Japan is a large country full of cities that most Western tourists have never heard of.
Many of these cities, with their charming old towns, are bursting with sights and experiences.
Fukui is not one of them.
If you prefer to Read in Finnish continue here / Jos luet mieluummin suomeksi, jatka tänne:
Fukui – japanilaista vieraanvaraisuutta ja herkkuruokia kansankuppilassa
Fukui – unknown and unattractive
It’s true that very few Western tourists have likely heard of Fukui, though it is by no means a backwater town.
It is the capital of the eponymous prefecture on the shores of the Sea of Japan, with a population of nearly 270,000.
Fukui’s history dates back to the 15th century, and as a reminder of that time, there is still one castle standing.
However, the city was severely damaged during the bombings of World War II and the subsequent earthquake. As a result, Fukui’s current appearance is very modern, but not in an especially interesting way.
There is no old town to speak of, and the new parts of the city are hardly what you would call charming, even by a stretch of the imagination.
How did we get to Fukui
The short answer: by train – but why?
We ended up in Fukui by chance. We had spent a couple of days in the historic Kanazawa and were on our way to Kyoto, but we ran into an accommodation problem.
Though the Japanese annual vacation is usually short, they do have several long three-day vacations.
During those, the Japanese rush to travel to domestic destinations, and the accommodation is not only full but expensive.
The same applies to flights and bullet trains.
This weekend at the beginning of November was one of those times, and we found that it was nearly impossible to find a place to stay for less than a hundred dollars a night.
Our nomadic budget would not stretch to that.
However, with Fukui, we got lucky and found even a hotel with an onsen.
So, we hopped on the train there and settled in.
Look for a bar on the 2nd floor
We settled into our hotel and enjoyed the hot baths at the onsen on the top floor.
Then, it was time to go for dinner — but where to go?
We walked from the hotel to the nearest street, but there were hardly any restaurants visible. Google Maps didn’t help much either.
We came across a bar’s sign.
We’ve learned over time that in Japan, good restaurants and bars can be found in the most unexpected places. Especially on the upper floors of ordinary-looking apartment buildings.
So it was this time too.
We didn’t see any stairs, but an elevator we took to the second floor.
We stepped into a dimly lit room.
There was a karaoke corner in one of its nooks.
The walls were lined with movie posters.
We sat down at the bar.
A friend of Finland at the bar
It quickly became clear that the smiling couple who ran the place were movie buffs, as the posters on the walls had already suggested. Finland was a familiar country to them, especially thanks to Aki Kaurismäki.
We were introduced to a customer sitting next to us, who turned out to be an architect — and a fan of Finland.
He mentioned Aalto before we even had a chance to say “Alvar.”
Soon our architect began enthusiastically explaining about architect Eero Saarinen as well.
This wasn’t particularly surprising—Tanja had encountered Aalto fans in Japan before.
Finland, however, is well-known to the Japanese — thanks to Santa Claus. At our aperitif bar, not only were the cultural figures and Moomins mentioned, but also Mika Häkkinen, who is certainly remembered around the world.
It seems that nearly every Japanese person knows at least some famous Finnish personality: a race car driver, an architect, a designer, or a mythical creature.
Vintage sake like champagne
The owner of the bar wanted us to taste some vintage sake, and the experience was admittedly quite different from the usual sake varieties we had encountered.
As the bar owner noted, there’s a difference in the flavors of sake, just like there is with European sparkling wines. This one was the real champagne.
But our stomachs were still growling, so it was time to rush off for dinner — but where?
Emotional evening in a shokudō
Our architect friend recommended a local “shokudō” (Japanese eatery).
We cautiously peered through the door and were waved inside.
We had arrived at a true local tavern, where seating was at a small counter and the dishes were displayed right on the counter for customers to see.
They made room for us, and the friendly staff began to explain what was on offer that evening.
Customers were sipping beer, sake, and green tea as their food was served.
A man sitting next to us, fluent in English, immediately struck up a conversation.
His first question, of course, was where we were from, followed by: “What on earth are you doing in Fukui?”
Good question, to which we had to admit that we found affordable accommodation here. The answer seemed to satisfy the locals.
Perhaps they thought we had been misinformed about the city.
Fukui is not well-known, but neither were we familiar with the dishes placed before us.
They were all quite delicious though.
While we were eating, the owner brought out her family photo album for us to look through.
The man sitting next to us began to sing a melancholic song, tears in his eyes.
He was a widower who missed his late wife and his son, who lived elsewhere.
The atmosphere was incredibly warm, and even language barriers didn’t keep us strangers from being included in the moment.
Time to say goodbye
Our translator finished his beer, said his goodbyes, and hurried off to catch the last bus.
We too, started to prepare to leave.
Our time in Fukui was short but positive. We were also confirmed that a place doesn’t need major sights and attractions as long as there are friendly people and good food.
In the morning, we once again boarded the train with our small backpacks and headed for Kyoto, in search of more friendly people and delicious food.
Though, there will be sights to see there as well.
P.s.
Avoid paying too much or ending up in the wrong city by booking accommodation in advance.
If you are planning to visit Tokyo on a tight budget read this.