Obama: The seaside city of chopsticks and seafood
A one-day and one-night trip to Obama City, Fukui prefecture, Japan.
*Summary at the bottom
The Journey:
Obama 小浜市,
Fukui Prefecture,
Japan
In a short conversation we had with a local of the area, during our trip to Kumagawa, we discovered that our next destination, Obama, would be the home of many chopstick manufacturers!
Apparently, the city is contributing to 80% of all of Japan’s chopstick production, particularly lacquered chopsticks. Among the chopsticks produced in the region, one of their specialties is Wakasa-nuri, a technique that embeds materials like seashells and gold leaf within its layers of lacquer, creating patterns and shapes like flowers or those resembling animals like cats or rabbits. A form of traditional art, read more…
With limited time on our hands as we had booked our plan on a random place and discover-by-chance basis, we did not venture so far as to visit the manufacturer ourselves; however, what we found as a perfect place to visit at such a moment was the chopstick museum.
Located a little further to the north of the city of Obama, right on the shoreline, is the Wakasa Chopstick Museum. Although we found it to be more of a store selling chopsticks from many of the prominent names of the city’s manufacturers than a museum, it was the perfect place for us to buy ourselves some chopsticks, which were on our shopping list.
With that said, the museum does house the world’s largest chopstick with a Guinness World record in the building, which was quite amusing to witness, part of the ceiling carved out to accommodate its height of 8.4 meters. But, the real highlight for us is, of course, the chopsticks, of which, from what the eyes can tell, we reckon around a hundred different styles on display in the store, from the more typical ones to the ones more heavily decorated with Wakasa-nuri.
After purchasing quite a number of chopsticks as per our preference, we stepped outside and decided to explore the shore of Obama a little. We took our time strolling along the walk beside the sea and taking in the quiet seaside landscape of the city. Locals are out fishing with their friends and family, fishermen’s boats are scattered around the open water, and people are sitting along the shore enjoying their time. We too could feel the air of a slower lifestyle that the ocean brought along with the wind and the sound of waves hitting the water barrier.
As much as we wanted to join them in fishing, we lacked both the tools and the skills necessary, and kept on wondering what kind of fish they were catching as we walked back to our car and continued on to our accommodation.
Around a 20-minute drive towards the outskirts of the city of Obama lies the small town of Shitsumi, where we have our accommodation booked for tonight at Sea-Auberge Shitsumi. The town probably has no more than 30-50 houses and buildings combined. There was practically nothing to see or do there beyond the beach, which we would not say is the type you would go down and sit on the sand, as it was quite littered with the rubbish of the sea, as expected from a place not really designated for tourism; no one was supposed to be there to pick them up, and we did not expect them to be, as that is probably not why anyone was there in the colder season.
Before settling down for the day, we decided to take a short drive to visit Fukui Prefectural Seaside Nature Center, only a few minutes’ drive from the town. Located right beside the sea, it feels like a small aquarium, with knowledge and facts about them. The nature center is free to enter, with some activities like feeding the fish and touching some sea life. Although it is not too big, there was nothing to complain about. We would not recommend you go out of your way to come visit this place; however, we can recommend bringing your kids here, which is what we see most of the people there do. They will love it there. We spent some time exploring the center as well as the scenery around there before heading back to our accommodation.
The plan of the rest of the day to do in that town was, precisely, to do nothing. Relax in the space of our room, sitting beside the window with it slightly open, staring out into the sea and enjoying the sight of people fishing on the dock, while evermore wishing we had a fishing rod. Sipping on a warm cup of tea and having light snacks as we watched the light fade away into the night, enjoying the accommodation’s private hot spring, dining at its restaurant, and going to bed, waiting to be awoken when the light shone through the window the next morning, to the calming sound of waves and salty smell of the sea.
With love for travelling,
Travel Tegami
The Closing:
We recommend this place to those who either love chopsticks or looking forward to a more relaxing plan. Although the center part of the city does seem to have some sightseeing spots, like the castle ruins and some other things to do, we have not yet experienced that side of the city, but Japan is full of interesting places waiting for you to explore.
The part where we can recommend is the path of someone who enjoys the sea and looking at it, or for those who are looking for a fishing vacation. By all means, escape here for a peaceful coastal city, seafood, or simply just for the chopsticks; it is worth it.