Skip to content
Japan
Deutsche Version

Fukui · City

Tsuruga

敦賀市つるがしTsuruga-shi

Kyoto's harbour on the Sea of Japan

Tsuruga is a port city on a deep bay in southern Fukui Prefecture, for centuries the nearest Sea of Japan harbour to Kyoto and Lake Biwa. It is known for the shrine Kehi Jingū, the pine grove of Kehi no Matsubara, its role as a gateway to Europe in the early twentieth century and as the terminus of the Hokuriku Shinkansen since 2024.

Overview

Tsuruga sits at the head of Tsuruga Bay, where the Sea of Japan comes closest to Lake Biwa and the Kyoto basin; only a low pass separates the bay from the lake. From ancient times this made it the main port through which goods, envoys and travellers from the mainland and the northern coast reached the capital, and rice, kombu and herring from Hokkaido were unloaded here for the overland journey south.

In the modern era Tsuruga became one of the first railway towns in Japan, linked to Lake Biwa in the 1880s, and in the early twentieth century a gateway to Europe: passengers travelled from Tokyo by train to Tsuruga, by ship to Vladivostok and on by the Trans-Siberian Railway. In 1920 the port received Polish orphans from Siberia, and in 1940 Jewish refugees who had been issued transit visas by the diplomat Sugihara Chiune landed here. These episodes are remembered in the Port of Humanity museum.

The city's economy today rests on its port, on the nuclear power stations of the Tsuruga peninsula and on its role as a transport hub; since 2024 it is the western terminus of the Hokuriku Shinkansen, where travellers change to limited expresses for Kyoto, Osaka and Nagoya.

Landmarks

  • Kehi Jingū

    氣比神宮Kehi Jingū

    The chief shrine of Echizen, whose vermilion wooden torii is counted among Japan's three great torii.

  • Kehi no Matsubara

    気比の松原Kehi no Matsubara

    Pine grove along the beach of Tsuruga Bay, one of Japan's three great pine groves and a Place of Scenic Beauty.

  • Port of Humanity Tsuruga Museum

    人道の港 敦賀ムゼウムJindō no Minato Tsuruga Muzeumu

    Museum on the Polish orphans of 1920 and the Jewish refugees of 1940.

  • Tsuruga Red Brick Warehouse

    敦賀赤レンガ倉庫Tsuruga Aka-renga Sōko

    Brick warehouses of 1905 by the port, with a railway diorama of the old harbour.

  • Kanegasaki-gū

    金崎宮Kanegasaki-gū

    Shrine on the hill of Kanegasaki Castle, scene of battles in the fourteenth and sixteenth centuries.

  • Nihonkai Sakana-machi

    日本海さかな街Nihonkai Sakana-machi

    Large seafood market hall with fish shops and restaurants.

Districts

  • Station and Kehi avenue

    敦賀駅周辺Tsuruga-eki shūhen

    The avenue from the station to Kehi Jingū, lined with bronze statues from the anime Galaxy Express 999 and Space Battleship Yamato.

  • Kanegasaki and the port

    金ヶ崎Kanegasaki

    Harbour area with the Red Brick Warehouse, the museum and the castle hill.

  • Tsuruga Peninsula

    敦賀半島Tsuruga hantō

    Mountainous peninsula with fishing villages, beaches and power stations.

History

Kehi Jingū, the chief shrine of Echizen, is among the oldest in the region, and ancient chronicles record envoys from the Korean kingdoms and the Bohai state arriving at Tsuruga. In 1570 Oda Nobunaga's army, attacking the Asakura, was forced into a famous retreat from Kanegasaki Castle above the harbour. The poet Bashō visited Kehi Jingū in 1689 near the end of his Oku no Hosomichi journey.

The railway reached Tsuruga from Nagahama on Lake Biwa in 1882, and the port was opened to foreign trade in 1899. Through trains connecting with ships to Vladivostok began in 1912. Much of the city was destroyed in an air raid in July 1945. Japan's first commercial light-water reactor started operation at Tsuruga in 1970.

  1. 1570

    Nobunaga's army retreats from Kanegasaki after the defection of Azai Nagamasa.

  2. 1689

    Bashō visits Kehi Jingū on his Oku no Hosomichi journey.

  3. 1882

    The railway from Nagahama reaches Tsuruga, among the first lines in Japan.

  4. 1899

    Tsuruga is opened as a port for foreign trade.

