Noto Peninsula was designated as Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS) in 2011 for its satoyama landscape and traditional culture. Noto’s satoyama is well-known for rich biodiversity. In this study, bees (Hymenoptera: Apiformes) were selected as a biodiversity indicator for Noto’s satoyama forests. Bees were collected monthly from May to October in 2009 and 2010, using window traps placed at canopy and ground levels, from 11 forest sampling sites, including 2 evergreen forests, 1 sugi plantation, 2 deciduous forests and 6 (3 pairs of managed and unmanaged) red-pine forests. Results were: (1) a total of 426 bee individuals, belonging to 25 species in 6 families, were collected; (2) bee species richness, abundance, and diversity were highest in the red-pine forests; (3) these values were also higher at canopy than at ground in most forests; (4) no significant difference was found in these values between the unmanaged and managed red-pine forests; and (5) forest types determined dominance of particular bee species, e.g. Bombus diversus showed a positive association with red-pine forests, while Andrena kaguya was abundant in deciduous forests.