TIMELESS ARTISTRY

Opened 2 years ago in the Ryogoku district, the museum is dedicated to one of Japan's most famous painters: Katsushika Hokusai. The four-storey museum was designed by Sejima Kazuyo, one of the founders of the Japanese architectural firm SANAA. The permanent exhibition on the 4th floor takes us into a beautiful, subdued space that includes beautiful prints and information about Hokusai and his disciples. We were able to see a temporary exhibition on bridges in Hokusai's work.

Not far from this museum, at Ryogoku station, the Ryogoku Edo Noren complex recalls the atmosphere of the Edo era. There are cafes, bars and restaurants as well as a sumo arena. We ate at Tsukishima Monja Moheji, a restaurant specializing in monjayaki, a typical Tokyo dish. The ingredients (cabbage, carrots, vegetables, meat, fish, shrimp, mochi, cheese....you choose!) are finely chopped and mixed with the dough, all fried on the hot plate located in the center of the table (teppan).

The Asakusa district remains a historical district but with a mix of modernity embraced since the construction of the Skytree Tower with low houses, old shops, wide avenues. Feel free to go up to the top floor of the tourist information centre: the view is breathtaking!

Senso-ji is the oldest temple in the capital dedicated to Kannon. It remains a place of worship for pilgrims and Sumo wrestlers who come to pray before their fights. A lot of people, but that's the only way to see the temple. Even though I know this area well, it is always a pleasure to visit it again.

This one-hour cruise from Asakusa to Odaiba on board the futuristic boat imagined by a Japanese designer allows you to see Tokyo in a different way: from the Sumida River. On the boat, there is all the necessary comfort to enjoy this moment: bar.

Even at night, we were able to enjoy this garden thanks to stunning lighting. A beautiful pond, beautiful traditional houses, old bonsai, maples and cherry trees: the perfect mix for a traditional Japanese garden. I wish one day to be able to visit this garden in broad daylight too!

The dinner that followed was held at Enjyu Restaurant in Happo-En Garden. Large bay windows overlooking the romantic garden allow you to enjoy the view while enjoying excellent traditional Japanese cuisine served in beautiful dishes. A beautiful setting for a successful evening!

Shinagawa Prince Hotel is equipped with all the necessary comforts, each room offers a magnificent view of Tokyo, the hotel is close to Shinagawa Station, allowing you to use the Shinkansen, the Japanese high-speed train, or the Yamanote line, for example. In the secondary building that I used, breakfast was served as a buffet of Japanese or Western cuisine in a refined atmosphere.

The Tokyo Haneda - Komatsu domestic flight only lasts one hour and is very convenient for travelling to Fukui Prefecture. On board, Japan Airlines' service and comfort are on par with its reputation: attentive and discreet flight attendants, comfortable seats... The plane left on time.

The Hatsumi Zushi Honten restaurant located in the city of Fukui is renowned for its sushi, a very prevalent dish in this region due to its geographical location near the Sea of Japan. Once behind the noren, we sat down at the long counter to enjoy sushi prepared before our eyes by the master sushi chef. We were able to go behind the counter to learn how to make maki, then had the privilege of going into the kitchen to see how the chef made the broth for his soup, which was as tasty as it was beautiful.

We were welcomed by the director of the Kubota family's microbrewery, 11th of his generation. The brewery has two particular features: they grow their own rice and make their sake from local water pumped 200 metres underground. Once we completed the visit explaining the whole sake making process, we were able to taste the different sake produced by this brewery.

This is THE must-see site in the Fukui region I was very much looking forward to. I was not disappointed. The site is outstanding: successive cliffs overlook the Sea of Japan over more than 1km. A rather rare natural landscape because the rocks are a very geometric type of basalt sticks. We were able to observe the landscape until sunset when many Japanese people like to gather there.

Awara Onsen has a pleasant seaside resort but it is also a tourist site. So we were able to test the hotel's onsen to relax after a long day of visiting. The waters here are helpful for rheumatism and dermatitis.

We had dinner at the hotel. The staff had reserved for us a small intimate alcove with a view over lush vegetation. We were able to taste a lot of delicious Japanese dishes thanks to a kaiseiki menu: sashimi, local crab, fish, shabu shabu....

Easily accessible from the hotel, Yataimura Yukemuri Yokocho is an avenue of typical Japanese micro restaurants such as ramen or soba. Each stall can only accommodate 10 people. Right next to the yokocho, there is a free public footbath.

