Japan’s Most Underrated Prefecture? Exploring Hidden Gems in Fukui

Japan’s Most Underrated Prefecture? Exploring Hidden Gems in Fukui

It might be misty and spooky vibes here, but 
where I’m going, it’s clear skies and sunny. Fukui Prefecture lies between Kanazawa and Kyoto 
along the Sea of Japan. Despite it being a cradle of history and culture and just a beautiful slice 
of countryside, I hardly hear of anyone visiting. So, it seemed like the perfect place for me to 
check out. But with the bullet train having been extended to Fukui Prefecture as of last year, 
it’s now easier than ever to see this extremely underrated area. So, I’d highly recommend you do 
so. So, what you just saw is Ono City’s famous castle in the sky. When on cool, clear nights, 
mostly in fall and winter, a fog is created, and the castle, which sits up on a hill, sits 
above that fog and looks like it’s floating in the sky. I woke up at 5:15 a.m. to hike up to 
the observatory on the nearby Inuyama to try to see it. But unfortunately, the fog was a 
bit high today and was hiding the castle. So, after a couple hours of waiting with all the 
ojisans up there, I decided back down and resorted to using the drone. Still, I’ve just been in Ono 
City for 3 days. So to see such a rare event, to have those conditions line up, I’m still pretty 
happy. But it’s a beautiful clear day and I have a jam-packed schedule, so we’re going to take a 
little stroll and then be on my way again. Oh my goodness. Really puts the “dai” in “daibutsu”. 
Jeez. The Echizen Daibutsu in Katsuyama was the first stop. It was actually only built recently 
in the 1980s, so it isn’t of much historical significance, but the grounds, the hall, and the 
pagoda, are of such massive scale that it was a must-see for me as an architecture enthusiast. 
Not to mention, there was hardly anyone here, which will be a recurring theme for my time 
in Fukui Prefecture. I’m joined today by my friend Camilla, who is Brazilian of Japanese 
descent and lives here in Fukui. While the hall is not the largest in Japan, that title 
belongs to the 1300-year-old Todai-ji in Nara, the Echizen Daibutsu, or Echizen Great Buddha 
statue, is the largest in Japan, as is the pagoda, which you can climb to the top for some amazing 
views over Katsyama and the nearby castle museum. Right beside the Echizen Daibutsu is something 
of a lot more historical significance, and while maybe not as grand will still take your breath 
away. Heisenji Hakusan Jinja was built in the 700s and served as a pilgrimage base for those climbing 
Hakusan, one of Japan’s three holy mountains, and became the largest religious settlement in the 
country with 48 shrines, 36 temples, and estimates believing around 10,000 monks residing here. It 
was burned to the ground by rival sect in the 1500s and was rebuilt as a shrine, but still makes 
for a contemplative stroll through the ground. why there’s moss everywhere? While en route to our next destination, we saw 
a field of sunflowers and had to make a U-turn to make a brief stop. It reminded me of the 
sunflower field I saw last November with Taka as I was driving through Yamagata. I can’t 
believe it’s already been a year since then. Sunflowers blooming well into fall will never 
not be cool to me. Although, I will say this one wasn’t as magical as having the majestic Mount 
Gassan in the background. Anyway, on to the next stop. The castle that is considered the oldest 
original castle keep in Japan. Maruoka Castle is often overlooked for the grander ones, but if 
you appreciate history, you can’t skip this one. Built in 1576 and restored once with about 
70% of its original materials after a large earthquake in 1948, Maruoka Castle has 
withtood the test of time pretty well. To end off the day, we made it over to the Sea of Japan. Fukui boasts 415 km of ocean 
coastline, much of it facing west, which means there are many scenic places to 
enjoy the sunset. Hokoshima being one of them. There’s a super cheap campsite next to Hokoshima 
right on the ocean that I took advantage of. And while I was quite excited to be back by the 
sea, I had plans back inland. But no worries, we’ll be back to the ocean a couple days later. All right, on my way through Echizen City, 
I had to make a quick stop at this temple. I know we already saw a couple temples— or a 
temple and a shrine yesterday, but this one’s pretty unique. And if you seen my third Shikoku 
video, you’ll know why. I mean, look at this. This is Echizen’s famous cat temple. 
Although it’s a Soto Zen temple, which makes sense due to Fuku Prefecture 
being the birth of the Soto sect in Japan, it’s become popular due to its resident cats. 
It all started when the head monk found four kittens abandoned by someone in the temple 
grounds. From then on, it quickly became a refuge for abandoned, injured, or sick cats 
and at its peak had over 80 feline residents. Nowadays, there are only a handful, but as 
a cat person, and since the passing of my childhood cat earlier this year, I take any 
opportunity I can to spend time with cats. Next up is a spot I wanted to visit purely for 
the history nerd in me. You would never guess, but at its height, the sleepy little 
valley of rice fields and clustered homes was a fortified samurai town of 10,000 
inhabitants ruled by the Asakura family. However, they found themselves on the 
wrong side of what ended up being the unification of Japan. And it was all 
raised to the ground by Oda Nobanaga, who’s known as one of the three great unifiers. 
Nowadays, you can walk through excavated ruins in this beautiful valley and take a walk 
