Fukui Prefecture, the Dinosaur and Soba Kingdom (YUKI_1802)

2024.09.08 / Last modified at 2024.12.01

Overview

Fukui City is the capital of Fukui Prefecture with the population of more than 250,000. It was a castle town and the center of the Echizen province.

Fukui Prefecture originally consisted of the two province: Echizen and Wakasa. During the Edo period, the feudal lord of Echizen was the Matsudaira clan, and was a descendant of Tokugawa Ieyasu, who unified the nation in the early 17th century.

Echizen played a key role in the Meiji Restoration, a political event that restored practical imperial rule to Japan in the late 19th century under Emperor Meiji.

Fukui Prefecture is sandwiched between Ishikawa Prefecture, whose prefectural capital is Kanazawa, and Kyoto Prefecture, and isn’t as major a tourist destination as the two prefectures even for Japanese people.

However, this spring, the Hokuriku Shinkansen was extended from Kanazawa to Tsuruga, Fukui Prefecture, greatly improving transportation access.

If you are traveling Kyoto and Kanazawa and like seafood and soba or buckwheat noodles, be sure to stop by Fukui Prefecture as well!!

JR Fukui Station

The station is a hub for travel and business within Fukui Prefecture. It’s the historical and economic center of Fukui City, where you can enjoy visiting historical spots and eating out.

Fukui Prefecture has the most dinosaur fossils found in Japan. Around the station, which is the gateway to the “Dinosaur Kingdom Fukui”, there is a variety of contents where you can interact with dinosaurs.

Mt. Asuwa

The mountain is in Fukui City with an altitude of less than 120m. The mountaintop and foothills are recreational areas and are famous for cherry blossoms and hydrangeas.

There is an amusement park, museums, a broadcasting facility, three shrines, etc.

Keya Kurotatsu Shrine

The shrine is located at the eastern part of Mt. Asuwa and enshrines two guardian deities of the Kuzuryu River, which has been known since ancient times as the raging river of Echizen.

The shrine is popular among the local people, especially businessmen, and I was recommended to visit it by the owner of a Japanese tavern.

Japanese Garden Designated as a National Scenic Area

Yokokan Garden

The garden was built in the Edo period and was once a villa for the Matsudaira clan. From the traditional building on a large pond, you can enjoy a relaxing view of the garden, just like the feudal lords in the past.

It’s especially recommended during the autumn leaves season, and you are lucky to be able to see the garden illuminated at night.

Shibata Shrine

It’s said that Shibata Katsuie, a senior vassal of Oda Nobunaga, who is one of the most famous heroes in Japanese history, built a castle in Kitanosho, currently in Fukui City.

After Nobunaga’s death, Katsuie was attacked by the army of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, who was also his senior vassal and unified the nation later in the late 16th century, and set the castle on fire, killing himself and along with his wife Oichi and his clans.

Currently, Shibata Shrine stands on the site of Kirtanosho Castle, and is dedicated to Katsuie and Nobunaga’s sister Oichi.

Sanshimai Shrine

In the precinct of Shibata Shrine, there are statues of Katsuie, Oichi, and her three princesses.

The separate shrine named Sanshimai Jinja, literally meaning “the shrine of three sisters”, ehshrines the princesses who led a turbulent life.

Oichi is said to have been a woman of unparalleled beauty, and those who visit the shrine must become more beautiful to be popular with men.

Marriage of Buckwheat Noodles and Chocolate

Echizen Soba

Fukui Prefecture ranks among the top in terms of soba cultivation area and consumption. The prefecture’s soba is known for its abundant native species, strong flavor and delicious water.

Jerome Chouchan, CEO of Godiva Japan, has been interested in Zen culture since he was a university student and visited Eiheiji Temple on his first visit to Japan.

A collaboration between the company and Fukui Prefecture has been developed since 2020. In particular, the Echizen Soba x Godiva Marriage Campaign, which is held about once a year, is now in its fourth year, and more than 100 stores or restaurants in Fukui Prefecture are participating.

The first time I heard about the campaign was in November 2022 at an izakaya called Echizen Soba Dining Sakuraba in Fukui City. You can enjoy authentic soba and Fukui’s local sake at the izakaya.