The Fukui Prefectural Dinosaur Museum
Welcome to one of the top thee museums of its kind in the world, and the largest in Japan!
The Fukui Prefectural Dinosaur Museum is dedicated to excavation, research, and most of all, education. With plenty of available English, an outdoor park, and excavation activities, we readily recommend it as an exciting day trip to families visiting Kanazawa. Additionally, its location makes it a good dual trip for a visit to the nearby Eijei-ji Temple, one of the founding temples of Zen Buddhism in Japan.
The Museum Experience
The museum includes an excellent English audio guide, which I highly recommend.
Upon entering the museum proper, an escalator guides visitors down to the bottom level. Starting here, the experience becomes one of ascension through geology, chronology, and knowledge. Titles like “Dino Street,” “History of Life” and “Dino Lab” mark the specialized areas, which include both hands-on and observational exhibits.
Thirty-five complete skeletons are exhibited, alongside a number of replicas. The museum features the Fukuiraptor and Fukuisaurus prominently, two of several species discovered in the nearby excavation site. And life-sized animatronics greet visitors to the “Dinosaur World” floor where recreations of prehistoric jungles line the walls.
The Fukui Prefectural Dinosaur Museum also includes an extensive “Earth Sciences” exhibition. This section covers plate tectonics and the formation of rocks, minerals and precious gems. Further along, the “History of Life” section details 4.6 billion years of evolution, including how dinosaurs evolved into modern-day birds. (A favorite fossil of mine is the ancestor to the turtle, whose car-sized skeleton is suspended from the ceiling, forever swimming in the air.)
Ascending again, the lighting changes from the dark feel of a planetarium to the bright lights of a university. Here, the “Dino Lab” provides a hands-on experience for those curious to touch real fossils. Visitors can freely peek into the “Fossil Preparation Lab” to watch technicians and laboratory workers treat and clean recently excavated fossils in real time. A rest area is available in the “Dino Gallery,” an art gallery dedicated to exactly what you would expect. Nearby, computer terminals are available for further education.
Museum Peripherals
Finally, the museum’s upper floors include a colorful gift shop and cafe-style restaurant, styled “DINO” in all caps. The library, with a selection of colorful books is free for all visitors. The museum itself is surrounded by several outdoor park areas to the northwest and east, perfect for letting youngsters release some energy.
A special exhibition may also be available for an additional cost. The special entry fee and availability of English for these vary.
Excavation Activities at the Dinosaur Quarry
From the end of April to the beginning of November, visitors can participate in fossil excavation at the nearby field station, a veritable “Dinosaur Quarry.” There have been more dinosaurs found in this spot than anywhere else in Japan! Many of the excavators and staff speak English as well.
Excavation activities are separate from the museum and require online reservations at least two days in advance. On the day of the reservation, visitors meet outside the museum. From here, a bus will ferry them 20 minutes to the field station. Gloves are required, but extra are sold at the field station for those who need.
Museum Information
Fukui Prefectural Dinosaur Museum
51-11 Terao, Muraoka-cho, Katsuyama, Fukui Prefecture
phone: (0779) 88-0001
English homepage
9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. (last entry: 4:30 p.m.)
closed: 2nd & 4th Wednesday each month, and on various holidays
open daily for summer vacation in August
Getting There
By Train
From Kanazawa Station to Fukui Station:
fast: 45 minutes on the limited express
cheap: 90 minutes on the JR Hokuriku Line
At Fukui Station, switch to the local Echizen Line bound for Katsuyama. Let the ticket master know you’re headed to the dinosaur museum! They’ll offer a discounted combination ticket that covers the round trip on the Echizen Line, the local bus to the museum, and the museum entrance fee.
The trip to Katsuyama Station is another 55 minutes.
The bus from Katsuyama Station to the museum is about 15 minutes.
By Car
Exit the Hokuriku Expressway at Maruoka IC or Fukui North IC. The Fukui Dinosaur Museum is easy to identify, as it appears as a giant, silver egg, nestled in the prefecture’s green fields.
Images courtesy of the City of Fukui
About a decade ago Rachel fell off a bus and then fell in love with this traditional-crafts and ice-cream-consuming capital of Japan. Editor and amateur photographer with a penchant for nature and history. Not actually fifty songbirds in a trench coat. (Former penname: Ryann)
