Discovering Fukui's Traditional Crafts and Food

Japan’s unique culture has always fascinated the world, especially for its finesse, and its preservation in a modern world that tends to abandon traditional industries for fast paced mass production.

It is only natural then that visitors are looking forward to discovering and even experience first-hand these century, sometimes even millennia, old production techniques and the quality of the resulting products. 

The Fukui region is renowned for its mastery across 7 traditional Japanese crafts. In this article, we’d like to showcase what Fukui has to offer in terms of traditional crafts experiences through a quick three-day tour across this region off the beaten path.

Day 1: Arrival and Lacquerware Experience

With the recent extension on the Hokuriku Shinkansen to Fukui, coming to the land of dinosaurs has never been this easy, with a direct connection from Tokyo in less than 3 hours.

Fukui is indeed the prefecture where the first and most of the dinosaur’s fossils discovered in Japan were found in. New species uncovered in Fukui were even named after the prefecture, like the Fukuisaurus, the Fukui raptor and the Fukui Titan.

A cute little guy to meet at the Fukui Tourist Center, Fukui Station

But let’s not get distracted by the giant lizards that greet you outside Fukui city’s station for now. Hop onto the Hapi Line to Sabae city to get to our first stop for the afternoon.

Keep your eyes open for the benches in the shape of glasses that will make for memorable pictures. Sabae city is indeed known for two industries: glasses making, and lacquerware. If Sabae does represent up to 90% of Japan’s eyeglasses production, it’s the lacquerware we’ll get to experience here, after a small taxi ride to the Echizen Lacquerware Hall.

This establishment will teach you about the history of lacquerware, its importance as a fine good produced in the region, the component used and so on. In the annex of the museum, you’ll also see craftsmen engrossed in their work at different stages of lacquerware production. Then, you’ll be able to try your hand out at lacquerware work yourself, either by painting your own designs, carving them, or applying the lacquer. (Reservation required beforehand on this website)

Echizen lacquerware　　

Take also some time to browse the shop for authentic lacquerware goods, with about 1 000 different models on display, like chopsticks, bento boxes, plates, bowls and so on. These will make for some quite refined souvenirs or gifts to take home.

For the end of this first day, let’s head back to Fukui city. As you take some well-deserved time to enjoy the dinosaur show, make sure to pass by the shopping area by the station to try out some delicious culinary specialties of the region. I’d personally recommend trying out the mackerel sushi and Habutae mochi (Silk mochi)!

For dinner, make sure to try out the local specialties like sauce katsudon, oroshi soba, or (in winter and if your wallet can handle it) some Echizen crab! Mackerel is also a must but wait until you’re in the Wakasa area, starting point of the Mackerel Road, for the authentic mackerel experience.

Echizen Crab

Day 2: Knife and Paper Experience

On the next day let’s head south to Echizen city. This area is an overflowing hub of traditional arts, with pottery, washi paper and even knife forging. You can also learn how to make the famous Echizen soba noodles! We unfortunately wouldn’t have enough time to cover all of these in one day, so we’ll focus here on the Takefu Knife Village workshop and the Washi Paper one.

Take a taxi from the station to get to the Takefu knife Village. You’ll be able to visit the workshop where the knives are forged. These blades are famous among chefs across the world for their fine quality, a quality that has been polished for over 700 years in the region. After viewing the forging process and learning about the blades you can acquire your own at the shop. If you have about 6 hours to spare and have booked in advance, you can also forge your own knife with the blacksmiths!

Knife forging

Unless you decided to dedicate your day to the blacksmith experience, hop in a taxi to the Papyrus house located in the Echizen Washi Village. The legend says that about 1500 years ago, a goddess taught the locals how to make paper out of special plants to make a living instead of farming rice.

Since then, the washi industry held steadfast in the region, resulting today in the production of a high-quality paper. With dozens of paper mills in Echizen, all having their own papermaking techniques, it would take you days to discover it all!

