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秋
Currently in season
AutumnOct–Nov
Now in Wakasa · guji season, clear skies on the Rainbow Line
Autumn colour in Obama's temples and the calmest air of the year over the Five Lakes. Fugu and crab dinners start in October and November, and NIGHT WAVE lights Suishohama beach on 17–19 October.
春 夏 秋 冬
Where to stay
Wakasa guide

Things to do in Wakasa若狭

The ria coast of western Fukui, where Kyoto's mackerel came from: grilled saba in Obama, a chopstick you polish yourself, five lakes in five blues and Asia's first Blue Flag beach. It all runs along one slow coastal line from Tsuruga, the Shinkansen terminus.

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SightTsuruga · Top pickKehi JingūHokuriku's chief shrine with a 10.93 m vermilion torii; free, 15 min on foot from Tsuruga StationRead the guide → Free · 20–30 min SightMikata · Top pickMikata Five LakesFive lakes of five colours: Rainbow Line summit park (¥1,000), lake cruise, plum orchardsRead the guide → ¥1,000 · Half day SightTakahama · Top pickTakahamaAsia's first Blue Flag beach, with clear shallow water; swimming from mid-July to late AugustRead the guide → Free TownWakasa · Top pickKumagawa-jukuPreserved post town on the Mackerel Road to Kyoto, with a museum and the Uriwari Falls spring waterRead the guide → Free · 1.5–2 h TownObama · Top pickObamaPolish lacquer chopsticks (¥1,100), Sotomo sea-cave boats (¥2,500), the Mackerel Road, fish marketRead the guide → 7 min TownTsuruga · Top pickTsurugaShinkansen terminus: great torii, port museum, fish market, sauce katsudon; 2 hours to a nightRead the guide → 2 h to 1 night SightTsurugaKehi no MatsubaraOne of Japan's three great pine groves: 1.5 km of beach, swimming mid-July to mid-AugustRead the guide → Free · 1–2 h SightTsurugaNihonkai Sakana MachiNearly 60 seafood shops, bowls for lunch and Echizen crab from 6 Nov; bus from Tsuruga StationRead the guide → Free · 1–1.5 h SightObamaOnyuWakasa-hiko and Wakasa-hime shrines, Jingū-ji temple and the Omizu-okuri water ceremony on 2 MarchRead the guide → Half day SightTsurugaPort of HumanityWhere Polish orphans and Sugihara visa refugees landed; ¥500, closed WednesdaysRead the guide → ¥500 · 1–2 h SightMikataVarve Museum70,000 years of layered lake mud that set the radiocarbon clock; ¥500, ¥700 with the Jōmon MuseumRead the guide → ¥500 · 1 h TownMihamaMihamaClear-water Suishohama beach and the 126.8 km Wakacycle ride along the Wakasa coastRead the guide → Free
Plan the rest

Eat, stay and get there

Food, hotels and access for Wakasa.

FoodWhat to eat on the Wakasa coast: heshiko cured mackerel, narezushi, hama-yaki saba…Read the guide → 7 min Hotels & aubergesWhere to stay on the Wakasa coast: Wakasa Kajitsu, fishermen's inns, Obama ryokan and…Read the guide → 7 min Getting thereGetting to Wakasa: Shinkansen to Tsuruga, the Obama Line to Mihama and Obama, the bus…Read the guide → 9 min
Where to stay

Where to stay in Wakasa

Three bases for the sights above.

Fisherman-run

Sea-Auberge Shitsumi

海のオーベルジュ志積 · Shitsumi, Obama

A fishing family's auberge in a tiny hamlet, serving the day's Wakasa Bay catch. Listed in the Michelin Guide Hokuriku 2021. Car needed.

room only from ¥5,500 ppOur notes →
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Merchant house

Yao Kumagawa

八百熊川 · Kumagawa-juku post town

A restored merchant house on the Saba-kaidō. Stay the night and have the lantern-lit street to yourself after the day visitors leave.

from ¥17,550Our notes →
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Station

Hotel Granbinario Tsuruga

ホテルグランビナリオTSURUGA · Tsuruga Station west exit

Opened 2022 beside the Shinkansen terminus. The best rail base for day trips along the Obama Line, or a late arrival from Tokyo.

from ¥13,400 per roomOur notes →
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See all Wakasa hotels →

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