through a reconstructed section of the town if you really want to immerse yourself in what 
it would have been like living in these times. As sunset approached, I wandered into some 
nearby fields to soak in the last light. The next couple days were spent exploring 
around the mountains. You know, the usual activities like checking out secret shrines. 
I found this unique spot that’s considered one of the top spring water sources in Japan 
where the stream cascades around a torii gate. I also visited another hidden gem with 
zero tourists, a historically preserved town called Imajojuku. Those of you that watched 
my Nakasendo video or know of Japan’s historical highways will know that a “juku” was a 
post town where official stop along these highways with inns where the feudal lords and 
shoguns as well as other travelers would stop to rest. Imajojuku was a post town along 
the Hokkokukaido, which like the Nakasendo, also connected Kyoto and Edo but via the sea of 
Japan, forming a vital link to the coastal region. While I was walking down the street, 
a local ran up to me to give me a map and told me I absolutely had to check 
out his favorite shrine, even calling it a power spot. I was so appreciative 
of his kindness, it made my day. Well, that’s the spot my uh my new friend there 
just told me about. This looks crazy. This is a fantastic recommendation. I would 
have just totally skipped by it or missed it because I didn’t know it was here. I 
can see why he called it a power spot. For my last night in the mountains, I 
had one of the most unique stays I’ve had yet in Japan. Sleeping in a suspended 
tent at Tree Picnic Adventure in Ikeda. Well, there you go. There’s 
my humble abode for the day. Falling asleep to the sound of the rain and the 
river beside me. Unreal vibes. Well, oyasuminasai. One of the staff came by and said she saw 
my Tateyama pictures on Instagram and she goes usually twice a year and buys this 
super delicious beef curry which you can see is from the hotel Tateyama and gave this 
to me because because of that. So adorable. So kind of her. Well, unfortunately it’s 
that time. It’s checkout time and I have to say goodbye to these views. But the fun is 
not over as Tree Picnic Adventure Ikeda also offers some pretty cool activities such as a mega 
zipline which I’m pretty hyped to go check out. After a good few days in the mountains, I made 
my return to the coast, but in the southern part of Fukui. Starting the morning off with a drive 
along a scenic road that goes by the Rainbow Line. Oh my goodness, this view is crazy. Wow. 
Can you see that? And this parking lot is free. It’s just like a couple hundred 
meters down from the paid parking lots. Oh yeah. Foot bath in the sky. I’m not sure how there’s no one here. 
Like for me, this is like the highlight of the of the whole rainbow line. Ashiyu 
with a view? Like come on now. I thought I’d do something a bit more touristy for a 
change. There are some beautiful views up here and lots of little chill spaces, and on a 
weekday in offseason it’s quite quiet up here, so it is enjoyable. But in my opinion, for 1,800 
yen with the parking plus the trailer ticket, eh, it’s just not really my thing. But that beach 
over there is where I’m headed next. So excited. Well, I made it back to the ocean. You can no 
doubt hear the waves crashing out here, but unfortunately my big ol’ mattress kind of blocks 
the view now compared to my old mattress. But, you know, I can still look out the window 
and uh hear the sound of the waves. Anyway, I’m going to get some work done uh 
for a little bit longer here and then take a stroll down the beach and watch the 
sunset as the sun sets on my time in Fukui. Camilla joined me for one more ocean sunset 
before I left Fukui. Although unfortunately I was alone to take a dip. Something about October not 
being warm enough to swim? I don’t know. Anyway, I hadn’t even intended on seeing Fukui, but as I 
was wrapping up filming in the Alps for my last video, I really wanted a change of scenery. And 
Fukui not even being on my radar kind of made it exciting. I’m so glad I did come through and I 
would highly recommend it for anyone who wants an off the beaten path experience. As usual, you 
can find all the places I visited on my ultimate van life Japan map or my Japan adventure map if 
you don’t want the van life stuff. It’s now peak fall here in Japan and I’ve got some of the best 
footage I’ve taken in my life coming next. So, with that, I hope you look forward to next 
video and I’ll catch you in the next adventure.

Fukui Prefecture is undoubtedly one of Japan’s most underrated destinations. Tucked along the Sea of Japan in the Hokuriku region, Fukui is packed with hidden gems from ancient castles and temples, to rugged coastlines and quaint countryside towns. In this cinematic Japan travel vlog, I explore some of the most beautiful and overlooked spots in Fukui, discovering why this prefecture deserves way more attention.

Special thanks to Hosokawa-san for the Ono Castle photos AND he’s the one that took the zipline footage of me. His IG: https://www.instagram.com/phot0lll/

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🎬Chapters:
0:00-2:07 Intro/Ono Castle
2:08-3:20 Echizen Daibutsu
3:21-4:22 Heisenji Hakusan Shrine
4:23-5:33 Maruoka Castle
5:34-6:02 Hokoshima Sunset
6:03-8:53 Cat temple/Ichijodani
8:54-11:09 Imajojuku
11:10-14:03 Tree Picnic Adventure
14:04-15:47 Rainbow Line
15:48-17:29 Diamond Beach

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