Tsuruga City

TSURUGA CITY
敦賀市
Tsuruga is situated in a great location, one hour from Kyoto and one hour from Fukui-shi. The city is surrounded by mountains on the east, west and south sides, and opens to the Sea of Japan on the north side. Tsuruga has wonderful natural beauty, the Sea of Japan coast, mountains, lakes, and rice fields. Tsuruga has always been known as a port town, and has prospered in trade with Hokkaido, Korea, China, and Russia. In 1955, Tsuruga City was born, uniting five villages around Tsuruga. Today, Tsuruga's main industry is nuclear power (there are five power plants in Tsuruga).

GETTING HERE AND AWAY

TRAIN
All prices are one-way. Local trains generally leave every hour, and express trains every 30 minutes. Think about whether you need to spend the extra cash for expresses.

To Fukui(Takefu-Sabae-Fukui-Kanazawa line): Local train takes 1 hour and costs 950. The express takes only 30 minutes but is more expensive at 2,100 for unreserved and 2610 for reserved.

To Obama(Mihama-Mikata-Obama line): The local is a nice new train that just opened in 2003. It takes one hour and costs 950. It goes further to Ooi (Wakasa Hongo) and costs 1110.

To Kyoto/Osaka: The express takes one hour to Kyoto and costs 2,770 for unreserved and 3080 for reserved. To Osaka takes 1.5 hours and costs 3990 for unreserved and 4300 for reserved. For the local, one can get two either location by one train, but sometimes you have to take the train to Maibara, Nagahama, or (less often) Omi Imazu and transfer. It takes 2 hours to Kyoto for 1,500¥ and 2.5 hours to Osaka for 2,200.

To Nagoya, there are about 10 express trains a day (around ¥4500) with a change at Maibara. It takes about 1.5 hours. On the local, change at Nagahama or Maibara, and then probably again at Ogaki. It takes at least 2.5hrs, but is only about ¥3000.

Town Map Useful and interesting places in Tsuruga City

View Tsuruga City in a larger map

BUS

To Nagoya there are about 8 a day from Tsuruga highway interchange (get a taxi out there (¥1000) or ask someone for a ride). It costs about ¥2000 and takes about 2hrs. By car, drive to Omi Imazu or Shin Asahi station about 45 minutes away on Route 161. From there it takes 1 hour to Kyoto for 950¥ and 1.5 hours to Osaka for 1,600¥.

To Tokyo, there is a late night bus that comes to the entrance of the Highway. There are usually two that travel close to each other. They arrive around 10:50 and leave around 11:10. You can buy tickets at the Tsuruga train station and it costs 7000-8000. They start in Fukui City and stop in the top cities until they reach Tsuruga. They then depart for Tokyo. It is usually 8 hours long.
FACILITIES (by area)

HONMACHI / STATION AREA

HEIWADO
A large department store near Honmachi. You can get groceries, clothing, household goods here.

A.L. PLAZA
Has a movie theater, game center, bookstore, and 100¥ store amongst other things.

KABOS AREA

KABOS
Kabos is near V-Mart. You can buy books/CDs/videos and there's also video and CD rental. Classic Hollywood DVDs from the 30s to the 60s are only ¥100 as are all videos except new releases. In the bookstore, there are a few English books and an ok selection of foreign CDs. You can buy your textbooks for studying Japanese here.

V-MART
Near Kabos, it's an average grocery store.

YASUBUN
Near Kabos, it's a liquor store with lots of beer, sake, wine, and hard liquor, frozen foods and snacks.

100 MAN VOLT
Near Kabos, it's a large electronics store with a great range of computers, stereos, TVs, etc.

BOOK-OFF
Near V-Mart, it sells nearly all 2nd hand manga and CDs and some computer games. Look around and you may find some good stuff in here.

BOB'S CLUB
Near Kabos, it's a clothing store with expensive, trendy clothes.

JACK
Near Kabos, it's another expensive clothing store, but sometimes has a sale rack.

2ND STREET
Near Kabos, It has a lot of used items that are in great condition.

ROUTE 27 / AWANO AREA

WAI PLAZA
Is near Awano JHS. It's a big grocery store with a good selection of produce. There's a nice bakery which also sells prepared meals. It's probably the cheapest groceries in Tsuruga and the best selection of veggies.

HEARTS
Off Route 27. It's a grocery store which newly opened in spring 2003. You can find a lot of ingredients that you can not find at other stores.

