Fukui - The Strength to Succeed

The best way to discover little-known sights and make even familiar places feel brand new, is to go exploring by bicycle.

Summer is here, and this time we're going to Fukui.

Oh, what a beautiful view.

This is a coastal region, famous for its seafood.

Beautiful!

Flying fish, gurnard and yellowtail.
All from this morning's catch.

In earlier times, Fukui supplied food and manufactured goods to the nearby capital of Kyoto, and many craft traditions live on today.

I polish it until it really gleams.

I make my knives to look like jewelry.

Hello! I'm Michael.

We'll meet a group of young cyclists, driven by a passion to succeed.

Come with us now on a 270-kilometer ride through Fukui.

I can see the mountains and everything reflected in the lake.

We'll start our ride from Nagahama in Shiga, Fukui's neighboring prefecture.

So this time I'm using a little different bike.

I'm using one that I started cycling for the environment and this magnesium frame is very good for the environment.

So it's made from recyclable, recycled magnesium and it's still pretty light.

Our cyclist, Michael Rice, has lived in Japan for 30 years.

Michael's an all-round athlete, who's competed in several international triathlons.

Okay.

Ready to go.

All right.

We're still in Shiga, but getting closer to Fukui now.

Oh, there are flowers here.

Hi flowers.

Nice to see you this morning, flowers.

These fields of barley are almost ready for the harvest.

Okay, cool.

Open space, wonderful.

These old farmhouses are beautiful.

Our cyclist has found a small temple in the woods beyond the village.

Those are very fine statues.

- Are you the caretaker?
- Yes.

Fujita Michiaki is one of the locals who takes care of the temple.

- These really are impressive.
- They're very old and battered though.

- How ancient are they?
- They all date back over 1,000 years.

1,000-year old wooden statues! Wow.

I can really feel the gods in this place.

A large and magnificent temple once stood on this spot, housing these statues of Kannon, Goddess of Mercy.

In the age of the samurai, war swept the region and the temple was burned to the ground.

The villagers buried their precious statues to hide them from looters.

Centuries later, long after the wars had ended, they dug up the statues and enshrined them in this small temple.

Local residents take turns to care for their temple and look after its beautiful statues.

Our ancestors protected them
for so many generations.

I think it's important to continue this tradition.
I pray that future generations will do so too.

- Thank you so much for showing me these precious objects.
- Thank you for visiting us.

I hope I can come again.

Michael's road to Fukui takes him along an old highway that connected the region to Kyoto.

The ancient Japanese roads.

This is the top.

People have been going over this by foot for so many hundreds of years.

To bring the "saba" fish to the people in the Kyoto area.

The name of this road - Saba-kaido - means "mackerel road."

Fukui has always been famous for its fisheries, and this was a major trade route supplying the old capital.

Over the pass, and Michael is now in Fukui.

Hello!

Oh, I see water up ahead.

This must be the Sea of Japan, Nihon kai.

This area was where the Saba-kaido Road started from.

Michael loves fish, and he's in for a real treat here.

Oh, here's the wharf.

Just ten families live in this tiny fishing village.

1,300 years ago, fish caught here were transported over the mountains to the old capital.

I made it.

This is where I'm going to stay.

Uratani.

This is your room here.

Great!
It looks out on the sea.

Fantastic view.

This guesthouse has been run by a fishing family for 59 years.

Uratani Kikuo, born and bred in the village, started it to help visitors better enjoy the local seafood.

The sea here produces the tastiest fish.

Next morning, it's still dark as Michael heads down to the nearby harbor to meet Uratani's son, Toshiharu.

Sorry we had to get you up so early.
I'll do anything for good fish.

Michael's been invited to ride along on the Uratani family's fishing boat as it heads out into the pre-dawn dark.

These fixed nets, set across the paths fish take, trap a wide variety of species.

Their first catch is a squid.

Never held a live squid before.

It's big.

It is beautiful too.

The color and the shape and everything.

Flying fish can only be caught at this time of year.

One thing that amazed me was the variety of fish.

And then I tried to do it and yeah, it was really hard work.

This net is designed to catch the larger fish.

Today, it contains about 300 yellowtails.

The fishermen are well satisfied with the day's catch.

Back at the guesthouse for breakfast, it's time to try the fish they just caught.

Beautiful!

Flying fish, gurnard and yellowtail.
All from this morning's catch.

He starts with some of the yellowtail.

Nice and crunchy, eh?
I like that.

And the taste is amazing.

Next, the squid that so impressed Michael.

Wow.

This is pretty extravagant.

Oh yes, this is good squid.

The key to sustainability is to not overfish.

Data shows that fixed nets like ours only
trap 30% of the fish who enter them.

If we fish sustainably, we'll be able to
pass the business on to our sons.

Starting the day like this will put
some real power in my legs.

Today, Michael will ride north along the Fukui coast.

Another big climb.

Takes me down to sea level, a village, wharf and back up the side of the cliffs again.

Then back down to sea level again.

Oh, a beautiful view.

Wow, this is really incredible.

