Fast train to Fukui
An extended bullet train line in western Japan is opening up a lesser-visited area of the country, discovers Jacob Lewis
DESTINATIONS JAPAN | RAIL TRAVEL
i
n the snow-capped mountains of Japan’s Fukui prefecture, Takahashi Genpou, chief priest of Daianzenji
Temple, guides me through my first encounter with Zen Buddhist meditation. He compares the mind to a cluttered room, explaining that “organising our thoughts brings us closer to what is most important within ourselves”. Seated in the seventh-century
sanctuary’s tatami (mat) room, I try to clear my mind. Next, Takahashi-san eases me into shakyo, the meditative art of sutra (scripture) copying. My attempt resembles the aimless trails of a bewildered snail. However, he graciously praises my efforts and vows to offer them in prayer, along with my handwritten hopes for onward safe travels. Fukui’s Zen retreats are usually far
removed from Japan’s typical tourist sites, as until now, the region has been a five-hour rail journey from Tokyo. But that’s all set to change: on March 16, the first bullet trains, known in Japanese
as shinkansen, will race through this under-the-radar prefecture. The 85-mile extension to the Hokuriku Shinkansen line will cut the journey time between Tokyo and Tsuruga, in Fukui, by up to an hour.
SELF-GUIDED TOUR To coincide with the opening, InsideJapan Tours has launched a 15-night Hidden Zen self-guided tour. Highlights include travelling on a bullet train through Fukui and neighbouring Ishikawa prefecture, Zen meditation and a stay in a farmhouse. Ahead of the launch, I followed the line extension from the new terminus through rural Fukui. Known for its seafood and rugged coastline, Tsuruga was a source of ocean bounty for Kyoto’s royal court and became a busy international port in 1916, serving as Japan’s link to Europe via the Trans-Siberian railway. Today, it draws few tourists, save in summer when sun- seekers flock to its pine-fringed beaches and those at nearby Mizushima island, dubbed the ‘Hawaii of Hokuriku’.
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travelweekly.co.uk
Eiheiji Temple, Fukui prefecture PICTURE: F Yoshikawa
14 MARCH 2024 41
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