2018 Autumn Leaves Festival at Nishiyama Park in Fukui Prefecture

(source: 福井県公式観光サイト)

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.  read more

I went to Chihiro Iwasaki’s birthplace in Fukui Prefecture.

This is Chihiro’s birthplace(Chihiro’s Birthplace Memorial Museum).

November/18/2018

Today I went to Takefu, Fukui Prefecture, Japan, to see an exhibition of Chihiro Iwasaki’s paintings and the artist’s birthplace(Chihiro’s Birthplace Memorial Museum). She was born 100 years ago.

Chihiro Iwasaki was a Japanese artist and illustrator for children. This was my first time to see her paintings at an exhibition.         read more

Yokokan Garden: an oasis in Fukui

Yokokan Garden

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. read more

Do you know Tachibana Akemi?

↑↑Akemi (left) and his daughter(right)

November/4/2018

Tachibana Akemi (橘 曙覧) was born in 1812 in Fukui City, Fukui prefecture, Japan.  He was a poet and a scholar of classical Japanese. In my opinion, the characteristics of his poems are simplicity and honesty. One hundred and fifty years have passed since his death.

Among his poems, Solitary Pleasures(独楽吟) is very popular. There are 52 verses in Solitary Pleasures, and all of them are about the pleasures he felt. read more

I watched a Japan Self Defense Forces parade in Fukui for the first time.

October/21/2018

Today I watched a parade by the Self Defense Forces in Fukui prefecture. It was held on Phoenix Street in Fukui City. Since it was sunny, people  enjoyed watching the parade. I knew that the parade is held every year. However, I’ve never been to watch it.

I thought that the audience would be small, but there were a lot of people at the venue. I couldn’t find a place to watch because of the large number of people. Finally, I was able to find a good place to watch. read more

The Fukui soccer team won the 2018 National Sports Festival

  October/3/2018

Today I went to Mikuni, Fukui Prefecture, to watch the final soccer game of the National Sports Festival, which is the biggest annual sports event in Japan. This year’s festival was held in Fukui Prefecture for the first time in 50 years.

In the male soccer section, the Fukui team got through to the final. Fukui would face Tokyo. read more

Do you know the Miracle Lake in Fukui Prefecture, Japan?

Lake Suigetsu
This is Lake Suigetsu.

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. read more

I went to Summit park to see Mikata Goko (Mikata Five Lakes)with my brother.

This is Mikata Goko.(source: Fukui Photo Gallery)

(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). read more

Fukui Cinema: Fukui’s first theater

Fukui Cinema
↑↑ This is Fukui Cinema.

September/8/2018
Today I went to Fukui Cinema, a movie theater in Fukui City, Fukui prefecture, Japan. I’d heard that Fukui Cinema was going to close on September 10th, so I went there one last time.

The first Fukui Cinema was a theater built in 1919 as Fukui’s first movie theater. Fukui Cinema has a roughly 100-year history. There are big theaters in shopping malls, and you can watch movies online, so the number of people coming to Fukui Cinema has been decreasing. read more

Fukui Station: a major hub of Fukui prefecture

Fukui Station

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. (※Prism Fukui, a gift shop, closed its doors in May 2023.) 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. read more