“NOTO no KOE little book” will be released on April 8th, 2026..
”The concept for this book was conceived long before the tragedy of January 1, 2024.
That earthquake merely intensified and accelerated my desire to contribute, in my own way, to the recovery of this peninsula.”
—Lionel Beccat | Chef [Esquisse] (Excerpt from the book’s prologue)
This is a very small book, created over the course of about a year starting in 2025 by three people—Lionel Beccaｔ (French chef), Tomoko Chris (radio personality), and Kanako Teshigaｗara (food planner/translator and interpreter)—who served as its publishers, while their thoughts turned to Noto in Ishikawa Prefecture.
To create a book that draws our attention to the things we tend to forget—such as the connections between the land and its people, carefully cultivated over time; the importance of food, which is essential to life; and the joy of simply being in the present moment—this volume is composed of words, illustrations, and photographs contributed by nine individuals active at the forefront of various fields, in addition to the three, along with landscape photographs of Noto taken by Lionel Beccat.
We hope this little book will invite readers to experience Noto.
*One of the goals of the three publishers in releasing this book is to donate a portion of the proceeds to the Noto region.
Contributors to this book include Kahori Ishii (Film director/Producer), Yayako Uchida (Essayist/Singer/Actress), Eishi Okamoto (Cultivator and winemaker at BEAU PAYSAGE), Ryoko Sekiguchi (Author/Translator), Shinobu Namae (Chef [L’Effervescence /bricolage bread & co.]), Meiju Hirata (Chef [Villa della pace]), Akira Minagawa (Designer, minä perhonen), Kazunori Kumagai (Tap Dancer), who created original illustrations to accompany the text, and Naoki Ishikawa (Photographer), who provided photographs to complement the text .
*Titles omitted.
While Noto serves as the “point of origin for their thoughts,” the 12 stories each author has written from scratch are sure to evoke the primal landscapes that lie dormant in the heart of every reader.
And what lends this book its beautiful radiance are the landscape photographs of Noto by Lionel Beccat (including a map of shooting locations). The gaze of as a chef is filled with the deep affection he has held for the land and people of Noto over many years.
The translation of this book was handled by Smith Alexander (Screenwriter/Translator/Photographer), who has previously translated works by renowned authors; the design was created by Koji Miyazoe (Graphic designer), who has produced a wide range of books including photo collections; and the editing was overseen by Yosuke Fujiki (Curator).
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Title： NOTO no KOE ― little book
Publication Date： April 8, 2026
Dimensions： 148mm (H) × 105mm (W)
Pages： 116
Price： 1,800 yen (1,980 yen including tax)
Sales： (April) Tsutaya Daikanyama, Esquisse (Available only to guests dining at the restaurant.) (May onwards) Internet-order sales planned
Publishers： Tomoko Chris, Kanako Teshigawara, Lionel Beccat
Publisher： NOTO no KOE Publishing
Photography： Lionel Beccat, Naoki Ishikawa (pp. 65–66)
Contributors： Kahori Ishii, Naoki Ishikawa, Yayako Uchida, Eishi Okamoto, Kazunori Kumagai, Tomoko Chris, Ryoko Sekiguchi, Kanako Teshigawara, Shinobu Namae, Meiju Hirata, Akira Minagawa, Lionel Beccat
Translation： Alexander Smith
Edited and Written by： Yosuke Fujiki (Yosuke Fujiki Van Gogh Co., Ltd.)
Design： Koji Miyazoe
Printing and Binding： Fujiwara Printing Co., Ltd.
