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


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.

By plane
The nearest airport to Fukui is in Komatsu. 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 ( 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 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.

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.

Eat


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.



Go next

 * Eiheiji &mdash; A beautiful temple just east of Fukui
 * Sakai &mdash; Tojimbo, cliffs famous for suicides
 * Katsuyama
 * Ono
 * Sabae
 * Kaga
 * Kanazawa
 * Awara &mdash; Awara Onsen
 * Ikeda