A Stroll Through Tsuruga

Arriving at the newly renovated JR Tsuruga Station, thanks to the opening of the Shinkansen. It’s about a 25-minute walk to our destination, the Tsuruga Port Humanitarian Museum. As we walked, the beautiful sea came into view! Near Tsuruga Bay, we found monuments and the Tsuruga Railway Museum. Drawn into the Tsuruga Railway Museum, which recreates the station building of the past, we discovered a world we didn’t know through exhibits and video presentations about the history of the railway. At the main attraction, the Tsuruga Port Humanitarian Museum, we learned about Tsuruga’s history of accepting Polish orphans and Jewish refugees. In an era without airplanes, people traveled from faraway Europe, switching trains and boarding ships to finally arrive at Tsuruga Bay. Reflecting on the history of Tsuruga and its interactions with these people was deeply moving. After the museum, we headed to the nearby Red Brick Warehouse. At the Red Brick Cafe, we enjoyed a delicious dish of grilled mackerel tomato sauce pasta, a specialty of Fukui! On the way back to the station, we walked again and stopped by Kehi Shrine, where the haiku poet Basho once composed a poem about the moon. The distance from the station to the port is about a 30-minute walk one way. You can take your time and enjoy the townscape as you go. The tourist information center at the station also provides information about sightseeing buses. Be sure to stop by the information center to plan your stroll and make the most of your visit 😊