Fukui Prefecture

Infobox Prefecture Japan
Name = Fukui
JapaneseName = 福井県
Rōmaji = Fukui-ken
Symbol = PrefSymbol-Fukui.png Capital = Fukui
Region = Chūbu
Island = Honshū
TotalArea = 4,188.99
AreaRank = 34th
PCWater = 0.2
PopDate = 2005
Population = 821,589
PopRank = 43rd
Density = 198
Districts = 7
Municipalities = 17
ISOCode = JP-18
Flower =

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Website = [http://www.pref.fukui.jp/english/ www.pref.fukui.jp/english/]
Governor = Issei Nishikawa

nihongo|Fukui Prefecture|福井県|Fukui-ken is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region on Honshū island. The capital is the city of Fukui.

History

Fukui originally consisted of the old provinces of Wakasa and Echizen, before the prefecture was formed in 1871.

During the Edo period, the daimyō of the region was surnamed Matsudaira, and was a descendant of Tokugawa Ieyasu.

Geography

The province faces the Sea of Japan, and has a western part (formerly Wakasa) which is a narrow plain between the mountains and the sea, and a larger eastern part (formerly Echizen) with wider plains including the capital and most of the population. The mountain side of the eastern part has much snow in winter.

Cities

Nine cities are located in Fukui Prefecture:

*Awara
*Echizen
*Fukui (capital)
*Katsuyama
*Obama
*Ōno
*Sabae
*Sakai
*Tsuruga

Towns and villages

Towns and villages in each district:

Mergers

Economy

* Sabae city is famous for glasses industry.
* Along the Wakasa Bay (Tsuruga city etc.) is Nuclear Power Station zone which supplies Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto.

Demographics

Culture

* Fukui Prefecture is home to Maruoka-jō, the second oldest standing castle in Japan, after Inuyama Castle. It was built in 1576.
* Eihei-ji is a serene temple offering training and education to Buddhist monks. Founded by Dogen Zenji in 1244, Eiheiji is located on a plot of land of about 330,000 m².
* Many dinosaur fossils have been excavated in Fukui and they can been seen at the Fukui Prefectural Dinosaur Museum.
* Residents of Fukui Prefecture have a distinctive accent, Fukui-ben.

Tourism

* Echizen Kaigan Coast
* Eiheiji Temple
* Tōjinbō, a scenic piece of coastline.
* Visitors to Fukui can enjoy eating "echizen-kani" crabs prepared by local residents. Male crabs are called "zuwai" and female ones are called "seiko." Another traditional sea-side Fukui dish is "genge," a small guppy-like fish, that when eaten raw as sashimi, gives the body a brief tingling sensation.
* In Fukui City, a trademark dish of Fukui prefecture ("sauce katsudon") was created at "Yoroppaken", a restaurant that started making the simple, inexpensive dish during the Taisho Period. By the 1940s, "sauce katsudon" became known throughout Japan as one of Fukui's trademark dishes.
* Awara is a famous onsen in the north of the prefecture.

External links

* [http://www.pref.fukui.jp/english/index.html Official Fukui Prefecture homepage]
* [http://www.snowsphere.com/content/view/37/9/ Snowboarders and Skiers from Fukui]