Until the Hokuriku Shinkansen was extended through Fukui in 2024, this small prefecture on the Sea of Japan was the piece of the Hokuriku coast that overseas programmes skipped: Kanazawa got the visitors, Fukui got the through-trains. That has changed. Fukui and Tsuruga are now shinkansen stops on a direct line from Tokyo, and the prefecture has three attractions of the first rank — a working Zen monastery, a dramatic stretch of basalt sea cliffs, and one of the world's great dinosaur museums — plus craft villages, a serious crab season and a hot-spring town to sleep in. For a Hokuriku or Kansai-to-Tokyo itinerary, Fukui is the new chapter.
Eiheiji: a monastery, not a museum
Eiheiji is the head temple of the Soto school of Zen, founded in 1244 by the monk Dogen, and it remains a training monastery: more than a hundred monks live here under a strict daily rule, and the visitor walks through their working world — the long covered stairways up the cedar-forested hillside, the meditation hall, the kitchen, the ceiling painted with 230 panels of flowers and birds. It is one of the very few places where a client can see Zen practised rather than explained. Small parties can join a short seated-meditation session, and the temple-run lodging beside the gate offers an overnight programme with morning service and shojin ryori, the monastery's vegetarian cuisine. Our temples and shrines guide and our note on temple stays set the expectations: early, quiet, and worth every minute.
Tojinbo and the coast
The Tojinbo cliffs are a kilometre of columnar basalt rising sheer from the Sea of Japan, a geological rarity — the same hexagonal rock as the Giant's Causeway — and the most dramatic coastal scenery on this side of Honshu. A clifftop walk and a sightseeing boat beneath the columns fill a memorable two hours; sunset is the time to be there. The old port of Mikuni next door has a preserved merchant street, and the fishing harbours along this coast land the prefecture's most famous product: Echizen crab, the snow crab of the Sea of Japan, in season from early November to March, when crab dinners at a coastal inn are a legitimate reason for the whole trip. See our seasonal seafood calendar for how the crab season shapes winter programmes on this coast.
Awara Onsen, a few minutes inland, is the sleeping town — a classic hot-spring resort of large, comfortable ryokan with the crab-and-onsen combination that makes a winter night here one of Hokuriku's easiest sells; our ryokan and onsen services contract the inns that do it best.
Dinosaurs, crafts and Tsuruga
- The Fukui Prefectural Dinosaur Museum at Katsuyama is one of the three great dinosaur museums in the world and the reason Fukui calls itself the dinosaur prefecture: dozens of full skeletons, fossils from the quarry next door, and a hands-on programme that makes it the single best family stop in Hokuriku. Allow a full half-day; it is reached from Fukui by the Echizen Railway and a short bus or by vehicle.
- Echizen crafts. Within a small radius the prefecture makes Echizen washi paper (in a village where clients can make a sheet), Echizen forged knives — some of the most sought-after kitchen knives in the world — and lacquerware; a craft half-day here belongs on any pottery and craft towns programme.
- Tsuruga, the shinkansen's current western terminus, is a port city with a fine shrine, a museum of the "Port of Humanity" story — the Jewish refugees who landed here in 1940 on visas issued by the diplomat Chiune Sugihara — and the interchange to Kyoto and Osaka.
Access and how it fits a programme
- From Tokyo: Hokuriku Shinkansen direct to Fukui in a little under three hours; Kanazawa is about 20 minutes further back up the line, and Tsuruga about 20 minutes on.
- From Kyoto and Osaka: limited express to Tsuruga in about an hour, then the shinkansen — so Fukui is also a natural bridge between Kansai and Kanazawa on a Tokyo-in, Osaka-out or reverse open-jaw.
- Vehicles are the right tool for Eiheiji, Tojinbo and the craft villages, which sit in different directions from the city; a chartered vehicle with a licensed guide covers the prefecture in two full days.
- The classic build: Tokyo → Kanazawa (two nights) → Fukui and Eiheiji → Awara Onsen or the coast (one night) → Tsuruga → Kyoto. Our Kanazawa guide and rail and transfers service handle the sequencing.
- Timing: November to March for crab; May for the fresh green at Eiheiji; October for the coast in clear weather. Winter brings snow inland and a grey, dramatic sea — beautiful, but plan the coast for the calm days.
FAQ
Is Fukui on the shinkansen? Yes. Since 2024 the Hokuriku Shinkansen runs from Tokyo through Kanazawa to Fukui and on to Tsuruga; Tokyo–Fukui takes a little under three hours, and Kyoto and Osaka connect at Tsuruga in about an hour.
What is Eiheiji? The head temple of Soto Zen, founded in 1244 and still a training monastery with more than a hundred resident monks. Visitors walk through the working monastery; small parties can join a meditation session, and an overnight programme with morning service and vegetarian cuisine is available.
When is Echizen crab season? Early November to March. Crab dinners at a coastal inn or an Awara Onsen ryokan are the anchor of winter programmes on this coast.
Is Fukui good for families? Very — the Fukui Prefectural Dinosaur Museum at Katsuyama is one of the world's great dinosaur museums, with hands-on programmes, and it pairs with paper-making and knife-forging workshops that children enjoy.
Want Fukui in a Hokuriku programme? Write to b2b@explera.jp, message the trade desk on WhatsApp at +66 93 656 8090, or register on the B2B portal. Proposals within 24 hours. IATA TIDS 96215733, ASTA member 900408341.
