TOKYO - All eyes were on the three prefectures of Hokuriku on Friday, at an event showcasing visitor attractions in the central Japan region for international media after the extension of the Hokuriku Shinkansen line. 

Representatives of Toyama, Ishikawa, and Fukui prefectures welcomed members of the media, including Japan-based correspondents of overseas outlets, to The Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan, in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward, for a celebration of Hokuriku's food, crafts, and culture, among other attractions from the region.

Dishes using ingredients from the Hokuriku region are served during the Hokuriku Night event at The Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Japan in Tokyo on Feb. 21, 2025.

With the extension of the Hokuriku Shinkansen line from Kanazawa in Ishikawa Prefecture to its new terminus in Tsuruga, Fukui Prefecture, completed in March 2024, direct train access to all three of region’s prefectures became available to travelers from Tokyo. 

Representatives from Hokuriku are hoping the improved access will open up more of their region’s attractions for discovery.

Among the items on display at the event booth of Fukui Prefecture were Echizen uchihamono steak knives. The traditionally crafted knives, admired by chefs in Japan and abroad, were available for event guests to test.

Also on display were Plarail model trains made using Fukui’s traditional Japanese paper, Echizen washi. The trains were made in collaboration with toymaker Tomy Co, Ltd., better known as Takara Tomy.

At the booth of Ishikawa Prefecture, Tatsushi Yamazaki, a master of Wajima lacquerware demonstrated the process of "chinkin," or gold inlaying. The craftsman added the finishing touches to items of lacquerware, scratching patterns into the surface before applying gold leaf to bring out the pattern. 

Yamazaki works out of a temporary facility after his home was destroyed by the powerful earthquake that struck the Noto Peninsula on New Year's day in 2024. 

"I feel blessed that I still have work and am able to continue doing this," he said.  

Yamazaki estimates that after the earthquake, and with an already aging population, the number of practicing Wajima lacquerware craftsmen has more than halved.

Wajima lacquerware craftsman Tatsushi Yamazaki talks to the media during the Hokuriku Night event at The Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Japan in Tokyo on Feb. 21, 2025.

From Toyama Prefecture, a wood carver from the Inami district of Nanto kneeled over a "ranma," or transom, carving the wood panel into an intricate pattern using a chisel during the event. Decorative ranma, often seen between the sliding doors and ceilings of traditional Japanese homes, used to be the mainstay of production output for Inami's wood carvers. 

Today, the craftsmen are pursuing new applications for their craft, in places like the modern home, in order to keep its traditions alive. 

Visitors to Inami's Yokamachi-dori Avenue can see, and hear, Inami wood carvers at work in workshops that line the cobble-stone street. At the end of the road, Zuisenji temple showcases some of the finest examples of the Inami woodcarving tradition. 

The latest extension of the Hokuriku Shinkansen has shortened travel times to Fukui Prefecture from Tokyo by over 30 minutes. 

Misa Yamazaki from the inbound tourism office of West Japan Railway Company, serving western Honshu, said she believes that more and more people are now interested in visiting the region thanks to the extension. However, she said there is still work to be done to raise awareness about what awaits visitors once they arrive.

"People know about the Hokuriku area, but they don’t know what the area actually has (to offer)," she said. 

During the event, Yamazaki introduced JR West's Hokuriku Arch Pass, a seven-day rail pass offering travelers from overseas unlimited rides on services connecting Hokuriku with Osaka and Tokyo.