hard to find in the Kanto area (lol).

Previously, at the Shin-Meishin Konan Parking AreaWhen I met a Porsche driver (now an Alpina owner)I was so thrilled when I found out I could buy curls there that I always buy a box of curls whenever I'm in the area and give them to my friends in the Kanto region.

On this day, I was buying curls and met my husbandCurrent Alpina ownersI was feeling nostalgic as I remembered about

I'm happy to be able to purchase this again.

After that, I continued driving and suddenly realized that I had arrived in Toba City and was watching a beautiful sunset.The ferry terminal in Toba, which I always useA commemorative photo taken nearby.

It's strange to think that I was in Tokyo until the morning, and now I'm in Toba taking commemorative photos of the GT3.

I usually go to Toba as a day trip, but this time I had plans to go from Tokyo to Kanazawa before going to Toba, so I decided to stay overnight in Toba.

The next morning, looking out the window, I thought, "I want to eat oysters," but unfortunately, it was still too early in the season in September.

Next time I'll come back to eat oysters.

Well, that's where we headed the next morning.

Those of you who know the area may already know where this is, but since I got there early in the morning, I was able to park in parking lot A for the first time in a while.

Yes, it's Ise Shrine.

Recently, I have been making a pilgrimage to Ise Shrine once a year, and this will be my pilgrimage to Ise Shrine in 2025.

It was a wonderful day with great weather.

As I write every time, when I go to Ise Shrine, I feel truly purified, my resolve to continue living a pure and righteous life grows stronger, and my sense of gratitude for everything in my daily life grows stronger.

Currently, Ise Shrine is undergoing eight years of preparation for its Shikinen Sengu, which takes place once every 20 years.

Another miracle happened that day.

This happened when I was visiting the Four Supreme Beings at the Inner Shrine.

Do you understand?

Suddenly, a snake appeared in front of me.

I am extremely afraid of snakes, so normally if I see one in front of me I will scream and run away (even if I just see a snake's shed skin), but this time I was strangely able to naturally accept it as a snake and neither screamed nor ran away, and I was able to look at the snake with a strangely calm feeling.

What was even more strange was that there were several other worshippers at the shrine, but none of them noticed the snake's presence.

This may sound a bit spiritual, but he truly was a being that made me think, "Ah, maybe he is a god," and it was a moment when I felt a calmness in my heart that I had never felt before.

After visiting Ise Grand Shrine and encountering a snake that I thought might be a god, I looked at the carp that I always see and then leave...

We left Ise Shrine behind.

After this, when we were moving to our next destination, a hawk or a kite appeared in front of us.

Living in Tokyo, it's not something you encounter often, so it was an exciting experience following my earlier encounter with the snake at Ise Shrine.

I thought it was a sign that something really good was about to happen, and it was a very happy trip (simple (lol)).

On the way back, we stopped off to enjoy some local Ise cuisine.

Oh yes, there was one other purpose for this trip.

More on that next time!

The Porsche 911 GT3 has become a car for our family to enjoy on long trips, and we are really looking forward to driving it long distances and enjoying the various scenery of Japan.

It's a happy Porsche to meet ^ ^

Rika (911supercars.com)

I'm Rika, the author of this article. Since I got my hands on a Porsche 911, I've been completely hooked on Porsches and I can't stop loving them, so I started this blog. My favorite cars are the 911 Carrera (2/991), 911 Carrera Cabriolet & 911 Carrera T (1/992), GT3 (1/997) and 718 Cayman GT4 RS.

911Supercars in the article

-Porsche: Porsche

Kaz amigo says:

2025年11月18日 at 11:42 PM

The image of the Carl box on top of the GT3 is surreal (lol)

Ise Shrine is great!
Parking lot A is the one close to Uji Bridge.
It's a convenient location where you can only park early in the morning.
Encountering a snake is considered lucky. Snakes are dragons and are often enshrined at shrines.
I once encountered a snake at Takihara Shrine in Ise. It crossed in front of me as I was walking along the approach to the shrine.