Matuya Sensen Hotel offers traditional Japanese accommodation. Before reaching our room, we were able to enjoy a matcha tea as a welcome drink in a tea house. I loved the Japanese style room with large spaces and tatamis on the floor. The room also had a small onsen on its terrace.

I loved visiting the city of Mikuni Minato and its main street. This city has flourished for centuries as a port of call for ships from the Sea of Japan. With its lattice townhouses, merchant and samurai residences, it is easy to imagine the vibrancy of the city at its height. The beautiful Kishina merchant house that flourished in the woods is worth a visit.

This restaurant's building is in itself an important cultural asset. The restaurant is famous for dishes made from deepwater prawns. Set up in a Japanese style facing a magnificent garden, I ate a bowl of tempura shrimps with a little egg, all on a bowl of rice. I loved the delicate atmosphere of this restaurant...

These are the historical ruins of the Ichijôdani Asakura family that dominated the Echizen region. This was my first time visiting ruins in Japan. We were able to discover part of this period in history, with restored samurai dwellings along the earthen walls, along with merchant houses, townhouses, an owner's house and a dyer's shop.

The temple of eternal peace is one of the two main temples of Soto Zen. It is located in an exceptional location, on a mountainside, surrounded by hundred-year-old cedars. The Shukubo, which means sleeping with the monks, takes on its full meaning here: discovering the monks' daily life, learning about shojin ryori vegetarian cuisine, attending religious rituals very early in the morning and learning about zazen twice a day: one of my most powerful experiences in Japan!

The dinner at the zazen temple was a real experience. This was an opportunity to taste the monks' cuisine: shojin ryori, a purely vegetarian cuisine. Meals are ritualized in the zazen culture. They must be taken in silence. Then, you have to pay attention to others because all must finish their meals at the same time. Fortunately, all this was explained to us in English by a monk from the temple.

The room I slept in was very large. I didn't expect such comfort: large room, bedroom with futon, water and sanitation. The baths are taken in the basement in the sento. We were served our breakfast in the room. We used the same sticks from the day before, once again so as not to waste them, once again in silence.

The picturesque garden of Fukui, where the former home of the Matsudaira family stands, has a beautifully restored tea house overlooking the pond, where you can sit and contemplate the immensity of the garden and its many carps.

This museum retraces the history of the city of Fukui from prehistory to the post-war period, including the destruction of a large part of the city following the Second World War and a major earthquake. Upstairs you can also discover objects from the Edo period as well as beautiful costumes.

Yoroppaken, a very famous Katsudon restaurant in the region, can be found in Fukui! Yoroppaken has been around for over 90 years and that makes it a place not to be missed if you are in the region. If you don't speak Japanese, there's no problem, the restaurant offers an English menu with photographs. Katsudon is a deliciously breaded juicy pork chops on a bed of rice. The sauce for seasoning the pork is too good.

The Sugihara Washi paper Gallery opened about a year ago in a beautiful location. This Japanese paper wholesaler strives to renew the way this traditional craft is perceived. He uses his vast experience working with his network of craftsmen, creative designers by proposing surprising uses and applications: decorations for luxury shops, restaurants, hotels, collaboration with international artists...

This is a shrine dedicated to Kawakami Gozen, the paper goddess. The site, surrounded by beautiful cedars and ginkgos, is a peaceful and spiritual place. The all-wood building is carved with great delicacy, there are many beautiful details to be seen on this shrine.

Washi is a very popular craft in Japan and particularly in Echizen. Being appreciate of crafts, it was a real pleasure to understand the steps and delicate process of Japanese paper making at the Udatsu Paper & Craft Museum. We were even able to try making washi and we quickly understood that it was very complicated, and that practice and repetition of the gestures were essential to make an exceptional paper!

It is always a real pleasure to travel on Japanese trains. Whether in the Thunderbird to reach Kanazawa from Takefu city in Fukui Prefecture or in the Hokuriku Shinkansen to return to Tokyo, the service, comfort on board and punctuality are exemplary.

This program has shown me once again that Japan is a very rich country: from the great city of Tokyo, to the temple nestled in the mountains, to crafts in all its forms in the Fukui region, all of them ultimately quite close to Tokyo. I want to share with my community everything I saw during this trip.