Fukui Reihoku

A city with a brand-new Hokuriku Shinkansen station, where the Katsuyama Dinosaur Museum, the Ichijodani Sengoku-era ruins and Maruoka Castle, one of Japan's original keeps, come together, plus sweet Echizen crab in winter.

Fukui sits at the western end of Japan's Hokuriku region, and Fukui City is the prefectural capital. Since the Hokuriku Shinkansen was extended to Tsuruga in March 2024, it's about 3 hours from Tokyo and about 20 minutes from Kanazawa by shinkansen; from Osaka or Kyoto, take a limited express to Tsuruga and change to the shinkansen, about 1.5–2 hours in total. North of Fukui City, Awara Onsen and the Mikuni area of Sakai make up the coast-and-hot-springs zone; to the east, Katsuyama and Ono are dinosaur and castle-town country; and south of the city lie the Ichijodani ruins, Echizen washi papermaking and the Echizen Coast.

Highlights: the Fukui Prefectural Dinosaur Museum in Katsuyama is a world-class dinosaur museum, and the dinosaur models outside Fukui Station have become the city's calling card. The Ichijodani Asakura Family Historic Ruins faithfully recreate a Sengoku-period castle town. Maruoka Castle is one of Japan's 12 surviving original castle keeps, and in autumn Echizen Ono Castle can be photographed as a "castle in the sky" floating above a sea of clouds. The moss-lined approach to Heisenji Hakusan Shrine is serene. Fukui's most famous sights, Eiheiji (head temple of the Soto Zen school, with zazen meditation available) and the columnar-basalt cliffs of Tojinbo, are only about 15–20 km from the city; in this dataset they are listed under the "Kanazawa & Shirakawa-go" entry, but they are just as easy to reach from Fukui.

Best time to visit: April for the cherry blossom tunnel along the Asuwa River and the blossoms at Maruoka Castle; June–July for the moss at Heisenji; October–November for the Ono sea of clouds and autumn foliage at Karikomi Pond and Eiheiji. Echizen crab season runs from the November 6 opening through March, and in winter daffodils bloom on Cape Echizen, though the mountains get heavy snow and drivers need winter tires.

Getting around and how long to stay: the city center is walkable. Take the Echizen Railway to Katsuyama and Eiheiji, the JR Etsumi-Hoku Line to Ichijodani and Ono, and the Echizen Railway or buses from Awara-Onsen Station to Tojinbo and Mikuni; a car is recommended for the Echizen Coast and Karikomi Pond. Allow 2–3 days: one day for the Dinosaur Museum, Heisenji and the Echizen Daibutsu; one for Eiheiji, Ichijodani and the city; and one for Tojinbo, Oshima Island, Mikuni and Maruoka Castle, staying overnight at Awara Onsen. Local food includes sauce katsudon, Echizen oroshi soba with grated daikon, Echizen crab and habutae mochi.

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