Fukui

Fukui (福井市 Fukui-shi) is the capital city of Fukui Prefecture. In 2017, it had a population of 264,000 people. It is home to the Ichijōdani Asakura Family Historic Ruins, one of the most important cultural heritage sites in Japan.

Understand

Fukui Castle

The city is a regional commercial and finance centre; however, manufacturing, agriculture and commercial fishing also are contributors to the local economy.

Tourist Information Site

Fuku-iro (福いろ) is the city's official guide site. Japanese only with integrated Google Translate.

Get in

By plane

The nearest airport to Fukui is in Komatsu (KMQ ^IATA). Buses connect Komatsu Airport with Komatsu Station for ¥260, from which you can take a Hokuriku Line local train for the 50-minute run to Fukui (¥820).

If coming internationally, the best airport to arrive in is Kansai International Airport (KIX ^IATA in Osaka. From the Airport, you can reach Fukui by train in about 3½ hours by taking the Haruka limited express train to Shin-Osaka, and transferring across the platform to the Thunderbird, described below.

By train

Fukui is served by the Hokuriku Shinkansen bullet train from Tokyo, with the fastest trains traveling the distance in 2:51 (¥15,810).

From Osaka or Kyoto, you'll need to take the JR Thunderbird limited express to Tsuruga and transfer to the Hokuriku Shinkansen. Tsuruga is also served by the JR Shirasagi limited express from Nagoya and Maibara.

There is no charge for the above services with the Japan Rail Pass.

By bus

The Dream Fukui overnight bus service runs from both Tokyo Station and Shinjuku to the Keifuku Bus Terminal in Fukui (9 hours, ¥7,800-9,200 one-way). The price varies between seasons. Two departures nightly.

Numerous buses come and go from Nagoya daily. Osaka and Kyoto also have direct buses to Fukui Station.

Get around

By tram

Fukui Railway runs a tram that makes the city more accessible and is relatively cheap. Trams conveniently depart from Fukuieki Station (outside JR Fukui Station). There are two lines, one traveling north and the other south. The northern line runs to Tawaramachi Station (convenient for the art museum, history museum, and Yokokan Garden) while the southern line runs all the way to Echizen-Takefu Station in Echizen. Within city limits the final station is Sanjuhassha Station, although most visitors will find most attractions accessible from Asuwayama-Koenguchi Station.

On foot

While there are enough sites within walking distance of the station to tour on foot, many sites are too far apart for walking to be a viable option. In many cases, it's best to at least use public transport to get you within reasonable distance to start your walk.

See

Ichijodani Historic Site

• 1 Fukui Castle (福井城), ☏ +81 776-20-2051. The castle was built in 1606 by Yuki Hideyasu after he was given control of the province as thanks for siding with the victors in the Battle of Sekigahara. The castle name (as well as the city and prefecture) comes from a lucky well (福の井) which you can still visit today on the castle grounds. The castle has some well-preserved walls and moat but none of the buildings remain. The prefectural office is located within the ruins where parts of the castle once stood, but visitors are free to roam the grounds outside of the prefectural office. Free. (updated Feb 2018)
• 2 Fukui City History Museum (福井市立郷土歴史博物館), 3-12-1 Hoei, ☏ +81 776-21-0489, fax: +81 776-21-1489. Contains interesting displays on the history of the local area from early civilizations to its days as a castle town to the bombings in WWII. ¥210 (¥340 includes entry to Yokokan Garden). (updated Feb 2018)
• 3 Yokokan Garden (養浩館庭園), ☏ +81 776-20-5367, b-shinkou@city.fukui.lg.jp. A small but scenic strolling garden. ¥210 (¥340 includes entry to History Museum). (updated Feb 2018)
• 4 Bhutan Museum (ブータンミュージアム), 3-15-12 Ote, ☏ +81 776-22-0011, fax: +81 776-22-0010. Touted as the only museum of its kind outside of Bhutan, the museum has a variety of Bhutanese cultural items on display for visitors to see and learn more about. They also feature many pictures of scenery and famous places in Bhutan. Fukui City has a special relationship with the kingdom of Bhutan, so cultural exchanges between the two take place annually. There are also many books for those with more time who really want to learn more about the country. (updated Feb 2018)
• 5 Fukui Prefecture Fine Arts Museum (福井県立美術館), ☏ +81 776-25-0452, fax: +81 776-25-0459. 09:00-17:00. The prefectural art museum with special exhibits throughout the year. (updated Feb 2018)
• 6 Fukui City Museum of Natural History (福井市自然史博物館), ☏ +81 776-35-2844, fax: +81 776-34-4460. 09:00-17:15. A museum showcasing the local flora, fauna and geology. (updated Feb 2018)
• 7 Osagoe Minkaen (おさごえ民家園), ☏ +81 776-34-3794, fax: +81 776-34-3794. 09:00-17:15. A small folk village with five historic thatched-roof houses on display as an open-air museum. ¥100. (updated Feb 2018)
• 8 Fukui City Art Museum (福井市美術館), ☏ +81 776-33-2990, fax: +81 776-33-3114. 09:00-17:15. The permanent exhibit contains many sculptures by Hiroatsu Takata, but special exhibits are the biggest draw. Check to see what will be featured during your visit to determine if it's worth your time to visit. ¥100. (updated Feb 2018)
• 9 Ichijodani Historic Site (一乗谷朝倉氏遺跡), ☏ +81 776-41-2173, fax: +81 776-41-3924. (updated Feb 2018)
• 10 Ichijodani Asakura Family Museum (一乗谷朝倉氏遺跡資料館), ☏ +81 776-41-2301, fax: +81 776-41-2494, asakura@pref.fukui.lg.jp. 09:00-17:00. A museum showcasing artifacts excavated from the nearby Ichijodani Asakura Historic Site. ¥100. (updated Feb 2018)

