It would be difficult to visit all three areas in just an afternoon, so please feel free to arrange your trip however you like. (If you want to visit all three areas, we recommend a 3-day, 2-night plan!)
Click here for the first part
Ai Nishimura
Administrator of the blog "My Diary," which began in 2004. A writer who has traveled to all 47 prefectures and loves local culture and history.
Author of Shimane's "Geography, Place Names, and Maps" Mysteries (Jitsugyo no Nihonsha), My Town is the "Number One in Japan" Dictionary (PHP Institute), and Prefectures Explained in Neko Neko Japanese History (Jitsugyo no Nihonsha). Official blogger for Suntory Gourmet Guide, official top user for Retty, and official platinum blogger for Excite.
This is the final episode of our trip to Ishikawa and Fukui. Sabae is not just about glasses! We were excited to see live red pandas and to see Western-style buildings. Takefu's Kuranotsuji was an old, historic town lined with houses and storehouses with heavy roofs.
Enjoy the azaleas at Nishiyama Park and see how red pandas live at the zoo.
Sabae has a fixed image of itself as a place for glasses, and glasses are synonymous with Sabae, but we came here to find out more about Sabae than just glasses. Bicycle rentals are also available.
Our first stop was Nishiyama Park. This historic park was built at the end of the Edo period and continues to serve as a place of relaxation for the locals. Unfortunately, it was raining, but the last azaleas of the season managed to bloom. The park is located on a hill, but there are about 50,000 azaleas and 1,000 cherry trees planted there.
At the top of the park, you will find Nishiyama Zoo. This is the smallest zoo in Japan. You can easily walk around the zoo in no time. However, the main attraction is the red pandas!
Starting with three red pandas that came from Beijing about 30 years ago, they have now bred over 50. Now, the zoo has red panda specialists who send red pandas to zoos all over Japan. What's great about this zoo is that it has achieved such a feat without any admission fees. In addition to the red pandas, monkeys and birds also live here, and some behavioral exhibits are also held.
It takes about 15 minutes from Fukui Station to Sabae Station. I was excited to see the sign hanging in the mountains.
First, we arrived at Nishiyama Park, a park filled with flowers. The azaleas were just about in bloom!
The deep pink color is beautiful. It must have been even more vibrant at its peak!
It has become a popular walking course and a place to relax for local citizens.
At the top of the climb there is a zoo. Nishiyama Zoo is the smallest zoo in Japan.
There are so many red pandas here! And you can see them up close and personal, not just in the enclosure.
It is a conscientious zoo that is open to the public free of charge. It is supported by crowdfunding, which includes the right to name a baby red panda as a thank you gift.
This is a rare zoo where you can see the animals eating and playing directly, without having to look through cages.
Many other birds are also kept here. This is a red-crowned crane.
Peacock. Oops, I was courted... It seems that it was just the season for courtship displays (^^;
I should also introduce Sabae, the city of glasses. Learn about the history of glasses at the Glasses Museum.
The next stop was the Glasses Museum. The first and second floors of the building housing the Fukui Prefecture Glasses Association are open to the public as a glasses shop, cafe, museum, and more.
The glasses shop sells about 3,000 pairs of glasses made by manufacturers in Fukui Prefecture. They stock domestically made glasses that have been specially developed for Japanese people, with the nose pads fitting snugly, the height that doesn't hit the eyelashes, the comfort and shape. There is a wide variety of glasses, and you can actually try out glasses made from specially developed functional materials. Glasses made here are delivered in about a week to 10 days, and shipping is free. There's something special about having glasses made in Sabae, Fukui, the birthplace of glasses!
The Glasses Museum exhibits the history of glasses made in Sabae and antique glasses from the Edo period and other times, and admission is free. Glasses-related goods are also sold, and all of them are cute and I wanted them.
There are several glasses monuments in the city, so it's fun to look for them while walking around! There are plans to increase the number of glasses motifs in the future, so it might be fun to go around looking for hidden glasses.