Is that a buzzard flying in front of me?
This is also good~♪
I also saw a crow cross the road on my way back from Rokko Shrine (ΦωΦ)

Reply
- Rika (911supercars.com) says:
  
  2025年11月19日 at 4:21 PM
  
  Kaz amigo
  The first time I visited, I was so excited that I parked in Parking Lot A (lol), but after that I was directed to a parking lot a little further away, so this time I was so happy that I was able to park in Parking Lot A again after a long time ^^
  
  The encounter with Mr. Snake and Mr. Kite? was very moving. It's a mysterious feeling.
  
  Reply
カート好きの還暦 says:

2025年11月19日 at 2:33 PM

RIKA

You must be young to be going to Toba and Ise Shrine for a day trip. There's no way the 997 has cruise control. Speaking of which, I also went from Tokyo to Kanazawa the other day, but the Hokuriku Shinkansen has so few trains that it's super crowded. Even on a weekday, all the reserved seats were full. I wonder if they're going to eat crab?
It was my first time riding in Gran Class, which isn't available on the Tokaido Shinkansen, and since it was an all-you-can-drink alcoholic beverage, I bought a lot of snacks. Since you can't drink alcohol on the train, it's healthy and I don't gain weight.

When I think of Tsuchiyama SA, I think of Maruten. There's one in Okage Yokocho too. Well, it definitely makes you gain weight.

Reply
- Rika (911supercars.com) says:
  
  2025年11月19日 at 4:22 PM
  
  60th birthday who likes carts
  We were only able to do it because there were two drivers (my husband and I), but if I was driving alone I don't think I would want to do it again and again ~^^ And this time I went for an overnight stay, and it was definitely easier than a day trip (lol).
  
  My family and I have been talking about wanting to try the all-you-can-drink alcohol option in Gran Class! But I'm a cheapskate, so I thought, "If I'm going to ride Gran Class, I have to ride it long distances," and my goal is to experience Gran Class on a long distance someday ^^
  
  I always try a variety of different foods at Okage Yokocho, but although I've seen Maruten, I've never tried it. I'd like to try it next time!
  
  Reply
  - カート好きの還暦 says:
    
    2025年11月20日 at 5:44 PM
    
    I'm also a cheapskate, so I hesitated to take Gran Class. The Gran Class fare to Kanazawa is 17,990 yen for the 450km, 2.5 hour journey. To Aomori, it's 13,600 yen for the 3 hour 20 minute, 714km journey. Aomori is 60% longer in distance, so it's cheaper. However, there was only one Green Car and it was almost full, so there was someone sitting next to me and I was close to the toilet, so I chose Gran Class, which has a single seat. There are three Green Cars from Tokyo to Nagoya, and if you go to Shin-Osaka, there are many empty seats and the fare is around 2,500 yen if you get an early bird discount. (My family will probably ask me how much the nightlife is.)
    In fact, Joetsu Myoko Station, just beyond Nagano, is the boundary between JR East and JR West, so Gran Class and express fares are added, making the Hokuriku Shinkansen more expensive. The maximum speed of the Tohoku Shinkansen is 320 km/h, while the Hokuriku Shinkansen is a planned Shinkansen beyond Takasaki, so it's slower at 260 km/h, the same as Morioka in the Tohoku region. Is it like the RS and the plain Carrera? Shin-Osaka is the boundary station for the Tokaido-Sanyo Shinkansen, but there's no additional fare, and the fare is determined by the distance. Beyond Hakata, the Kyushu Shinkansen is treated as a completely separate line, so if you take a direct train from Shin-Osaka to Kumamoto, for example, it's more expensive than the Hokuriku Shinkansen.
    
    That's all from an old train nerd.
    
    Reply
    - Rika (911supercars.com) says:
      
      2025年11月23日 at 6:23 PM
      
      60th birthday who likes carts
      It was difficult for me to understand (lol), but when my husband read the comments he nodded and said "I see, I see" (lol)!
      
      That night, we were drinking and saying how amazing the "night prices" of this 60-year-old cart-loving guy must be (lol)!
      