The ocean was behind me so this can't be the ocean.

This must be a lake.

Oh, that's a big lake.

This is Mikatagoko, the Five Lakes of Mikata.

A popular cycle route runs around these lakes.

The lake's like a mirror.

The lake is incredible.

There's something about seeing the world by bicycle, It's so much different and so much more fulfilling.

When your power is here that's running the engine to move the machine and you just have the air, all of the senses you can feel nature.

Bicycle is the best way to experience the world.

Beautiful.

The road is now taking Michael through the mountains to Echizen.

Oh, look at this tunnel.

This is cool.

It looks like a train tunnel, but no tracks.

In fact, trains did once run through this tunnel.

About 120 years ago, when Echizen was a major center for overseas trade, it built one of Japan's earliest railways.

Really interesting.

The railway service ended 60 years ago, but 11 tunnels still remain and can be cycled through.

It's a lot colder in here.

It's totally black.

Can't see anything.

Now that my eyes are finally getting adjusted to the dark.

Ah, these walls.

They're like old limestone walls.

I can tell it's slippery underneath.

That was an adventure.

A 40-kilometer ride through the forested mountains has brought Michael to Echizen.

This city is still full of buildings from an earlier age.

Historically, Echizen prospered as a center of traditional crafts.

Oh, that's the place I want to go.

Kurosaki Knives, Echizen Japan.

Hello! Is Kurasaki san there?
That's me.

Pleased to meet you.

We're at the workshop of Kurosaki Yu, master knifemaker.

Wow!

These are all chef's knives, or "hōchō."

Some do look like kitchen knives,
but some seem more like swords.

The handles are tremendous too.

A simple handle, but such a striking knife.

The handle is lacquered.
This model is very popular overseas.

Kurosaki is famous among knife enthusiasts in Europe and the US.

He's known for the beauty of his blade designs.

These are really works of art.

And they're practical works of art.

Amazing.

The techniques for making such blades have been handed down through generations of Echizen knife makers.

It's a tradition going back 700 years.

One of their techniques is to hammer out two blades simultaneously.

I beat the two pieces out together.

This keeps the metal hot,
and I can make the blades thinner.

Making two knives at once is more efficient.

Echizen knives are thin and razor sharp.

That's why top chefs choose them.

Kurosaki has been a knifemaker for 20 years.

After learning the traditional craft, he went on to develop his own style.

His blades feature unique hammered patterns.

Why do you decorate them like this?
To make them distinctive.

I'm the only one who has
this slanted hammered finish.

It also prevents food from clinging to the surface.

Echizen knifemakers are now designing their blades with an eye on the world market.

The craft is growing, and attracting fresh blood from all over Japan.

Kurosaki has recently taken on two apprentices.

I hope my apprentices will go on
to set up their own knife making shops.

That's my biggest dream.

Combining innovation with tradition - the artisans of Echizen.

We've now arrived in Fukui City, capital of the prefecture.

I caught it.

Michael has an appointment here.

Okay, let's go in the high school and meet some kids.

Good morning! I'm Michael.

This looks like a strong team.

- Who is your captain?
- That's me. Sasajima Ryuki.

You look like a racer.

I've won some national events.
Lost some too.

The team invites Michael to ride with them.

They're taking him along on a 20-kilometer training run.

Sasajima leads the pack.

This is fun.

Never ridden with a high school cycling team before.

This is cool.

Good experience.

Set on becoming Japan's best, the team trains seriously six days a week.

On weekends, they up the pace even more, riding over 100 kilometers.

This is it.
What a great place.

Bow twice.

Team spirit is their strong point.

No one has quit this team in years.

Hearing Michael was once an Olympic hopeful, they're full of questions.

How long do you normally ride?

When I was training for the Olympics,
I rode 20,000 km a year.

What's the key to riding fast on the road?

What are the best things to eat?

Keen to improve their technique, these young cyclists are grateful for the smallest hint.

What's your dream?

My ultimate dream would be
to win the Tour de France.

That's the hope that inspires me.

I've been racing like 25 years longer than those kids.

It really warms my heart as a cyclist and as a racer.

The last section to ride.

Oh, look at that view.

Look at that.

Michael will end his trip on a small island just off the coast.

I see my goal.

I see my goal.

Seeing the sunset.

Those cliffs are awesome.

This sacred island, legendary home to the gods of the sea, has never been inhabited.

See the sun coming down?

The sun's just about to set on this beautiful island of the gods here.

It really, really, really impressed me.

That's something that I really noticed: the people here, they're not strong, like trying to be tough strong.

They're strong like their inner strength.

You know that I've met so many wonderful artisans on this trip.

They're bringing in the old traditions, things that have been done for hundreds of years,

and they're putting their own personal touch on it because they have confidence in what they're doing and confidence in their art form.

This time I got to spend more time and meet the people and it makes me love Fukui Prefecture even more.

I definitely want to come back, if possible, every year to Fukui.

Fukui is a place where tradition and skills are valued.

But even more valued here is the development of inner strength, the confidence to keep evolving and growing.