We have arrived at the Glasses Museum! Here you can enjoy a variety of shops selling MADE IN JAPAN glasses, a museum, and even some experiences.
There are many glasses monuments not only in the building but also on the surrounding roads. Glasses chandeliers, glasses benches, and all kinds of glasses welcome you. I wore glasses on the day I went!
In the 1890s, eyeglass manufacturing, which was becoming increasingly important, spread to Fukui through craftsmen who were brought over from Osaka. Currently, Fukui boasts a 95% share of domestic production.
You can also experience making your own glasses strap by choosing your favorite color.
A map of the 47 prefectures made from eyeglass frame material.
I bought the Shimane Prefecture one. It comes with a pair of mini glasses. There are so many glasses-related souvenirs that I want to buy them all!
In fact, there are monuments at the station too! The station stairs and the rotary in front of the station.
I really wanted to see the Western-style house in Sabae, Emi Photo Studio.
This old Western-style building is located in a residential area. The soft cream-colored building was built in 1905 and is designated as a tangible cultural property by the Agency for Cultural Affairs. Currently, the photo studio office, which still stands today, is located right next to it.
The entrance has a driveway-style porch, and the entrance is decorated with a plaster plasterwork of a phoenix. There is also an elaborate design that makes it look like artificial marble. It is said to be the work of plasterer Isurugi Yoshijiro. In old buildings, such elaborate decorations often allowed carpenters and plasterers to show off their skills, and this is proof that plasterers of the level of what we would call "Living National Treasures" were active all over Japan.
Please note that Emi Photo Studio is a privately owned building, so if you would like to view the photos, please contact us in advance by phone or other means.
"Emi Photo Studio" is a registered tangible cultural property in Sabae. It features inset windows and plaster paintings of phoenixes. It is a wooden house that combines Japanese and Western styles and makes extensive use of modern architecture.
The arched front gate is covered with copper plates, and is also a well-balanced mix of Japanese and Western styles.
On the second floor, a collection of cameras that have been used up until now is on display. We accept tours, but since it is a private home, please contact us in advance.
This is amazing! Funatsu Shrine, a place where people, nature, and gods come together
I continued to cycle around Sabae. The weather was improving and my aimless journey continued.
The town of Sabae is a relatively calm city with a large residential area. There are old houses and a large temple, and I would have liked to see those places if I had had more time.
I heard that there was a shrine on the opposite side of the station from the place I had originally been going to, so I decided to go there without doing much research. It was a quick bike ride, but the road was a bit difficult to pedal on, so I had to be careful.
And guess what! Funatsu Shrine is a shrine that blends wonderfully into nature. It's sacred and cool. I immediately got off my bike and went inside. It peeks out from the first torii gate into the dense bushes. Its appearance is no ordinary one.
When we got to the second torii gate, we were surrounded by green maples and moss, creating a green world. As we continued on, the air became a little cooler. On the way, we crossed a red bridge covered with blooming azaleas, and the next torii gate was a Ryobu torii gate with legs, designated as an important cultural property of Fukui Prefecture (the same torii gate in Miyajima). Finally, we passed through a vermilion-painted torii gate and arrived at the main hall. It was a place like a deep forest, filled with light and shadow. The trees grew as if they were covering the sculptures, and nature felt superior to everything else. It was a place where we could really feel that people are living in nature.
Traveling is really great because you can come across such wonderful shrines!
The stone pillar at the entrance to Funatsu Shrine reads "Shikinai Funatsu Shrine." "Shikinai" indicates that the shrine is mentioned in the Engishiki, a book written over 1,000 years ago, and is proof that it is an ancient shrine with a long history.
The third torii gate is a wooden Ryobu torii gate. It is extremely valuable because the history of its reconstruction and construction can be seen in the documents. It is an important cultural property of the prefecture. It is covered with moss and blends in with the fresh greenery.