YASUSAKI
Near Awano JHS. It's a home center with cheap household items, plants and furniture.

UNIQLO
Is near Wai Plaza. It's a clothing store, very much like Gap but Japan style. It's cheap and has men's clothes in large sizes.

DOLLAR STORE
Off Route 27. Everything is 100yen. There's some useful and not so useful stuff!

CITY HALL AREA

PORTON
A department store selling groceries, clothing, household items. There's also a food court.

TAKARAJIMA KINGDOM
A chain video/CD rental store with a music, video and computer games store too.

SHIMURA
Near Mr. Donut, it's a small clothing store with cheaper clothes.

BULLDOG
Near city hall is a gift/novelty store selling lots of knickknacks and some costumes.

PLANT 2
Is a home center on Route 27. It's not technically in Tsuruga (near Obama) but worth the drive. It's like Wal-Mart.

AMENITIES

Dry Cleaning & Laundry
There are a couple of places near V-Mart - 50m East of the Volvo car dealership. As well as one between Hearts and BIS-2 pachinko parlor.

LAUNDRY
Shyapan is good. Also there is dry cleaning near Hearts as well as one on the corner of Rt. 8 at Honmachi, north of the Fukui Bank

CABLE TV AND INTERNET
Go to RCN building near Kehi HS. TV is 3,000¥/mo for basic, 5,000¥ for basic+3 movie channels and the Internet is 3,000¥/mo. There is also Yahoo BB for internet at 100 Volt. They may be more expensive so look around for the best deals.

CAR RENTAL

"Carspot" in Tsuruga rents cars to ALTs. It is located next to the Hearts grocery store parking lot just off route 27. Ask for Mr. Nakajima at 0770200033 or 09013933217 or 09070839215. I rented a small yellow-plate Subaru automatic transmission for 9000yen per month, 15000yen per month including insurance (they organised insurance for me). White plates are more expensive.

Alternatively, Hiro in Fukui rents cars to many ALTs. He usually charges 10,000¥/mo (not including insurance). His number is 090-2090-9090.

TRASH
Take large items to Tsuruga Clean Center, near Kehi HS and the power plants.

MOVIES
There's a movie theater in A.L. Plaza and you can find movie info at www.alex-cinemas.com. Wednesdays are ladies night and Mondays are men's night for 1,000¥, also the 1st day of month is 1,000¥. Also, late shows are ¥1200 instead of ¥1700

POOL
There is a pool hall upstairs in ‘Tsuruga Bowl' Pachinko parlor (not a bowling alley!) across from Porton. 600¥/hr. Also, there's a small club with 4 tables near the harbour bridge (look for the white building with ビリアールド - Billiards - on it in Katakana).

BOWLING
NOT at Tsuruga Bowl but just around the corner by KFC, Heiwa Bowl has a big pin
outside and shuts at 9pm. That's not a misprint!

ONSEN

RIRA PORT ONSEN
Opened in 2003. It's a nice new complex with an onsen plus a large pool, restaurants and karoke. It's located on mountainside behind station. Very nice! ¥700 for Tsuruga residents, ¥1100 for non-residents (show your alien card for proof). Closes at midnight. If you have large tattoos make sure to cover up. Tattoos are prohibited there and they will not let you enter if they see one on you, even small ones.

TUNNEL ONSEN
Is behind the station. There is a bus that goes there several times a day from the station. They pipe the water from Takefu. Good variety of baths but expensive.

SANPIA
Is near Porton in a building that is a hotel, sento, and in the winter an ice skating rink. It's cheap and has free soap and shampoo.

KOSHINOYU
Is next to Kabos. There's a good variety of average quality baths, including 3 TVs within the sento as well as a salt sauna and steam bath that neither Riraport nor Sampia offers. The rotemburo (outdoor bath) regularly features exotic additives such as wine, milk, or herbal oils. Korean massage or akasuri (naked scrub-downs) are offered. On the 26th of the month, a discount coupon booklet can be purchased, 12 tickets for the price of 10. On days ending in 6, the price is reduced from ¥600 to ¥500. Closes at 1am every night.

RESTAURANTS (By Area)

HONMACHI / STATION AREA

HAYASHI
Near the station. It sells good udon and soba meals. It's fairly cheap and the portions are large.

