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冬
Currently in season
WinterDec–Feb
Now in Fukui · Echizen crab from 6 Nov
Crab season runs 6 November to 20 March, with the most dramatic waves at Tōjinbō in mid-winter. The Tōjinbō boat stops from 29 December to 31 January.
春 夏 秋 冬
Where to stay
Fukui guide

Things to do in Fukui福井

Pillar cliffs on the Sea of Japan, a working Zen monastery in the cedars and the quarry where most of Japan's dinosaurs were found: Fukui is a prefecture people used to pass through, and the Shinkansen now stops here. Each card gives the area, price and time needed.

Showing 15 of 15

SightKatsuyama · Top pickDinosaur MuseumTimed tickets ¥1,000, 51 skeletons; 54 min from Fukui by Echizen Railway plus a busRead the guide → ¥1,000 · 2–3 h SightEiheiji · Top pickEiheijiSōtō Zen head temple: ¥700, 8:30–16:30; Eiheiji Liner 30 min from Fukui Station (¥1,000)Read the guide → ¥700 · 1–1.5 h SightKatsuyama · Top pickHeisen-jiMoss-covered cedar forest and a 700 m stone path; free, no booking, bus from Katsuyama StationRead the guide → Free · 1.5–2 h SightMikuni, Sakai · Top pickTōjinbō25 m columnar cliffs, free at all hours; boat tour ¥2,000, sunset views over the Sea of JapanRead the guide → Free · 1 h TownAwara · Top pickAwara OnsenOnsen town one Shinkansen stop from Fukui: crab-dinner ryokan, a free footbath and day bathsRead the guide → 6 min TownEchizen-Ōno · Top pickEchizen-ŌnoCastle town below Echizen Ōno Castle, which floats above cloud at autumn dawns; spring-water streetsRead the guide → Overnight SightŌno & MaruokaCastlesMaruoka, one of Japan's 12 original keeps, and Ōno's castle above a sea of cloud (Oct–Apr)Read the guide → ¥400 SightFukuiIchijōdaniThe Asakura clan's burned town: free ruins, restored street ¥330, museum ¥700; 15 min by trainRead the guide → ¥700 · 2–3 h SightEchizenKnife VillageSmiths forging behind glass, free; tax-free knife shop and a 6-hour knife class (¥20,000)Read the guide → Free · 1 h SightMaruoka, SakaiMaruoka CastleOne of Japan's 12 original keeps, ¥450; keep under repair to 2027; 20 min by bus from Awara-OnsenRead the guide → ¥450 · 1 h SightEchizenWashi villageMake washi from ¥700 at Papyrus House; two paper museums (¥300); 10 min by taxi from Echizen-TakefuRead the guide → From ¥700 · 1.5–2 h TownMinamiechizenImajō-jukuOld post town with 1 km of preserved houses, 4 sake breweries and oroshi soba; 38 min from FukuiRead the guide → Half day TownMikuni, SakaiMikuni-minatoOld Kitamae-bune port by Tōjinbō: merchant houses, the free Former Morita Bank, uguisu mochiRead the guide → 7 min ActivityEchizenCrafts villagesKnife village, washi, lacquer and glasses workshops near Echizen-Takefu; paper-making from ¥700Read the guide → From ¥700 ActivityIkedaMega Zipline510 m zipline and treetop courses in the mountains; ¥4,300 for about 60 minutes, no practical busRead the guide → ¥4,300 · 1 h
Plan the rest

Eat, stay and get there

Food, hotels and access for Fukui.

Hotels & ryokanFukui Station hotels 1–12 min from the Shinkansen, plus Awara Onsen ryokan, Mikuni's…Read the guide → 10 min Auberge HomachiSixteen suites in restored merchant houses in old Mikuni port, French dinner by a…Read the guide → 6 min Eiheiji & dinosaursVisit Eiheiji, head temple of Sōtō Zen, and the Fukui Prefectural Dinosaur Museum in one…Read the guide → 7 min Getting thereTokyo to Fukui in 2h 49m, Kyoto in 1h 20m via Tsuruga: Shinkansen, Echizen Railway, buses…Read the guide → 7 min
Where to stay

Where to stay in Fukui

Three bases for the sights above.

One MICHELIN Key

Beniya Kofuyuden

光風湯圃 べにや · Awara Onsen

Seventeen rooms, rebuilt after a 2018 fire, and Fukui's only MICHELIN Key hotel. Private hot-spring baths and crab kaiseki in season.

from ¥47,300 pp with 2 mealsOur notes →
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Rail base

Courtyard by Marriott Fukui

コートヤード・バイ・マリオット福井 · Fukui Station

International hotel two minutes from the Shinkansen gates and the robot dinosaurs. Echizen Railway to Mikuni, Eiheiji and Katsuyama leaves from next door.

from ¥7,200 ppOur notes →
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Zen ryokan

Hakujukan

永平寺 親禅の宿 柏樹關 · Eiheiji

Ryokan at the temple gate with guided zazen, an early-morning temple visit and shōjin (Buddhist vegetarian) kaiseki. Listed in the MICHELIN Guide Hokuriku 2021.

from ¥28,700 pp with 2 mealsOur notes →
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See all Fukui hotels →

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