blog for people from abroad about Fukui Prefecture in Japan.
April/5/2019
Cherry blossoms are very special for Japanese people. Every year, when spring is approaching, they get excited. The timing of the flowering of the cherry blossoms is forecasted by the Japan Weather Association. A lot of people in Japan look forward to seeing the flowers.
Motoori Norinaga(1730-1801), a famous Japanese classical scholar, wrote a poem about the Japanese spirit and the cherry blossoms:
February/2/2019
Did you know that there’s a jungle in Fukui Prefecture where animals live? A zoo called Happy Jungle opened in Fukui in 2018. It takes about 40 minutes to get there from Fukui Station on foot. There’s also a regular zoo next to Happy Jungle.
Happy Jungle is an indoor zoo, and you can go in for free. The zoo has two floors, and the second floor is a rest area where you can buy food and see the animals through the windows. The first floor is the main part of the zoo.
January/26/2019
In 2013, Okakura Tenshin’s 150th birthday anniversary exhibition was held at Fukui Prefectural Museum of Fine Arts. I went there and saw the first edition of The Book of Tea and artworks by his students, like Yokoyama Taikan.
Tenshin was born in Yokohama, Japan, in 1863. Since his father was born in Fukui, Tenshin always said that his own hometown was Fukui. He’d studied English since the age of 8, and he’d also studied the Chinese classics, like the Analects of Confucius, since the age of 10. He went to the University of Tokyo and studied politics, economics, philosophy, English literature, Japanese literature, and Chinese classical literature.
December/23/2018
The power of nature is always beyond people’s imagination. A while ago I read about a mysterious cave in Takahama-cho in Fukui Prefecture, and I recently went there.
Takahama-cho is located on the western edge of Fukui Prefecture. Meikyodo, the mysterious cave, is in Shiroyama Park, which is about 20 minutes on foot from JR Wakasa-Takahama Station. The park is on the former site of Takahama Castle, and you can get into it for free. The view of the sunset from the park is beautiful and has been designated as one of Japan’s 100 Most Beautiful Sunsets. I wasn’t able to see the sunset or take any pictures of it, but I found the pictures from Fukui Photo Gallery. (Please see below pictures.)
November/24/2018
Today I went to Nishiyama Park, which is in Sabae City, Fukui Prefecture, Japan. The Autumn Leaves Festival was being held there. There are about 1,600 Japanese maple trees in the park. Usually, you can enjoy seeing autumn leaves the best at Nishiyama Park from mid-November to late November.
November/10/2018
I went to Yokokan Garden(養浩館庭園). You can get there in 15 minutes from Fukui Station.
Yokokan Garden is a Japanese garden that was once the villa of the lord of Fukui Domain. The villa was built in the 1600s, but the garden was destroyed during the war in 1945. However, it was restored and opened to the public in 1993.
September/23/2018
Today I went to the Fukui Varve Museum, which just opened this September in Wakasa, Fukui Prefecture, Japan. My mother and I had talked about it and I’d wanted to go there.
Varves are striped layers at different depths in lakes. Remains of plankton and mud fall and accumulate, and they become varves. Light and dark patterns make pairs and represent one year.
(source: Fukui Photo Gallery)
September/23/2018
Today I went to Mikata Goko with my brother. It was cloudy.
Mikata Goko is an area consisting of five lakes. Among the five lakes, Lake Suigetsu is the most internationally renowned. I’ll write the reasons why in my next post(The Miracle Lake in Fukui Prefecture,Japan).
September/2/2018
Today I went to Fukui Station, which is a major hub of Fukui prefecture, Japan. About 10,000 people use the station every day.
It has two convenience stores and some souvenir shops and gift shops. It’s mid-sized rather than big, but I like it. I did some research on the local population of foreigners, counting how many I saw in 10 minutes. I only saw two.