Echizen Coast & Tojinbo — Fukui Sea of JapanCliffs.
Distance
190 km
Duration
1 day
Climb
1,100 m
Echizen Coast & Tojinbo — Fukui Sea of Japan Cliffs.
Fukui Prefecture sits on Japan's lonely western coast — the Sea of Japan side few foreign visitors ever reach. The headline sight is Tojinbo, kilometre-long columnar basalt cliffs that drop 30m straight into the sea. South of the cliffs the coast becomes a series of fishing coves and hairpin turns winding down to Cape Echizen, with the 850-year-old Echizen pottery kilns (one of the Six Ancient Kilns of Japan) inland. End in Tsuruga at the magnificent Kehi Matsubara pine beach — a 1km strip of black pines and white sand listed as one of the Three Great Pine Forests of Japan.
Quick facts
SurfacePaved
Distance190 km
Days1
Total climb1,100 m
DifficultyModerate
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The route.
FukuiStart · Start in Fukui, the prefectural capital. The castle ruins and Yokokan Garden are a short morning visit before heading northwest to the coast.
Tojinbo CliffsPhoto Spot · Kilometre-long pyroxene-andesite columnar basalt cliffs dropping 30m straight into the Sea of Japan. One of only three such formations in the world (along with the Giant's Causeway in Ireland and Norway's coast). Walk to the edge — no guardrails.
Mikuni Old PortScenic Point · Edo-era port town that thrived on the kitamae-bune trading ships running between Hokkaido and Osaka. The wooden machiya merchant houses still line the alleys behind the harbour.
Awara OnsenRestaurant · Established 1883, Awara is one of Hokuriku's premier hot spring towns. Lunch at a ryokan — most welcome day visitors for ashiyu (foot bath) and lunch sets featuring local Echizen crab in season.
Cape EchizenScenic Point · The R305 coastal road south of Echizen town is a continuous string of hairpins along sheer cliffs. Narcissus fields bloom along the cliffs in January. Fewer tourists than Tojinbo — better road.
Echizen Pottery VillagePhoto Spot · Echizen-yaki is one of the Six Ancient Kilns of Japan — pottery has been fired here continuously for 850 years. The museum and dozens of kilns are still working. Buy a tea cup straight from the kiln.
Tsuruga — Kehi MatsubaraEnd · End at Kehi Matsubara — a 1km strip of black pines and white sand listed as one of the Three Great Pine Forests of Japan. The neighbouring Kehi Jingu shrine has a 17m-tall wooden torii gate, oldest of its size in Japan.
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