Fukui Fine Arts Museum

A lot of visitors use Fukui city as a base to visit the sights in the surrounding countryside, most notably Eihei-ji temple and the Dinosaur Museum. However, there are a handful of places in the city itself that are worth a visit, and one of them is the Fine Arts Museum.

In a residential area to the north-west of the station, it's a large, imposing building, with a suitably grand lobby that boasts a high ceiling and a couple of handsome screen paintings high on the walls. Just off the lobby there's an auditorium which, when I was there, was showing 8K videos about famous museums around the world.

I'd have liked to have seen the museum's collection, because the English brochure shows they have some very beautiful objects and painted screens, but when I visited, the only exhibition was one of classical French landscapes. The galleries were well set up, with low lighting and plenty of space to stand back and enjoy the paintings, and there are comfortable couches and chairs so you can rest after a while on your feet.

After you've enjoyed your exhibition, you can pick up some souvenirs at the gift shop, which has a selection of postcards, prints and other small goodies. Then before you leave, stop for a snack or coffee at the small cafe in the main building.