The Kitadani Dinosaur Quarry, on the Sugiyama River within the city limits of Katsuyama, has yielded animals such As Fukuiraptor, Fukuisaurus, Nipponosaurus, Koshisaurus, Fukuivenator, Fukuititan and Tambatitanis as well as an unnamed dromaeosaurid.
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. During World War II, Fukui was heavily bombed and its palace, Fukui Castle, surrounded by a moat, was demolished. Buildings for the Fukui Prefectural government were built on the site of the castle.
Geography
Fukui faces the Sea of Japan, and has a western part which is a narrow plain between the mountains and the sea, and a larger eastern part with wider plains including the capital and most of the population. The province lays within Japan's "Snow country". As of 31 March 2008, 15% of the total land area of the prefecture was designated as Natural Parks, namely the Hakusan National Park; Echizen-Kaga Kaigan and Wakasa Wan Quasi-National Parks; and Okuetsu Kōgen Prefectural Natural Park.
Cities
Nine cities are located in Fukui Prefecture:
Awara
Echizen
Fukui
Katsuyama
Obama
Ōno
Sabae
Sakai
Tsuruga
Towns
These are the towns in each district:
Imadate District
*Ikeda
Mikata District
*Mihama
Mikatakaminaka District
*Wakasa
Nanjō District
*Minamiechizen
Nyū District
*Echizen
Ōi District
*Ōi
*Takahama
Yoshida District
*Eiheiji
Mergers
Economy
Sabae is known for producing 90% of Japan's domestically-made glasses.
Fukui is one of the less populated prefectures of Japan; in September 2015 there were an estimated 785,508 people living in 281,394 households. As seen in most of Japan, Fukui is facing the problem of both an aging and decreasing population; 28.6% of the population were over the age of 65 in July 2015 and the population has decreased 2.6% from the 806,000 measured in the October 2010 national census.
Culture
Ichijōdani Asakura Family Historic Ruins is one of the most important cultural heritage sites in Japan.
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 covering about 33 hectares.
Residents of Fukui Prefecture have a distinctive accent, Fukui-ben.
Fukui has long been a center for papermaking in Japan. Its Echizen Papermaking Cooperative is a world-famous collection of papermakers making paper in the traditional Echizen style.
Fukui is also renowned for its clean water and crops, which result in delicious sake, rice, and soba noodles.
In August 2010 Fukui launched its own dating website entitled Fukui Marriage-Hunting Café in hopes of helping the declining population growth of Japan increase. Couples who meet in the site and continue on to marry receive monetary aid from the government as well as gifts.
Fukui Prefecture was the subject of the 2011 book For Fukui's Sake: Two years in rural Japan, which documents the experiences of a British teacher, who lived and worked in Ōno, Fukui.
