traveling Fukui-ken by rail early Saturday past factories and rice paddies toward the mountains

A minute or so after leaving J.R. Takefu station and heading to Kyoto for the national holiday of Culture Day (bunka-no-hi) the view changes from backs of houses and gardens to more open spaces where land is still farmed and the views to the horizon are not blocked. The morning light casts long shadows that exaggerate the shapes.

In the distance on the mountainside is a lower and darker slope where the large Shinto shrine stands, Oshio Hachiman Jingu. In the festival season it fills with neighborhood residents (ujiko) and visitors from surrounding towns and prefectures.