The Beauty of Flowers
Early May brings creeping phlox to the Shibazakura no Sato area of Ono. These vivid pink flowers carpet the ground near rice fields, covering some 20 hectares. The local fondness for creeping phlox began around 1990, when a few farmers began using it as a way to prevent other weeds from growing. Today, over 30 farmers throughout Ono grow these flowers.
Hanahasu Park is located in Minami-Echizen, one of Japan’s largest producers of lotus flowers. The lotuses come into full bloom on summer mornings, and the Lotus Festival runs from late June through early August. The park is known for its vast ponds full of lotuses, with some 130 varieties from around the world, and platforms available for visitors to view them from. During the Lotus Festival, the park is also lit up at night with many lotus-shaped lamps, creating a mystical atmosphere that can only be experienced at this time of year.
Indoor and Outdoor Art
The Brilliant Heart Museum is located along the northern coast of Fukui. In addition to a large window with a view of the nearby Oshima Island, this exclusive museum features installations by art director Toda Seiju. In particular, the windows in the ceiling are specially shaped to create rainbows throughout the space, making use of natural lighting throughout the day. The museum is open only on Fridays, weekends, and holidays, and reservations are required. Visitors can enjoy the art and the view along with their choice of either matcha green tea or wine, included with admission.
The Kanaz Forest of Creation, in Awara, features not only an indoor venue for art exhibitions and events, but a forest full of outdoor art installations. The outdoor space has walking paths that guide visitors to fifteen works of art, surrounded by nature. Placing this art outside creates scenery that varies over time, as the seasons change and the weather ages these works. This park also serves as a location for outdoor events, such as art and craft markets.
ENJOY FUKUI
Find Beauty in Historic Sites and Japanese Traditions
The “Floating” Castles
Fukui’s castles are popular destinations for history fans, and they also offer spectacular scenery at certain times of year. Echizen Ono Castle, in eastern Fukui has risen to international fame in recent years for a unique weather phenomenon. The castle sits about 250 meters up, on a small mountain surrounded by the city of Ono. On certain mornings from late autumn through spring, when the weather conditions are just right, a thick fog covers the city, and the castle rises above it—the “castle in the sky,” as some call it. Dedicated photographers have even found spots in the surrounding mountains for the perfect photos of the castle, surrounded by a sea of clouds.
Maruoka Castle, in northern Fukui, is surrounded by a park with some 400 cherry blossom trees that come into bloom from late March to mid-April. From certain angles, these pink flowers hide the castle tower’s stone foundation, and create a magical sight of the castle “floating” on top of the cherry blossoms. During cherry blossom season, the park’s walkways are lined with paper lanterns, for unique nighttime scenery in addition to the castle’s year-round light-ups with projection mapping.
The Solemn Beauty of Lanterns
In Japan, August brings O-bon, the time of year when the souls of the dead come closest to the world of the living. As part of this season of remembering, the floating lanterns of Eiheiji have become a symbol of late summer in Fukui. This traditional Japanese religious ritual uses lanterns floating on a river or the sea, as a way of mourning for the souls of those who have passed away. At Eiheiji , this August evening begins with a ceremony in which a Buddhist sutra and the names of the dead are read aloud. Following this, some 10,000 lanterns are floated down the Kuzuryu River as a quiet prayer. The event draws many people from the local community, both for the religious ceremony and for the magical scenery. These lanterns are dedicated not only to the memories of specific people, but also to personal wishes for the future. After the event, the lanterns are collected, and burned by the monks of Eiheiji in a purification ritual the following day.
In Katsuyama, another summer lantern event is held at the Great Buddha of Echizen. Unlike the one at Eiheiji Temple, this one takes place inside the Great Buddha Hall. People write prayers and wishes on strips of paper, then tie them to paper lanterns. The candles inside these lanterns lift them up and away, like tiny hot air balloons, to light this huge hall and the Buddha statues inside.