AKIYOSHI
Is near Kehi shrine. It's a yakitori restaurant with everything on a stick from regular chicken to cartilage and tongue. Be careful what you order! It's busy. and a little expensive.

MURASAKI
Is in Honmachi. It's an izakaya with lots of food. It's a good place to come with friends before drinking.

TOKU TOKU
Is in Honmachi. It sells tonkatsu and udon. It's a small place but the food is good and the owner is nice.

HONOKA
Is a small cute place on the 2nd floor near A.L. Plaza. You can get coffee and okonomiyaki. It's a nice place to relax and have good food!

JIDAIYA
Is an Italian restaurant and bar in Honmachi.

COCO'S ICHIBAN
Is in Honmachi. They have many types of curry for cheap prices.

BAMIYAN
Is near A.L. Plaza. It's a Chinese restaurant with greasy food that's open late.

L BLACK
This is a pizza place that serves different style pizzas, pastas, etc. The pizzas are brick oven made and are delicious. They are quite pricy, so if you want to treat yourself, this is a nice change of pace.

RAMEN TRUCKS
On different nights, different ramen trucks park along the Honmachi street. They usually have two sizes for ramen and are fairly cheap from 600-800. Red Tent ramen is good, but try them all and you decide.

KABOS AREA

HARUBARO
Is behind 100 Man Volt. It's a Japanese restaurant which boasts 52 different kinds of local sake and the best in Tsuruga. The food is good too!

TARO STAMINA
Is near Kabos. It's a buffet with lots of food- sushi, udon, tempura, ice cream, you name it! All you can eat for 1 hour is 800¥

TOMATO & ONION
Is a Western food restaurant close by. It specializes in hamburg steak.

GUSTO
Another "Western" restaurant open until 5am.

ROUTE 27 / AWANO AREA

OSHO
Is off Route 27. It sells Chinese and Japanese food. It's a cheap truck driver stop with good food and large portions.

IBIS
Is behind Osho. It's another izakaya and is really good food. It's good fun too and there's always a crowd of younger people.

SING SING
Is near the overpass. You can choose your ingredients for soba or udon. Probably the best ramen in town.

YOSHINOYA
Is off Route 27. It's a gyudon chain fast-food restaurant that sells only cheap beef and rice bowls. It's open late and is another popular truck driver stop.

KATSUDOKI
Is also off Route 27. It's a tonkatsu restaurant selling many kinds of breaded fried foods.

ATOM BOY
Is off Route 27. It's famous for its conveyor-belt of sushi. It's cheap and pretty good quality.

PIZZA DEA PASTA
Is near the overpass. It's a pizza and pasta place where you can order delivery or pickup. The number is 21-8419.

COCOS
Is near Hearts, the relatively new grocery store. They sell Western food.

MOS BURGER
It is Japan's take on the hamburger. They have some good choices to choose from and they are like any western burger joint.

CITY HALL AREA

PALAZZOS
Is near the City Hall. It has trendy decor with comfortable couches and good food and coffee and friendly staff, but portions are small.

DAI KIKUMON
Is near City Hall. It's a Korean style yakiniku restaurant that is popular in summer. It's not very expensive.

BEER DARU
Is a brewery behind Takarajima Kingdom. The beer is awesome! They make dark and light microbrews. The food is good and there's a nice owner. It's not always open, so it's best to call first.

NAKANISHI
Is near City Hall. It's a small, cheap Japanese restaurant usually filled with single men.

ICHIRIKI
Is near City Hall. It's said to be Tsuruga's best ramen.

TEATRO
Is near Shoryo JHS. You can get good Italian food though it's expensive.

CALDO
Is near Undo Koen. It's a really expensive, very classy Italian, but portions are ridiculously small.

WESTERN RESTAURANTS
CoCo's (Y), Gusto(Z), Tomato and Onion, and Mos Burger. All sell western-style food that's reasonably cheap. Gusto is open until 5am. McDonalds are in Porton, Heiwado and near City Hall. KFC is near City Hall.

BARS

ROCK DO!
The bar staff are the friendly! There's usually a good crowd of cool Japanese people. It's a small, but nice.

SLANG
Is good when It has events (but that's not often). It's the only “club” In Tsuruga, but not many people actually dance.

TREE
Is not actually In the Honmachi bar district. It's down on a side street, in the opposite direction. From Honmachi, turn on the street with the travel agent. In about 2 (3?) blocks you should see It on the right. The bar staff are very cool and speak English, but cover charges after 7 is 700. During special events, the cover charge is 3000 but that also includes a drink.

