The Kagayaki 502, the first Hokuriku
Shinkansen train bound for Tokyo,
departed from Tsuruga Station at 6:11
a.m. on March 16, 2024. SANKEITAKE A TOUR OF
THE PORT OF HUMANITY:TSURUGA ON THE EXTENDED HOKURIKU SHINKANSENThe Hokuriku Shinkansen connects Tokyo with the Hokuriku region, an area along the Sea of Japan in central
Honshu. In March 2024, the line was extended to Tsuruga station in Fukui Prefecture, enabling speedy access fromTokyo via Kanazawa City. Once in Tsuruga, the small but largely pleasing Port of Humanity Tsuruga Museumwelcomes those who make the journey on the bullet train.
The Hokuriku Shinkansen, the bullet train that
previously connected Tokyo Station to Kanazawa
Station in Ishikawa Prefecture, saw its extension
from Kanazawa Station to Tsuruga Station in Fukui
Prefecture open on March 16, 2024. The new section
shortens the travel time from Tokyo to Tsuruga by up
to 50 minutes, allowing passengers to get there in as
fast as 3 hours and 8 minutes. After leaving Kanazawa
Station, the high-speed train passes through Komatsu,Kagaonsen, Awaraonsen, Fukui, and Echizen-Takefu
stations before reaching Tsuruga Station.
Kaga Onsen and Awara Onsen are well-known hot
spring resorts in Japan. The area is awash with quality
hot springs, not to mention delicious food and drink
including Hokuriku’s specialty sake and Echizen crab.

Fukui Station is also a convenient base for accessing
to the Fukui Prefectural Dinosaur Museum, apopular stop-off for visitors from overseas. A numberof life-sized dinosaur statues can be seen outside thestation, offering an impressive welcome to visitors on
the Shinkansen extension.
The current terminus of the line—and a place
not to be missed—is the quiet and beautiful port
city of Tsuruga. Tsuruga Port once flourished as aninternational hub connecting Japan to the European
mainland via the Trans-Siberian Railway. It was theonly port in Japan where Polish orphans, who losttheir families in Siberia during the upheaval after
the Russian Revolution, disembarked in Japan in the1920s.

The Port of Humanity Tsuruga Museum Director, NISHIKAWA
Akinori (right), and staff member YAMADA Mami (left).

Tsuruga was also the only port where Jewish
refugees, fleeing the Holocaust in the 1940s, landedwith Japanese transit visas issued by diplomatSUGIHARA Chiune. Posted as acting consul
at the Japanese Consulate in Kaunas, Lithuania
during World War II, Sugihara is said to have saved
thousands of Jewish refugees by issuing them visas.
These became known as the “visas for life.”
The people of Tsuruga are said to have treated therefugees warmly, handing out apples and opening
public baths for them to use. And so it was thatthe city became known as a “port of humanity.”
To pass on this history to future generations, thePort of Humanity Tsuruga Museum was opened in2008. Renovated in 2020 with even more extensive
exhibits, the museum has been visited by a total of
410,000 people since it was first opened. Of thesevisitors, approximately 10,000 are from overseas,
many of whom are Jewish.
NISHIKAWA Akinori, the museum’s director,
recalled, “One Jewish man behaved very cheerfully
when he arrived, but as he continued to explore theexhibits, his shoulders began to shake. It was thenthat I realized how people can be so moved whenlearning about their roots.” YAMADA Mami, a staff
member at the museum, said, “Some visitors have told
me how grateful they are to be here today because of
the history of their ancestors’ landing in Tsuruga.”
In the museum, local high school students function
as guides as part of their club activities. In the summerof 2023, 12 of the student guides were invited by thethen-marshal (presiding officer) of the Polish Senateto visit the country.
In conjunction with the extension of the Hokuriku
Shinkansen, the museum is also holding a specialexhibition, entitled “Trajectory of the Museum,”
until June 2, 2024. The highlight of the exhibition isthe Osako Album, which contains photographs given
by Jewish refugees to OSAKO Tatsuo, a staff memberof the Japan Tourist Bureau, as a token of gratitude
for his help on their journey to Japan.
“Although Fukui is known for such offerings as its
seafood, Tsuruga is the only place where the history
surrounding these humanitarian efforts can be found.
I hope that many people will take advantage of theShinkansen extension to come here and learn aboutit,” says the museum director.
With greater access from Tokyo, many people
from Japan and abroad will no doubt enjoy travelingto Hokuriku by bullet train. Stepping off the train
at the terminus in Tsuruga and spending some timepondering peace at the museum is sure to be anexperience that will leave a lasting impression on
anyone who makes the trip.

Top: The Port of Humanity Tsuruga Museum was renovated in 2020. Itsfour buildings, including the former Tsuruga Port Station and Customs
Office, were restored to their original locations.
Bottom: The original Osako Album is on display at the “Trajectory of theMuseum” exhibition held to coincide with the Shinkansen extension.
Photos are accompanied by words of gratitude from Jewish refugees.