Do

• 1 Gokurakuyu Onsen (極楽湯), 1 Chome-118 Kaihotsu (開発1丁目118番地) (Close to Echizen-Kaihotsu Sta.), ☏ +81 776-53-4126. Though overshadowed by the famous onsen in Awara, Gokurakuyu is a large onsen complex in Fukui city, and a great place to relax. It has an outdoor bathing area, sauna, super-jet baths, electric baths, and a bed of heated gems/jewels that you lie down on. Japanese-style massages available for an additional fee. ¥630. 

Buy

• Aossa (アオッサ). A shopping mall that created a lot of excitement when it opened in 2007, but then turned out not to be worth all the fuss. It has a cafe and some clothing stores on the first floor, Chinese restaurant on the third, public library on the fourth and a theater on the top floor. It is across from Fukui Station. (updated Aug 2020)
• El-pa (エルパ), 福井市大和田2-1212 (Below the Korona World movie theater.). A popular shopping mall, the largest in the prefecture. (updated Aug 2020)

Eat

A sauce katsudon and oroshi soba set

While most of Japan prefers to eat its katsudon (breaded pork cutlet on top of rice) topped with a sweet omelet, Fukui is famous for creating the sauce katsudon, which is instead covered by a sweet and salty sauce similar to Worcester sauce. It is ubiquitous on menus throughout the prefecture. Another famous local food is oroshi soba, cold or hot buckwheat noodles with grated Japanese radish. Restaurants serving oroshi soba can be found throughout the prefecture.

• 1 Maruhachi (まる八), 1-1-9 Miyuki, ☏ +81 776-26-8108. 11:00-15:00, 17:00-21:00, closed on Th. Serves oroshi soba and katsudon among others. 
• 2 Akiyoshi (秋吉), 2-12-17 Junka, ☏ +81 776 21 3573. 17:00-03:00, closed on Sunday. This is a Katamachi (片町) branch of Akiyoshi, a locally owned yakitori (grilled chicken skewers) restaurant which has many branches hroughout Fukui and the larger area. All branches have a picture menu, and most have an English one, if you ask (or they notice that you're not Japanese). Look for a red lantern sign at the entrance, and a line of business men eating and drinking at the counter. The surrounding street of Katamachi is full of other izakaya, Japanese-style pubs. 
• 3 Ogawaya (小川家). One of the most famous sauce katsudon restaurants in the city. (updated Feb 2018)
• 4 Yōroppaken (ヨーロッパ軒), ☏ +81 776-21-4681. One of the most famous sauce katsudon restaurants, claiming its origin. It's quite typical for there to be a line outside waiting to enter. (updated Feb 2018)
• 5 Fukushin (ふくしん), ☏ +81 776-54-7100. A sauce katsudon restaurant known for its generous portions of pork. (updated Feb 2018)

Drink

• 1 CASA (カーサ) (in the same building as Nakau on three floors: B1 has the main stage, F2 and F3 have bars and sometimes DJs). A weekend night club with DJs and dancing. (updated Feb 2018)

Sleep

• 1 The Gran Yours Fukui (ザ・グランユアーズフクイ), ☏ +81 776-25-3200. 
• 2 Hotel Fujita Fukui (ホテルフジタ福井), ☏ +81 776-27-8811. Singles from ¥7,000. 
• 3 Hotel Keifuku Fukui-ekimae (ホテル京福 福井駅前), ☏ +81 776-24-8800. Singles from ¥5,500. 
• 4 Fukui Plaza Hotel (福井プラザホテル), ☏ +81 776-24-1313. Singles from ¥5,000. 
• 5 Shiromachi Annex (城町アネックス), ☏ +81 776-23-2003. Singles from ¥5,300. 
• 6 Town Hotel Fukui (タウンホテル福井), ☏ +81 776-21-2800. Singles from ¥2,800. 
• 7 Tsukimi Ryokan (つきみ旅館), ☏ +81 776-36-0167. Rooms from ¥4,725. 

Go next

• Eiheiji — A beautiful temple just east of Fukui
• Sakai — Tojimbo, cliffs famous for suicides
• Katsuyama
• Ono
• Sabae
• Kaga
• Kanazawa
• Awara — Awara Onsen
• Ikeda

Routes through Fukui

Kanazawa ← Kaga ←	N  S	→ Sabae → Takefu → Maibara
Kaga ← Sakai ←	N  S	→ Sabae → Takefu → Tsuruga → Maibara
END ←	W  E	→ Eiheiji → Katsuyama → Ono