KIRAKUHAS
Two floors. It's got a classy atmosphere and is usually crowded.

GRAMMEH
Is a friendly bar staff and a cool decor, TV with music videos. It's usually empty though they sometimes have events.

COCO AZURE
Avery small jazz style bar. It's sometimes busy.

ARENA BAR
Is a blues, sports bar. It too is usually empty though they sometimes have shows.

ACTIVITIES

REINAN INTERNATIONAL CENTER
Is open Tuesday to Saturday, 9:30 to 6pm. It's near Kehi shrine. They offer Japanese lessons, a library, calligraphy classes, Internet access and Ikebana.

TAIKO DRUMMING
There is a gaijin team taught by Mr. Maruyama who play at festivals and other events in the Reinan area. Practice is once a week, currently Thursdays at 7:00pm.

BUDOKAN MARTIAL ARTS CENTER
Is near Kehi shrine. Kendo, judo, and karate are taught here. It's mostly elementary kids, but they will let you participate. The staff are friendly, but don't speak English.

UNDOU KOHEN (ATHLETIC PARK)
Has a track, baseball field, Japanese garden, tennis courts and gym. The gym is open Tuesday to Sunday, 8:30am to 8:45pm (on Saturday it closes early at 5pm). To use the gym you will need to obtain a member card. The first time the staff insists on teaching you how to use the machinery. Costs are as follows:

-Training room: 300¥ Weights, treadmills, bikes, and stairmasters. You'll need to bring shoes.

-Indoor pool: 300¥ (200¥ in summer, July to August) Closed from 12 until 1pm and 5 to 6pm. Bring cap to swim (you can purchase one there or at Kobayashi Sports - across from Reinan Center - or ¥100 shop)

-Outdoor pool: 300¥ Open July to August. It closes at 5pm.

HIKING

1.NOSAKA YAMA
914m high 3 hours up and down 15 min. from station
The largest mountain in Tsuruga. There's a great view from the top, where you can see Biwako and Hakusan. Also has a mountain house for overnight stays.
By train, take the Obama line to Awano station. Go out of the station and turn left, walk under the tracks and follow the paved road to the trailhead (about 30 mins from Awano station).

By car, start at Tsuruga station and drive straight past KFC, Porton, Sanpia, Uniqlo, Wai Plaza, continuing on same road. Go through lights at the liquor store, and you'll pass a pachinko on the right. Take the first major left, and follow the signs to the nature house.

2.SHIOGADAKE
764m high 3 hours 25 minutes from the station
A beautiful day hike on the Tsuruga peninsula. There's a mountain hut at the top of the main peak. It's about 2 hours to the top and another 45 minutes to a smaller peak along the same ridge.

By car, drive along the east side of the peninsula to Jogu Jinja and park there. The trail starts up the road a bit. You have to walk through the little town towards the mountain. You'll see a little shed beside the mountain and there should be a sign. Just beside it is an opening into the forest.
By bus, there's one that leaves from Tsuruga station.

3.IWAGOMORIDAKE
800m high 3.5-5 hours 15 min. from the station
Great day hike with three separate peaks. The path to the top zig-zags across a river and waterfalls. Camping is possible but bring your own food and water.

To get there, head for Hikida on Route 8. Take a right at Ichihashi (the first light after the road splits), follow a narrow road under the railway into a grassy parking lot. The trail starts in Ichihashi along the river and forks. Take the right fork, and you'll get to the top of the first peak. Take the left fork, and you'll head south through the forest to two separate peaks. The southern peaks have the best view.

4.MIKUNIDAKE
876m high
An all day bike trip or hike
Mikunidake is the larger of two peaks that straddle the border between Shiga and Fukui. Camping is possible but bring your own food and water.
To get there, go to Wai Plaza. Instead of driving straight towards Mihama, turn left and follow a newer road, past a community center and into the hills along a river. Eventually you'll reach a narrow road, continue up to a construction site and park there. Take the road on the left and ride for 45 min. until you come to a fork, then take the road on the right.

5.KINOME TOUGE
700m high 1 hour 30 minutes from the station
It's an old trade route between Echizen and Wakasa, once traveled by Matsuo Basho. The pass still has an old samurai gate house at the top.

