The Old Hokuriku Kaido - Exploring a Forgotten Highway

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

This time, we'll be riding along the old Hokuriku Kaido Highway.

This was once a major trade route linking the old capital of Kyoto to its neighboring provinces along the Sea of Japan coast.

Thanks to travelers and trade, a unique culture developed along the old road.

We'll discover some of that history through encounters along the way.

These houses are part of our heritage.
This is a legacy I hope to pass on.

The old railway tunnel.

This is cool.

Come with us now, on a 270-kilometer ride along the old Hokuriku Kaido Highway.

We begin our ride by the shore of Lake Kitagata, near the northern edge of Fukui.

Our cyclist this time is Michael Rice, from the USA.

Spurred by a passionate interest in Japanese culture, Michael has explored most of Japan by bike.

And so I'm really excited about this trip because I love this area.

I've been here lots of times before, but this is going to be someplace I've never gone.

I've never gone along this path.

Okay, we're ready to go. I can't wait for this trip!

The Hokuriku Kaido was a highway that ran for about 400 kilometers through a region along the west coast of Honshu known historically as Hokuriku.

Starting in Fukui, we'll follow the old road through Ishikawa, Toyama, and Niigata.

Michael joins the Kaidō near the edge of Fukui.

He must cross those mountains ahead to get to Ishikawa and its capital, Kanazawa.

It's gravel.

Many sections of the old highway have fallen into disuse, lingering on as rough forest trails.

This is muddy and slippery and tree branches everywhere.

Talk about feeling nature.

This is the ancient path.

Oh, more stones.

I guess these mark that we're on the Kyu-kaido, on the ancient road.

Inscribed with prayers for safety on the road, these stones will have watched countless weary travelers pass.

I hope to see these little Buddhas all around the trip, wishing me good luck I hope.

Coming into the big city.

Michael has now clocked up 60 kilometers, and has reached his goal for today, Kanazawa.

Castles walls are really high.

It really is a massive castle complex.

The construction of the castle about 450 years ago marked the beginning of Kanazawa's growth into a major city

with a population today of 450,000.

Kanazawa grew into a thriving station on the old highway, and the castle lord's samurai retainers, merchants and craftsmen

used profits from the trade it brought to build fine homes like these.

Many of these old wooden homes, known as "machiya," still survive from that period.

We've come to visit someone living in a machiya the way they did in the old days.

This is the place.

Anyone home?

Can I come in?

Of course. You're welcome.

Yamada Noriko is an architect who has devoted her life to restoring machiya and preserving Kanazawa's old townscape.

The dense population of a thriving castle town meant houses had to be crowded together.

There's actually plenty of headroom.

- There's such an atmosphere here.
- Thank you.

- So this is one room?
- Yes. You can see by the mat layout.

- It's lovely.
- This one is the biggest room.

This machiya was built about a century ago.

Yamada restored it herself.

- What is this area?
- It's called an "engawa."

The sliding screens pack away
in storage spaces at each side.

Slide these away to get a balcony.

And close these to block the outside world.

So you can sit down and enjoy the balcony, enjoy the street view.

So now this is outdoors, but if we close it up it becomes part of the room indoors.

- It's narrow, but it makes a great space.
- Yes, this feels very nice.

Machiya are a feature of this city, but years of disuse and neglect meant that many were being demolished.

14 years ago, Yamada started a project bringing volunteers to give condemned machiya a final cleaning before they are pulled down.

For funerals, we clean up the deceased
and make sure they are looking their best.

I think we should do the same
for a house before it gets demolished.

Make it nice for its final send off.

Today, she's brought a group of schoolchildren to clean up a machiya abandoned after its owners died.

Kimono?

Look. Old photos.

Maybe these are the people who lived here in this house.

Their wedding photo.

These houses are treasures,
legacies of the families who lived in them.

Many are still perfectly useable,
and it's a shame they're being demolished.

Thanks partly to Yamada's efforts, living in these traditional town houses is once again becoming popular.

Machiya - preserving family memories and a city's history.

Today, Michael's cycling north from Kanazawa, headed for the Kurikara Pass between Ishikawa and Toyama.

This looks like quite a road.

Too slippery.

Okay, time to carry.

The road over Kurikara Pass is said to date from about 1,300 years ago.

This road through the mountains was treacherous, but it was the only way travelers could cross from one province into the next.

Following the ancient path, many hundreds of years old, I can just imagine all the amazing people who've walked this path over the history of it.

A big climb coming.

Please pray to get me up this climb.

Pray I'm going to make it to the top.

I made it!

I thought I made it.

Still more climbing.

That was tough going, but Michael has finally reached the top of Kurikara Pass.

Thank you for your support.

Waiting at the top of the pass is the 1,300-year old Kurikara Fudoji Temple.

Travelers on the Kaido stopped here to offer thanks for reaching the top safely.

Throughout history this pass was a key point on the highway.

Battles to control it destroyed the temple many times, but it was always rebuilt by devoted travelers.

Travelers prayed for protection on the road
and to get to their destination safely.