Start with the Paper and Culture Museum to learn all about Japanese paper and how this traditional craft survived through the ages. You can then hop at the Udatsu Paper and Craft Museum to see the artisans at work and the paper making process, before trying it out by yourself at the Papyrus House.

Washi decoration

During this workshop, you’ll create your own paper sheet using different ingredients depending on what you want to use the paper for, like coasters, postcards, luncheon mat and so on. Then you’ll design the paper with flowers and dyes and let it dry so that you can safely take it back home. While you wait for your own creation to dry out, browse the shop for fine (and light!) paper souvenirs.

Let’s take the train to Eiheiji in order to reach our next lodging for this trip: the Eiheiji Hakujukan inn. Enjoy the quiet ambiance of this inn infused with Zen as you experience Shojin Ryori, the authentic Buddhist vegetarian cuisine for dinner and have a dip in the open-air baths. That’s a wrap for today!

Day 3: Zen and Weaving Experience

Don’t stay up too late, as the first experience for this day starts quite early in the morning! During your stay at the Hakujukan Inn, the Zen concierges will lead you inside the Eiheiji Temple for the morning service with the monks at the break of dawn, so be prepared! The Eiheiji Temple is the birthplace of the Soto school of Zen Buddhism in Japan, and it is still the largest active Zen monastery in the country to this day.

Zazen experience、Hakujukann Inn, Eheiji

After the service, you’ll get to enjoy a nice breakfast and then can choose to participate in several Zen-related activities, like Sutra-copying or Zazen practice. Depending on the current schedule, other activities might also be available. If you prefer, you can quietly and freely stroll through the 700 years-old corridors of the Eiheiji Temple instead to fully immerse yourself in the history of Zen.

Once you’ve found your inner peace, head toward the station and depart for Katsuyama. Our last stop is at the Yumeore Katsuyama Museum for a hands-on weaving experience. Fukui being once the world leader in silk trading, you’ll learn all about the silk industry practiced in the region in the past and traditional Japanese weaving techniques.

Weaving experience, Yumeore Katsuyama

Depending on the season, you could also see the silkworms themselves! Then, try on one of the numerous activities the museum has to offer: you can weave your own coaster using thicker threads, create small animal dolls with silkworm cocoons or spin your own thread from the cocoons! Small portable looms are available in the shop if you want to replicate this weaving experience at home!

This marks the last activity we have planned for this three-day tour centered around Fukui’s traditional crafts. However, we’re actually far from done. Lacquerware, washi paper and knife forging are indeed included in the 7 crafts of Fukui, but we would still need to talk about Echizen Pottery, Echizen Cabinets (Tansu), Wakasa Chopsticks and Agate work.

Daruma Doll lacquerware

We also mentioned earlier other crafts and traditional cuisine experience in Echizen, but the Wakasa area in the southern part of the prefecture has also its fair share of delicate crafts and foods, for example with workshops to create your own chopsticks, heshiko (a fermented mackerel recipe that goes really well with sake) and Daruma Dolls (traditional doll modeled after Bodhidharma, the founder of the Zen tradition of Buddhism). Trying all these would make for countless memorable trips!

Come visit us in Fukui to see and craft it all by yourself!

Find out more about Fukui at https://enjoy.pref.fukui.lg.jp/en/ (in English)

And follow us on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube at #ExperienceFukui for travel ideas, local tips and everything else there is to know about this hidden gem of central Japan!

https://www.facebook.com/experiencefukui

https://www.instagram.com/experience_fukui

https://youtube.com/channel/UCUJzhQ4vbkoBNhqsNQB62bQ

―How to get to Fukui

Take the Hokuriku Shinkansen to Fukui Station (2h51 minutes from Tokyo) or a limited express train to Tsuruga Station (50 minutes from Kyoto/Osaka)

―Traveling from outside Japan?

Get your Hokuriku Arch Pass today for unlimited travel between Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka and Fukui (among other places)!

https://www.newgoldenroute.jp/ (in English)