DISCOVER FUKUI

Fukui produces over 90% of all eyeglass frames made in Japan. Learn about the 200+ steps involved in making a pair of glasses, and try making your own frames by hand. The museum features a shop with over 3,000 glasses frames to choose from, made by some 50 companies based in Fukui.  

Discover the long history of the Echizen region’s lacquerware industry, with informational panels about the production process. Workshops give visitors a chance to decorate their own lacquerware, or even try lacquering plain wood. The museum shop offers a vast selection, with lacquered wood items of all types for sale.  

Experience old-fashioned Japanese countryside life with an overnight stay in a thatched-roof house. Warm up by a wood fire in the open hearth during the colder months. In summer, cook dinner outside at the nearby Barbecue House. Simply relax and enjoy life at your own pace, surrounded by nature.  

Start the day by exploring a collection of Echizen Pottery that stretches back roughly a thousand years. Then, try making Echizen Pottery yourself at the nearby Fukui Prefectural Museum of Ceramics. Multiple workshops are available, including shaping clay using an electric pottery wheel or by hand, or painting finished pottery.  

For lunch, visit this soba noodle shop just a short walk away. Soba noodles made with 100% buckwheat flour are a classic local favorite in Fukui, and this restaurant serves them both hot and cold. Choose from thin-cut noodles or Fukui-style wide-cut noodles, and plenty of different toppings.  

Make one-of-a-kind washi paper items using traditional techniques. Choose from various sizes, from six coasters to a single large placemat, and decorate your hand-made paper with dried flowers and colored dyes. Papyrus House also has a shop offering various local paper products, including everyday paper items like note pads, and unusual items not ordinarily made of paper.