Japan will launch a new high-speed bullet train (shinkansen) extension on Saturday that will make it easier for travelers to reach this little-known prefecture.
Coastal Fukui Prefecture is about 185 miles west of Tokyo.New train will pass through Fukui City town Rarely mentioned in travel guides for Awara and elsewhere, the Hokuriku Shinkansen will add about 78 miles to its existing Tokyo-Kanazawa route before reaching the port city of Tsuruga.
Once it starts on March 16, the route will open the door to Japan, a region famous for dinosaurs, Zen meditation and soothing hot spring baths but rarely visited by international tourists.
jurassic japan
Of all the newly expanded sites, Fukui is the best base for exploring the prefecture’s attractions.
Dinosaurs are one of the area’s main attractions, from a robotic replica of Fukui Station to the local mascot, a smiley green dinosaur called the Juratic, whose face is emblazoned on souvenirs across the city.
There’s a good reason for this.Nearly 80% of Japan’s dinosaur fossils were discovered in Fukui Fukui Prefectural Dinosaur Museum Katsuyama did an excellent job with the Japanese and English details.
Less than an hour’s drive from Fukui Station on the Katsuyama-Eiheiji railway line, this massive museum houses an array of remains and exhibits about the life and demise of dinosaurs, including life-size ferocious Tyrannosaurus rex and long-necked dinosaurs. Animatronic model of grass animal. Fossil digs at the connected Katsuyama Dinosaur Park add a hands-on element that’s particularly family-friendly.
Seeking Zen and Hot Springs
Take the local train back to Fukui. Travelers interested in learning about Zen Buddhism can get off at Eiheijiguchi Station. Eiheiji Templeis a temple and monastery founded in the 1200s by the legendary Zen master and scholar Dogen.
Travelers with a few hours to spare can explore the temple buildings, but it is also possible to plan a Overnight temple accommodation These include the following options Zazen Meetings and traditional plant-based Buddhist meals.
A geisha walks through a performance hall in Awara, Japan.
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Another option when spending an extra day in Fukui is to take the shinkansen to Awara and enjoy traditional care. Like many hot spring towns in Japan, the reason most people visit Awara City is to spend the night in a ryokan, soak in the mineral-rich baths, put on a yukata, relax in a tatami room, and enjoy kaiseki cuisine Dinner offers a range of photogenic seasonal side dishes.
But there are many places worth visiting in Awara besides bathhouses and ryokans. You can also kanas creates forest — 200,000 square meters of forest with art installations and walking trails. Orchard picking is also available in rural areas – strawberries in the spring and blueberries, grapes and Asian pears in the summer.
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The terminus of the Shinkansen is Tsuruga Town. Suffice it to say, there’s not much to hang out here, but those with a few hours to spare can hop on a town bus to visit some of the famous attractions.
Mizuhohama Beach near Tsuruga Town.
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Kehi no Matsubara Seaside Pine Forest is a nationally designated scenic spot.
Along the coastline there are Humanity Port Museum, details how Jewish refugees from Poland and Lithuania arrived in Tsuruga in the 1940s after receiving special visas from Japanese diplomat Chiune Sugihara. It is estimated that Sugihara saved thousands of Jews from Nazi concentration camps.
Visitors can also follow in the footsteps of 17th-century haiku writer Matsuo Basho, who visited Tsuruga’s Kehi Jingu Shrine to view the autumn full moon during one of his journeys in his haiku travelogue “The Narrow Road to the North Country.”
Kehi-no-Matsubara in Tsuruga, Japan.
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The shrine had been rebuilt several times since Basho’s visit, but the version he had seen was truly impressive. “The air of the shrine was silent in the still night, and the moon shone brilliantly through the black pine needles,” he wrote.
While Basho left Tsuruga and slowly headed south, limited express trains now reach Kyoto from Tsuruga in less than an hour, and Nagoya in 90 minutes from the southeast. Travelers can also reboard the Shinkansen for the three-hour trip back to Tokyo.
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