And I imagine they also prayed
for the health of the families they left behind.

We're now entering the suburbs of Toyama City.

Michael has come to visit an artist based in this area.

I think this is the place.

- Anyone home?
- Hello.

I'm Mikey.

Come in. You're welcome.

Peter Ivy is an American artist who works in glass.

Welcome, come on in.

Thank you.

- This is kind of our gallery space that we have.
- Oh, nice.

All of the glass here?

All of this glass is made here, yes.

Wow, it's so light.

They're quite thin.

Very thin.

Those are quite a challenge to produce.

Glasses for, you know, for salad.

You know, it's very easy.

Typically, I use, if I'm using "hashi" or a fork, I'll use something with a square corner.

And if I'm eating yogurt or something with a spoon, I use a round shape.

Peter designs many of his pieces to add beauty as well as functionality to everyday life.

So why practical things, like things you use in the kitchen?

Well, because... mostly just because I want to enjoy drinking a glass of water.

You know, something as simple as drinking a glass of water to me, I think, I very much feel that those little things in life should be celebrated

and not forgotten, or not just taken for granted.

But when I had an exhibition, I was just blown away by someone would come into the exhibition in Japan and they would just really look at something and they're not going to buy it.

They're not, you know, I mean, they may or they may not. It has nothing to do with it.

Yeah, I get that sense also that Japanese, they really appreciate the details that many times an American would overlook.

Right.

Peter came to live in Toyama in 2007.

Toyama has long had an established glass craft industry, and today there are still over 100 glass artists working here.

Peter's studio is an old farmhouse well away from the city center.

Here he can enjoy living in a village community, with peace and quiet to create his art.

People here have a tendency towards a much more active relationship to their surroundings and to the items that they come into contact with.

It was a huge influence for me.

I mean, it was a part of myself that existed but didn't have a culture to fit into.

And I can see that in your lifestyle here and in the art that you make.

Thank you very much. I really appreciate that.

An artist who finally found his true calling, here in Hokuriku.

After crossing into Niigata, Michael has left the old highway briefly to explore a cycle trail along this picturesque coast.

What a great bike trail.

Good morning!

The trail follows the route of a discontinued railway line, taking us through some of the old tunnels.

The old railway tunnel.

This is cool.

Love the coastline views.

For a landlocked boy from Kansas and Colorado, the ocean feels so refreshing.

The Sea of Japan is such a beautiful view, and blue view.

All the houses are stuck together.

I wonder why they do that.

Rich in sea bream and crabs, this part of the coast attracted so many fishing families that houses had to really be squeezed into the limited space.

The streets are so narrow.

Thank you.

After 210 kilometers, Michael has arrived at the town of Takada, the end point of the old Hokuriku Kaido.

This area gets some of Japan's heaviest snowfall, with drifts that can be over two meters deep.

Buildings have these projecting eaves to protect pedestrians during the snowy season.

Ah, look at this lace here.

- Hello!
- Hello! Do come in.

This lacemaking workshop in Takada has been in Yoshida Setsuko's family for three generations.

Yoshida's specialty, Battenberg lace, has been in Takada so long it's now officially classed a traditional local craft.

This design is 50 or 60 years old.

- Is it a tablecloth?
- That's right.

Just making the hand-stitched parts
takes me about a week.

- You do it all yourself?
- Yes, just me.

It takes a lot of work,
even when you're very experienced.

80 percent of each piece must be done by hand.

This offers artisans a chance to show off their skills.

Hand-made lace is very durable - if well maintained and repaired, it can last for over 50 years.

This parasol took a year to make.

I think it's my best piece.

Are these grapes? Exquisite.

Such a fashionable item.

Yoshida takes Michael to see a family heirloom that her workshop still relies on.

This old machine makes the tape that's used as the base material for Battenberg lace.

Takada has been a center for this style of lacemaking since the 19th century, when it was introduced from America at the time Japan opened up to western culture.

The ending of the age of the samurai cost many in this old castle town their livelihoods.

They turned to making Battenberg lace, which became Takada's primary industry.

At its peak, there were 8,000 lace artisans here, but they couldn't compete with inexpensive imported lace and now only a dozen or so are left.

Worried that these skills would be lost, Yoshida began teaching classes in making Battenberg lace to local residents.

I have to keep going a bit longer
for the sake of these youngsters.

My task in life now is to pass on
all my skills to the next generation.

Michael's goal is now drawing near.

To the top of the hill.

A goal and a finish.

So, finished at the Sea of Japan. We're here.

A small park looking out over the sea.

This is where our journey ends.

And so on this trip, this is the first trip I've actually gone through four before prefectures, you know, starting in Fukui and ending in Niigata.

And I could see in the people there, there's a real sense of pride in where they live and what they do.

For example, an artist doing traditional art here.

So I found that in this region of Japan especially, there's a real sense of wanting to share what you have of value with everyone else.

And that's something really special.

Even today, the unique traditions and culture that developed along the route of the ancient highway give a distinctive flavor to the Hokuriku region.