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| rescued seahorse |
Part 4 of
the series: Satoyama Concept in Fukui
The Fukui Prefectural Seaside Nature Center
can be found on the shores of Wakasa Bay.
Upstairs there is a museum about the region, while the downstairs
has many interactive experiences for children.
There is a tall aquarium in the entryway with slots where guests can
pet the sea life swimming inside. Just
left of the entryway is an aquatic petting zoo for children featuring sea
slugs, star fish, and a variety of other sea animals. A craft area has been set up where visitors
can make bookmarks and cards to remember their visit using dried seaweed and washi paper.
The museum
not only gives information about the Wakasa Bay habitat, but also about the
society that grew up around it. One of
the more fascinating things that we learned was that in the days before trains
and cars, fish caught in Wakasa Bay were carried by foot to markets in the capital
city of Kyoto. This 70+ kilometer
journey was undertaken by both men and women over an estimated period of 1,200
years. The network of routes from the coast of Fukui
to Kyoto came to be known as the Old
Mackerel Road (鯖街道 / Sabakaidō) because mackerel (saba)
was the most revered fish. You can learn
more about the Old Mackerel Road in John
Moore’s Journeys
in Japan (NHK World, November 11, 2014). The mackerel was carried in baskets weighing
15kg that were balanced by a rod over the shoulders. They would be packed with about 20 kg of
salted mackerel and leaving the city Obama at dusk would be carried in a series
of relays, sometimes via Lake Biwa, eventually arriving at the market at
Demachiyanagi around dawn. The museum had
a sample set of baskets for people to try.
My twelve-year old son managed to get the baskets off the ground with great
difficulty. It is hard to imagine
carrying them for many kilometres. These
days the Old Mackerel Road is a popular route for hikers (See: Oku
Japan).
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| Old Mackerel Road display |
The only
drawback to Fukui Prefectural Seaside Nature Center for foreign tourists is the
lack of English signage. A young staff member
gave our group guidance who could speak English well enough to engage with my
children. Even if you speak little or no
Japanese, many of the exhibits can still be enjoyed. There is no admission charge so it is a great
place to stop if you are travelling with kids.
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| Seaweed and washi paper crafts |
There is a
small beach behind the museum which my kids enjoyed immensely. The highlight of my daughter’s summer
vacation was her discovery of a seahorse stranded on the sand. When she picked it up, it wiggled and she
returned it to the sea, delighted to have saved the life of this beautiful,
tiny creature.
The Fukui
Prefectural Seaside Nature Center (福井県海浜自然センター)
Official
Website: http://www.fcnc.jp/
English
tourist information: http://www.town.fukui-wakasa.lg.jp/kankou/english/hyaka/wan.html
〒919-1464 Fukui Prefecture, Mikatakaminaka District,
Wakasa, Sekumi, 18−2
Tel. 0770-46-1101
Access: Google
Maps
- 40 minutes
drive from the Tsuruga Interchange of the Hokuriku Expressway.
- 50 minutes
drive from the Kohamanishi Interchange of the Maizuru Wakasa Expressway.
- 12 minutes
by taxi from JR Mikata station.
Opening
Hours:
9:00 – 17:00
(doors locked to newcomers at 16:30)
9:00 – 18:00
(July 21 – August 31)
Closed Mondays
except on national holidays
Closed the
day after a national holiday