To get there, start at Kehi shrine and take the road in front of the Tsunoga ALT's house, heading toward Tsuruga IC. Go past Lawson, heading to the right at the fork in the road. Head toward Shinbo and park at the construction site. Follow sign up to forest trailhead. After your reach the top, you can continue over to Imajo via the ski grounds if you brought a bike.

6.MIKATA GO KO (Five Lakes)
Good full day bike ride from Tsuruga. Around the lakes, there are maps that show various routes. If you are driving you can park at the space shuttle in Mihama. See the Mikata guide for more information.

7.TEZUTSUYAMA
There are some easy hiking trails that stretch from Kanegasaki Castle to the wooded area near Tsunoga JHS.

8.SANJUSANGENZAN
850m high 3 hours 45 minutes from the station.See the Mikata guide for more information.

9.YASHAGAIKEYAMA
1100m high 4.5 hours 1 hour from station
It's a mountain lake in Imajo backcountry. See the Takefu guide for more information.

10. KANEGASAKI MOUNTAIN
(the mountain adjacent to the shrine atop Rt. 8 tunnel to Fukui9) Starting at the shrine, this can be hiked in about 30 minutes at a steady pace to the yellow concrete tower at the pinnacle, with four different trails exiting east of Rt. 8. It consists of stairs and a paved path and is a good daily trek well suited to training.

ATTRACTIONS

KEHI SHRINE
Was designated as an important cultural site. It houses a bronze statue of Matsuo Basho. Tsuruga residents get married here.

KEHI NO MATSUBARA (Pine Tree Forest)
Is one of Japan's three most beautiful pine groves. It has nice trails for walking or running. The beach is ok too. There are over 18,000 pine trees here.

MIZUSHIMA
Is down the coast south of Matsubara. There is a boat that leaves several times a day to the island. The beaches are quieter and more beautiful. During swim season it gets busy, so get there early to get a good spot.

SAIFUKUJI TEMPLE
Near Kehi HS.

KANEGASAKI CASTLE RUINS
Near Tsuruga port

AQUATOM WELL
It's hardly a cultural site, but this nuclear-power sponsored hands-on science museum is worth a look and has a good view of Tsuruga from the top floor. And it's free! It's in the centre of town, near the Reinan Centre; look for the futuristic building.

JOGUJINJA
Is famous for having a Korean bell, and because Basho came here. It's along Tsuruga peninsula towards power plants, bus from station. Tsuruga couples go here during pregnancy to pray for a safe delivery and healthy baby.

FESTIVALS

This is just a small selection of festivals that we know about ... Tsuruga is a pretty big city (well, for Fukui-ken anyway) and has quite a bit of history, ergo, there are loads of festivals. Many of them are pretty small but there are a few biggies. Dates are for 2002-3 but will probably change slightly for 2007-08.

JANUARY 18TH
Tug of War between the fishermen representing their god (Ebisu) against the farmers representing theirs (Daikoku). In the back streets behind the Reinan Centre and Aquatom. You can see the giant rope being made in the days beforehand.

APRIL 6th
Kanegasaki Sakura Festival. This is well worth a look as the cherry blossoms are gorgeous here. There is taiko drumming, hanami parties, festival stalls.

MAY 5th
(Golden Week) Shirogane Fire Festival. The area that is now the city center gets a flaming mikoshi and torchlit procession, accompanied by taiko drumming.

MAY 14th
Hachiman Shrine Festival. A low-key festival at this shrine opposite the Reinan Centre and back a couple of blocks. More taiko and ... umm, a karaoke contest?

JULY 20TH / 21ST
Tsuruga Summer Festival. At the harbour.

AUGUST 16TH
Kehi Matsubara O-Bon Festival/Fireworks. Don't miss this if you're in the area. Thousands of paper lanterns are floated out from the beach to calm/contact roving dead souls during O-Bon. Then a yen-guzzling fireworks display (of course). Make a day of it by going to the beach first.

SEPTEMBER 1ST-6TH
Tsuruga Festival. Tsuruga's biggest, centering around Kehi Shrine. Floats, processions, costumes, music, dancing, drinking ... the works. You can see photos of this one in any brochure on the city.

OCTOBER 19TH
Tsuruga Marathon. As the name implies ... a mass run. You can join in by registering and you don't need to do a marathon - distances from 3km to 20km are offered.

OCTOBER 20TH
Port Festival. A small affair featuring some brightly coloured boats and lots of chanting and offerings to sea gods. Oh, and more taiko drumming.