      I hope that one day my family will be able to report that we "traveled to Aomori in Gran Class"...^^
      
      Reply
      - カート好きの還暦 says:
        
        2025年11月25日 at 2:34 PM
        
        Haha, only train enthusiasts can understand this. On the other hand, I had no idea about CXX and Exclusive Manufaktur.
        Normally, fares and fees are charged separately when traveling across different railway companies, but in the case of JR, it is a case-by-case basis.
        
        At night in Nagoya, bars are more affordable than in Tokyo or Osaka, but when it comes to food, the cost performance is worse than in Tokyo when it comes to ingredients. Especially seafood? This seems to have something to do with the strong soy sauce (tears).
        Last week, I was entertaining a client and started work at 6pm, but by the time I got home it was past midnight, so I'd been working overtime for 9 hours! The important part of the conversation with this client was at the after-party, which started after midnight (lol).
      - Rika (911supercars.com) says:
        
        2025年11月26日 at 4:32 PM
        
        60th birthday who likes carts
        You're entertaining clients for nine hours starting at 6pm?! You seem to be enjoying your business (laughs).
        
        It's like getting your partner all wet and then getting them to sign a contract (just kidding lol).
        
        Speaking of Nagoya, the other day my family received some fresh miso stewed udon noodles from Yamamotoya Honten as a Nagoya souvenir, and the whole family enjoyed it!
- ポチカレラ says:
  
  2025年11月21日 at 6:59 AM
  
  Oise-san looks great with a 911. I also drive a 997.2, but I always go by Kintetsu because I'm not sure about the parking. I also drive a manual transmission, but I wonder if the clutch fatigue of the GT3 is okay (^^)
  
  Reply
  - Rika (911supercars.com) says:
    
    2025年11月23日 at 6:26 PM
    
    Pochicarrera
    Hello ^^ I think you can park the 997.2 in Parking Lot A (the parking lot closest to the Inner Shrine) without any problems. However, if you miss the timing and end up being directed to a parking lot along the river, it may be difficult (although having said that, I previously parked my 992.1 Carrera T in a parking lot along the river, and I remember there being no problem with the Carrera T).
    
    The clutch of the 997 GT3 is heavy, but strangely enough, I can drive it without any problems! Even when I'm stuck in traffic, I don't get tired, so maybe my left foot is just weird (lol).
    
    Reply
MOCO says:

2025年11月19日 at 6:07 PM

Hello Rika-san.
Long time no see.
Since it appeared, I added a comment lol

I always enjoy reading about the safety and security of Porsche.
It's been four and a half years since Alpina came to our house, and a little over four years since we first met through Karl.
It's not like "Osechi is good, but curry is good too," but there are quite a few people who say Alpina is good, but Porsche is good too, so I try to understand Alpina every day so I don't give in to temptation lol.
So, I look forward to working with you again (sorry for the Carl-like comment lol).

Reply
- Rika (911supercars.com) says:
  
  2025年11月19日 at 10:33 PM
  
  MOCO
  Wow, it's been a long time! It's been four and a half years since Alpina came here.
  
  During this trip, MOCO's name came up many times in our conversations. "Where was the PA we met at, other than here?" or "I want to go to this soba restaurant that MOCO wrote about in her blog" (laughs).
  
  Unfortunately, due to distance and time constraints I wasn't able to go to the soba restaurant this time, but I'll definitely use this as a reference next time.
  
  Alpina is good, but Porsche is good too, so please give in to temptation and try it out again (lol).
  
  Thank you very much for your continued support!
  
  Reply
舞阿弥青 says:

2025年11月20日 at 8:37 PM

Rika

Good thing it wasn't a bear!

Reading your blog saved me the trouble of visiting Ise Shrine!
Thank you for your blessings (lol)

Reply
- Rika (911supercars.com) says:
  
  2025年11月23日 at 6:24 PM
  
  Mai Ami Ao
  I'm glad it wasn't a bear!!
  
  I hope you will visit Ise Shrine and not just find out about it through this blog! It might be a little difficult to get there in your lovely blue car though... (laughs).
  
  Reply