Fukui
Fukui (福井; ) is the capital of Fukui prefecture, Japan.
Understand
Get in
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 Airport in Osaka. From Kansai Airport, you can reach Fukui by train in about 3 1/2 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 a major station on the JR Hokuriku line, which links Toyama with Maibara. A connection to the Kosei Line at Tsuruga provides a direct link to Kyoto and Osaka.
Fukui is connected to Kyoto and Osaka 1-2 times per hour by the Thunderbird train. This train makes the run from Osaka to Fukui in about 1 hour, 50 minutes. From Kyoto, the run takes about 1 hour, 20 minutes. The price for the service is ¥5700 from Osaka and ¥4600 from Kyoto.
The Shirasagi limited express also stops at Fukui on runs from Nagoya and Maibara. From the latter it takes one hour and costs ¥3100.
If coming from Tokyo, take the hourly Tokaido Shinkansen Hikari service that stops at Maibara station. From Maibara, take the Shirasagi to Fukui (3 1/2 hours, ¥14000).
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 and Shinjuku to the Keifuku Bus Terminal in Fukui (9 hours, ¥8300 one-way). Two departures nightly.
Get around
By tram
By bus
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
Do
- 1 Gokurakuyu Onsen (1 Chome-118 Kaihotsu, Fukui-shi, Fukui-ken, Japan). Kaihatsu district 1 (福井県福井市開発1丁目118番地). 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- Aossa de aossa! A relatively newer shopping mall that created a lot of excitement when it first 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 and a movie theatre above. It is conveniently situated right across from Fukui Station.
- LPa/Lovely Partner (福井市大和田２丁目１２１２番地） - a popular shopping mall that is unique to Fukui prefecture. Above it is the cinema, Korona World.
Eat
- Katsudon - 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.
- Oroshi Soba - Cold buckwheat noodles with grated Japanese radish.
- Akiyoshi, (0776) 21-3573. There are many branches of this locally owned yakitori (grilled chicken skewers) restaurant throughout Fukui. 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. Open 17:00-02:30.
Drink
Sleep
- Hotel Fujita Fukui. Singles from ¥7000.
- Terminal Hotel Fukui. Singles from ¥5500.
- Fukui Plaza Hotel. Singles from ¥5000.
- Annex Hotel Fukui. Singls from ¥5300.
- Town Hotel Fukui. Singles from ¥2800.
- Tsukimi Ryokan. Rooms from ¥4725.
Go next
- Eiheiji Temple (永平寺). Established in 1244 by Zen Master Dōgen, a testament to the ability of the Japanese to fuse architecture and nature in a seamless and timeless structure. Visitors are welcome to tour the monastery and for ¥8000 per night (¥3000 per night for stays of more than a few days) can experience training according to the Sōtō Zen tradition. The temple is located about 15 km outside Fukui; either take a direct bus from Fukui Station (4 daily, 30 min, ¥720) or a train to Eiheiji-Guchi (25min, ¥440yen) and then a connecting bus (15min, ¥410).
- Sakai for Tojimbo
- Awara for Awara Onsen
| Routes through Fukui |
| Kanazawa ← Kaga ← | N  S |
→ Sabae Template:Rtarrow Echizen → Maibara |
| Kanazawa ← Kaga ← | N  S |
→ Sabae Template:Rtarrow Takefu Template:Rtarrow Tsuruga → Maibara |