🦖Dinosaur Museum
From JR Fukui Station, walk to Echizen Railway Fukui Station, and take the Katsuyama Eiheiji Line (towards Katsuyama).
Get off at Echizen Railway - Katsuyama Station, transfer to Bus , and you will arrive at the dinosaur museum filled with futuristic technology. Giant geometric triangular dinosaur sculptures stand tall in the square.
On the left side of the square, there is also a mighty Tyrannosaurus rex statue.
Not far from the Rex statue, there is a grassy area with a small dinosaur-themed playground. It features various slides where many children are happily playing.
Finally, we're going into the dinosaur museum! I wonder how many dinosaurs are waiting for us inside.
Admission tickets must be reserved online in advance and then redeem the physical tickets at the counter.
※Redeem the admission ticket for free at the counter by presenting the Have Fun in Fukui Pass QR code (no reservation required).
※Not available for sale in Japan.
The entrance to the museum is on the third floor. Upon entering, you'll see a long escalator leading directly to B1 through the "dinosaur path." The walls on both sides of the path are adorned with many lifelike ancient fossils.
Dinosaur World
Passing through the Dinosaur Path, you'll hear the deafening roar, followed by a 7.2-meter Tyrannosaurus rex swinging its body to greet you, bringing the lifelike T. rex right before your eyes.
The Dinosaur World is the largest exhibition hall in the museum, featuring around 40 impressive dinosaur specimens. You'll find land dinosaurs, marine dinosaurs, and even flying dinosaurs, allowing you to closely observe their actual sizes and experience the era when dinosaurs ruled the world.
In the back, you can see a herbivorous dinosaur stretching its long neck to eat the leaves from a tree. What a long neck!
The origin of life on Earth comes from the oceans. Through videos, you can gain a better understanding of the origins of life and Earth's history. In the center, there's an interactive rotating round table showcasing fossils, sediments, minerals, and more. By manually rotating the table to align with the detector on the table, the screen will display the corresponding explanations.
The History of Life
Presenting the 4.6 billion-year history of life on Earth, showcasing the numerous extinctions and evolutions that have occurred, and illustrating the process of biological evolution.
Dinosaur Lab
In the Dinosaur Lab, you can closely observe a nearly 10-meter-long T-Rex skeleton specimen and learn about fossils through interactive games.
After finishing your visit, head back to the area near the escalator to enter the DINO LIBRARY. Here, you can see models of Fukuiraptor, Fukuivenator, Fukuisaurus, Yueosaurus, Fukuititan, and Fukuipteryx standing in the middle of the "Dinosaur Tower." This display creates a striking contrast between ancient times and modern aesthetics.
In the special exhibition room on the first floor, there are three giant screens showing dinosaurs roaming and living in the jungle, allowing you to experience the environment when dinosaurs still existed in an immersive way.
Can't read Japanese?
Don't worry! The Dinosaur Museum offers free audio guide services. Simply connect to the free WiFi inside the museum and scan the QR code on the counter to download the "Fukui Prefectural Dinosaur Museum APP."
The app supports both Android and iOS devices and provides detailed information about each facility and floor. It supports four languages: Japanese, English, Korean, and Chinese.
Fukui Prefectural Dinosaur Museum APP Guide
※Using the audio guide requires an extra fee.
Dinosaur Museum Official Website
📍 Address：51-11 Terao, Muraoka-cho, Katsuyama City, Fukui Prefecture (Inside Katsuyama Dinosaur Forest)
🎫 Ticket Price：Adults 1000 Yen / Senior High, College Students 800 Yen / Junior High, Elementary School Students, Above 70 Years Old 500 Yen
🏠 Business Hours：9:00~17:00
※Extended business hours in summer 8:30~18:00 (last entry 5:30).
※Closed on the second and the fourth Wednesdays of each month. If it coincides with a national holiday, the closure will be postponed by one day (no closures during summer vacation).
Closed from 12/31 to 1/1.
※In case of exhibit changes or facility inspections, there may be temporary closures. Please check the Dinosaur Museum latest news.
🍽️ SAURUS KITCHEN
Located beside the museum, the restaurant's logo features a dinosaur wearing a chef's hat, ready to cook.
The restaurant operates with a self-service ordering system. You need to select your meal at the ordering machine, which accepts cash, credit cards, and IC transit cards. After placing your order, you'll receive a number card, and you can pick up your meal at the counter.
We ordered the Little Fukuititan Curry and the Lava Curry. The rice is specially shaped like a dinosaur and a volcano, with salad and dinosaur cookies creating a jungle vibe. Taking photos with the dinosaur merchandise we just bought makes it look super cute!
SAURUS KITCHEN Official Website
📍 Address：51-11 Terao, Muraoka-cho, Katsuyama City, Fukui Prefecture
🏠 Business Hours：Weekdays 10:00 - 16:00, Holidays 10:00 - 16:30
※Closed on the second and the fourth Wednesdays of each month.
※Business hours and closure might vary, please inquire with the restaurant before dining.
After exploring the fascinating Dinosaur Museum, be sure to hop on the Dinosaur Bus back to "Echizen Railway - Katsuyama Station." Each bus has a different dinosaur design, adding to the fun of the journey!
⚠️Attractions in the Pass will change from time to time, please check the official website for the latest information.