After passing through the long approach to the shrine, we arrived at the last torii gate. This shrine has many highlights, and you will feel a sense of exhilaration every time you pass through a torii gate. The fourth torii gate is painted vermilion and has copper plates attached to it. This is also designated as an Important Cultural Property by the prefecture.
The vermilion-painted wooden structure has a stone base, making it a rare torii gate that is half wood and half stone. Just looking at the torii gate is very interesting!
The main hall is a solid and sturdy structure built in the grounds surrounded by trees. In front of the main hall, where only the foundations remain, there used to be a worship hall. The roof is thatched and sparkles in the sunlight. It has been designated an Important Cultural Property by the prefecture.
The sacred tree, Osugi, is a city designated natural monument. Next to it is Hachiman Shrine.
A dense forest and moss-covered land spreads out before you. It is an ancient shrine that is one with nature and feels pleasantly untouched.
From the shrine, you can also take photos like this: the first torii gate, the Shirasagi express train, and the rental bike I was riding (lol).
Kuranotsuji is a showroom of historical architecture! Satisfy your appetite with Volga rice
The last stop on the trip was Takefu, an old town. Everyone I met in Takefu seemed to have an attachment to the name "Takefu". Even though the name of the town changed, it seems to have remained in the station name. By the way, the city is now called "Echizen City".
There is a place called "Kurano Tsuji" here, an area lined with old storehouses and buildings. If you walk a little further you will come to "Tansumachi Street" where Echizen chests of drawers are lined up. Takefu was the location of the "Kokufu", the political center of ancient times, and was also the center of logistics and culture in the Echizen region from the Middle Ages onwards, making it a prosperous town. Looking at each house one by one, you will see a row of homes with large roofs and low second floors with eaves between them and the first floor, which are characteristic of residential buildings in the Hokuriku region.
Houses make up a large part of the city and are an important part of the scenery that leaves an impression. The scenery that is commonplace when you live there, but as a traveler, it left an interesting and memorable impression on me.
Speaking of local gourmet food in Takefu, it's "Volga rice". You can eat it at "Yokogawa Branch" at the entrance to the shrine beyond Kuranotsuji. Each piece is carefully fried in a frying pan, and it was a delicious Western dish! The origin of the name Volga rice is unknown.
Just a short walk from Takefu Station, you will come across a row of flat-roofed houses (with the entrance facing the flat roof), which are common in the Hokuriku region. It's fun to walk around and look at the old signs.
We enjoyed Volga Rice at the Yokogawa Branch located at the entrance of Soja Daijingu Shrine!
Volga rice is an omelette rice topped with a cutlet. The omelette rice is made of ketchup rice stuffed with chunks of chicken, wrapped in a thin egg, topped with a large cutlet and sauce. Most customers order Volga rice, which is made skillfully and carefully. It was so delicious that it would be a shame to keep it as a local delicacy!
"Kurano-Tsuji" is a place where white-walled and wooden storehouses are lined up.
It has been beautifully maintained and turned into a restaurant, company, shop, etc. It has been renovated without destroying the atmosphere.
You will be surrounded by old buildings and feel as if you have traveled back in time.
The building of "Otsuka Kimono Store" was amazing! Can you see the softly bulging roof? This is called a "mukuri roof" and is a traditional Japanese construction method. It is rare to see such a large roof on a private home. There is also a stone storehouse on the left. It was built so that if a fire broke out in the surrounding area, it would be contained in the storehouse.
I love roof tiles and I always walk around looking at roofs, but this got me excited! The roof of Otsuka Kimono Store has all three of the old roofing brothers, "cypress bark," "copper sheet," and "tile," all in one place. Perhaps it's the result of gradual restoration over the years. It was a very rare house where you could see everything at once.
Unfortunately, many of the shops on Tansu-cho Street were closed. There are many Echizen Tansu shops lined up, and you can see the craftsmanship of the craftsmen. In Takefu, you can not only walk around the town, but also experience the birthplace of "Chihiro Iwasaki" and traditional crafts.
The contents published are accurate at the time of publication and are subject to change.
