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A trip around Katsuyama's photogenic temples and dinosaur spots

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A trip around Katsuyama's photogenic temples and dinosaur spots

A one-day trip to Katsuyama City , accessible from JR Fukui Station, to visit photogenic historical architecture and natural spots. Experience the world of Echizen Great Buddha(Echizen Daibutsu), Moss Shrine, Tenshu-style Museum, and dinosaurs!

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Katsuyama DMO

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Katsuyama City is located in the northeastern part of Fukui Prefecture. The city is located on a river terrace formed along the course of the Kuzuryu River, and is a rural city rich in water and greenery, with commerce and industry based on the local textile industry since the Meiji period, and agriculture and forestry having been thriving since ancient times. Our company is a DMO (tourism region development organization) that works with local communities to develop tourist areas. Katsuyama City is a treasure trove of attractive tourist content, including the Dinosaur Museum and Heisenji Temple! We provide detailed services to customers visiting Katsuyama , such as guided tours that allow many people to experience Katsuyama , the Geo Terminal in the parking lot of the Dinosaur Museum, and the operation of the "Dinosaur Valley Katsuyama" Roadside Station , which opened in June 2020. We are also actively challenging ourselves to create new businesses centered around tourism, aiming to revitalize the town of Katsuyama.

Required time

Approximately 6 hours

Transportation
train Train
directions_bike Bicycle

1
Fukui Station
Fukui Station

Fukui Station is a JR West station located in the center of Fukui City, Fukui Prefecture. It is served by the Hokuriku Shinkansen and the Happy Line Fukui, making it a key transportation hub in Fukui Prefecture. It was completely renovated in 2018 and reborn as a modern station building. In addition, a dinosaur monument has been installed in the square in front of the station, promoting Fukui as the "Dinosaur Kingdom." It is the gateway to Fukui, welcoming visitors from inside and outside the prefecture.

train
Echizen Railway Katsuyama Station Approx. 55 minutes

2
Katsuyama Station
Katsuyama Station

Echizen Railway “Katsuyama Station”

directions_bike
Approximately 15 minutes by rental bicycle

3
Daishizan Seidaiji temple Echizen Great Buddha
Daishizan Seidaiji temple Echizen Great Buddha

The model for the Great Buddha is a seated statue in the Longmen Grottoes on the outskirts of Luoyang, Henan, China, the origin of Buddhism. It is 17 meters tall. It is larger than the Nara Great Buddha (16.2 meters in documents, 14.98 meters in actual measurement). In addition, the halo is 23 meters, and the 3-meter lotus pedestal is placed on a 2-meter stone base, making the total height 28 meters. While the Nara Great Buddha is stocky, the Echizen Great Buddha is characterized by its slender and gentle face and neck. It is made of copper, with a total weight of 200 tons. In addition, 1,281 stone and gold Buddhas are enshrined on the three walls on the left, right, and back of the Great Buddha, and two arhat statues (10.3 meters) and two bodhisattva statues (11.2 meters) are enshrined on each side of the Great Buddha as attendant Buddhas.

directions_bike
Approximately 10 minutes by rental bicycle

4
Heisenji Hakusan Shrine
Heisenji Hakusan Shrine

"Heisenji" is a base temple for worshiping Hakusan, located at the entrance to the Echizen side of the sacred Mt. Hakusan (altitude 2,702m).
In the Middle Ages, it became one of the most influential in the Hokuriku region, and it is said that there were dozens of temples and shrines and thousands of temples in the precincts, which were much larger than the current Hakusan Shrine.
However, in the 2nd year of Tensho (1574), the whole mountain was destroyed by fire during the battle against the Ikko Ikki, and most of the things that tell of the past have been lost.
However, a full-scale excavation survey that began in 1989 revealed that the remains of the former precincts remain splendidly. The full picture of Heisenji in its glory in the Middle Ages is now being revealed little by little.

5
Katsuyama Castle Museum
Katsuyama Castle Museum

Opened in 1992, this historical museum is located inside a 5-layer, 6-story castle tower that boasts the highest height (57.8m) in Japan. From the observatory on the top floor, you can see the scenery of Katsuyama, which has a history dating back to the Paleolithic age, and the beautiful nature that is registered as a geopark. In addition to the collection of daimyo armor and battle screens, we also store and display works related to the calligrapher Nishiwaki Goseki. Now that most of the remains from the feudal era have been lost, the existence of this museum also functions as a symbol that allows you to feel at a glance that there was once a domain in Katsuyama.

Spots introduced in this itinerary

Katsuyama DMO

Written by

Katsuyama DMO

Fukui

Katsuyama City is located in the northeastern part of Fukui Prefecture. The city is located on a river terrace formed along the course of the Kuzuryu River, and is a rural city rich in water and greenery, with commerce and industry based on the local textile industry since the Meiji period, and agriculture and forestry having been thriving since ancient times. Our company is a DMO (tourism region development organization) that works with local communities to develop tourist areas. Katsuyama City is a treasure trove of attractive tourist content, including the Dinosaur Museum and Heisenji Temple! We provide detailed services to customers visiting Katsuyama , such as guided tours that allow many people to experience Katsuyama , the Geo Terminal in the parking lot of the Dinosaur Museum, and the operation of the "Dinosaur Valley Katsuyama" Roadside Station , which opened in June 2020. We are also actively challenging ourselves to create new businesses centered around tourism, aiming to revitalize the town of Katsuyama.

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