  5. 1912

    Boat trains from Tokyo connect with ships to Vladivostok and the Trans-Siberian Railway.

  6. 1920

    Polish orphans rescued from Siberia arrive at Tsuruga.

  7. 1937

    Tsuruga is incorporated as a city.

  8. 1940

    Jewish refugees with Sugihara visas land at Tsuruga.

  9. 1970

    The Tsuruga nuclear power station begins commercial operation.

  10. 2024

    The Hokuriku Shinkansen is extended to Tsuruga.

Culture

As a port and railway town Tsuruga has a cosmopolitan past, which it commemorates through its links with Poland and Lithuania and the Sugihara story. Its kombu processors, who shave dried kelp by hand, are a legacy of the kitamaebune trade. The station avenue's statues from the manga of Matsumoto Leiji celebrate the city's connection with trains and ships. The long Kehi festival in September is the main civic celebration.

Festivals

  • Kehi no Nagamatsuri

    氣比の長祭りKehi no Nagamatsuri

    The festival of Kehi Jingū, running for about two weeks in early September.

  • Tsuruga Festival

    敦賀まつりTsuruga Matsuri

    Civic festival held with the Kehi festival, with parades of floats bearing warrior figures.

  • Tōrō nagashi

    とうろう流しと大花火大会tōrō nagashi to ōhanabi taikai

    Summer lantern floating and fireworks at Kehi no Matsubara on 16 August.

Food

  • Tsuruga ramen

    敦賀ラーメンTsuruga rāmen

    Pork-bone and soy ramen, a tradition of the city's night-time street stalls.

  • Oboro kombu

    おぼろ昆布oboro konbu

    Kombu shaved by hand into thin sheets, a craft of Tsuruga's kelp processors.

  • Sauce katsudon

    ソースカツ丼sōsu katsudon

    Fukui's sauce-dipped cutlet bowl, served widely in Tsuruga.

  • Echizen crab

    越前がにEchizen-gani

    Winter snow crab sold at the seafood market.

Getting around

  • Tsuruga Station is the terminus of the Hokuriku Shinkansen from Tokyo and Kanazawa; Thunderbird trains continue to Kyoto and Osaka (about an hour and a quarter to Osaka), and Shirasagi trains to Nagoya via Maibara.
  • The JR Obama Line runs west along the Wakasa coast to Obama and Higashi-Maizuru; local trains run to Nagahama and Lake Biwa.
  • Loop buses link the station with Kehi Jingū, the port area and Kehi no Matsubara.
  • Shin Nihonkai ferries sail from Tsuruga to Tomakomai in Hokkaido.

Day trips

  • Mikata Five Lakes

    三方五湖Mikata-goko

    Five lakes of different colours and a ridge-top viewpoint on the Wakasa coast.

  • Lake Biwa

    琵琶湖Biwa-ko

    Japan's largest lake, reached over a low pass to the south.

  • Obama

    小浜Obama

    Temple town and start of the Saba Kaidō, with lacquered chopsticks and grilled mackerel.

  • Fukui City

    福井市Fukui-shi

    Prefectural capital with Ichijōdani, 20 minutes by Shinkansen.

Other cities in the prefecture

CapitalFukuiFukui-shiPhoenix city of the Echizen plain

Frequently asked questions

Why do I have to change trains at Tsuruga?

Since 2024 the Hokuriku Shinkansen ends at Tsuruga; passengers to and from Kyoto, Osaka and Nagoya change there between the Shinkansen and limited express trains.

What is the Port of Humanity?

A name for Tsuruga recalling its reception of Polish orphans from Siberia in 1920 and of Jewish refugees with Sugihara Chiune's visas in 1940; the Port of Humanity Tsuruga Museum tells their stories.

What is Kehi Jingū known for?

It is the ichinomiya, or chief shrine, of Echizen province, and its great wooden torii is one of the three largest in Japan.

Is there anything to do near the station while changing trains?

Kehi Jingū is about 15 minutes' walk along the statue-lined avenue, and the seafood market and port area are a short bus ride away.

Related

Sources

  1. 1.令和2年国勢調査 (opens in a new tab) — Statistics Bureau of Japan
  2. 2.敦賀市ホームページ (opens in a new tab) — 敦賀市
  3. 3.Japan National Tourism Organization (opens in a new tab) — Japan National Tourism Organization

Editorial team · Published: