Fukui – 1

When we were planning our trip Alison, my partner, suggested we find a quieter province to visit as a rest from the bustling cities of Tokyo and Kyoto. She suggested we look at Fukui and after some investigation this seemed like an interesting but slightly out of the way place to visit. Given how much we enjoyed Fukui this was an excellent idea and one I would suggest to others

We headed to Kyoto station early in the morning and boarded the fantastically named Express Thunderbird train. After one change and about a 90 minute journey we arrived in Fukui station.

Two things that you immediately notice are the number of dinosaur statues (Fukui is the centre for dinosaur finds in Japan) and also the lack of foreign faces when compared to the larger cities. This was only enhanced when we arrived at the hotel as there didn’t appear to be other tourists and our check-in and questions were a mixture of English and, for once, Google translate. We found this throughout Fukui but, like everywhere in Japan, everyone was so helpful and delightful that you barely noticed.

We dropped our bags and headed to Tojinbo. We took a train to Mikuni station and then switched to a bus. There were only around 5 other people making the trip at that time and they were all Japanese or Chinese. The bus took us to Tojinbo and the initial impressions were similar to a faded seaside resort in the UK. A street of stalls selling sea food and souvenirs, a large coffee shop and a very 60’s looking tower which you can get a lift to the observation deck. However once you walk to the top of the street towards the sea you suddenly see what Tojinbo is really famous for: a kilometre stretch of basalt cliffs stretching into the sea. They are very similar to the Giant’s Causeway in Northern Ireland and very spectacular.

We got a bus to Awara Onsen hoping to get a meal but it was very quiet and most places were closed so we just got the train back to Fukui City,

We then walked across the Asuwa river and climbed a gentle hill up to the Asuwa Shrine which has a spectacular cherry blossom tree that is 370 years old and over 10 metres tall and 20 metres wide. Quite a site to see.

We walked back down to the banks of the river which is flanked by hundreds of cherry trees and there was a small festival happening with food stalls , music and some performances. We had bought some food in the 7-Eleven and we sat and watched the world go by. As dusk fell the trees were all lit up from below producing a spectacular site, even though the blossom was not fully out. It must be quite spectacular later in the season.