There’s a fishing port along the coast where the old traditions of the area continue to this day. You can see men repairing their nets, women preparing the fish, and traders coming in and out to collect “tai sasazuke,” pickled small sea bream.

Nishizu was also a port for overseas ships during the Muromachi Period. One time, the kingdom of Indonesia gifted an elephant to the shogun and so they sailed through China, docked at Nishizu, and made their way to Kyoto to deliver it.

Ships from Tohoku had been docking at Nishizu long before the era of Kitamae-bune. This made Obama the center of trade in the Sea of Japan from Hokkaido to Okinawa, as well as all of Southeast Asia. This kind of trade is what led to the introduction of lacquered trays from overseas, ushering in the creation of Wakasa lacquerware.