Azaleas at Nishiyama Park, Sabae city, Fukui, will take your breath away!

Check out the blooming azaleas at Nishiyama Park in Sabae City, Fukui Prefecture in May.Bring your favorite mat and sit out in the sun, and enjoy being surrounded by thousands of beautiful azaleas in different shades of pink.Eat local Fukui dishes from the park’s food booths, and enjoy seeing (or dancing!) Fukui’s traditional Yanshiki dance.

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Where is Nishiyama Park, Sabae city, Fukui?

Fukui prefecture is located along the Japan Sea in central Japan. It is the perfect place to visit if you want to enjoy the quiet countryside of Japan. The prefecture is filled with beautiful farming fields, rice patties, and fishing villages. 15% of the total land area is designated as Natural parks, and scenic areas that are protected and managed by the Japanese Ministry of the Environment. You can enjoy fresh seafood such as Echizen crabs and fill your stomach with the delicious Echizen Oroshi Soba noodles (buckwheat noodles) but perhaps they are most famous for their rice. The clean natural water in the area helps make the best Koshihikari rice, and that also means they make one of the best sake in Japan.

Until the 1900’s, agriculture was Fukui prefecture’s only industry. A “snow country” or region of Japan where winter is long and snowy, most locals were poor as they had no way to secure an income during the winter days. Wanting to change the living conditions of the locals, an assembly member, Masunaga Gozemon, figured they needed to be part of another industry- the eyeglass industry. Eyeglass frames can be manufactured during snowy days and with more people reading, it was a growing industry. Gozaemon created a factory in today’s Fukui city and invited craftsmen from Osaka city to teach the locals how to make eyeglass frames. With that, local craftsmen increased, and the eyeglass frame manufacturing industry prospered. Eventually today’s Fukui city and Sabae city grew to be a major eyeglass manufacturing area. In 1981, they made the world’s first titanium frames. Today, Fukui prefecture, mainly Fukui city and Sabae city, produces more than 90% of eyeglass frames manufactured in Japan. Eyeglass frame manufacturing has become such a major part of Sabae city that their city slogan is “eyeglass town.” But that is not the only thing they are famous for. Selected as one of Japan’s 100 Historical parks, Nishiyama park is a large public park with lots of trees, a large lawn area, a pond, a small zoo (free admission), an observation deck, and a fun amusement park for children. The park turns even more beautiful and scenic in May, when the 50,000 azaleas planted everywhere all bloom. It is the time of year when Sabae city has the most tourists.

Flower-viewing isn’t over after cherry blossoms in March; it continues with azaleas in May. Visit Nishiyama Park, Sabae city and enjoy the pink and festive atmosphere!

Enjoy the Azalea Festival at Nishiyama Park

Azaleas bushes of Nishiyama park are on the slopes around the large lawn in the center. When you step foot in the lawn, you will be surrounded by pink azaleas, the green trees, and the blue sky. The azaleas grown there are a mixture of different shades of pink and white, and be sure you look carefully as there are 10 kinds of azaleas. There are many paths in the park so you can check out the azaleas from different angles, and in close proximity. At the lawn area, you will see many couples, friends, families, children sitting down, enjoying a little picnic. If you go during the period known as “Golden Week”, a series of Japanese holidays, combined with weekends in late April to early May, the park will most likely be celebrating the Azalea festival, with different events within the park.

While the Azalea festival is different every year, usually there are local musical bands, brass bands, choirs that fill the air with music. There is also dancing such as hula dancing, and taichi performances and tournaments. There are food and drink booths that sell local Echizen soba dishes for an affordable price, and usually they even sell eyewear! They even offer free eyeglass cleaning services to passersby. One of the main events is the Yanshiki dance.

Experience the traditional Yanshiki Dance!

The Yanshiki dance is a traditional dance native to the Fukui region that the people of Fukui are trying hard to preserve. It is a type of bon-odori, or a dance that takes place during obon season (a time when it is believed that ancestral spirits return to their families for a couple of days). People line up in a circle around the scaffold set up in open space, moving in the same direction, accompanied by taiko drums and traditional singing. Anybody is welcome to join the circle, from children to adults, from someone who doesn’t know the dance at all, to professionals. Usually the people who know the dance, teach the people around them. The objective is to have fun so it doesn’t matter if you aren’t any good at it.

May-- this is the season to visit Sabae city in Fukui prefecture to see the amazing azaleas at Nishiyama park, to be part of the Azalea festival, and to experience seeing or dancing the Yanshiki dance.

On a side note, if you want to learn more about the eyewear industry in Fukui prefecture, you should visit the “Megane museum” (eyeglass museum) in Sabae city while you are there. They have thousands of eyeglasses on display. It’s a 10-minute walk from Sabae station and admissions are free.

How to visit?

About a 3hr 45 min train-ride from Tokyo. Take the JR Hokuriku Shinkansen from Tokyo station to Kanazawa station (2hr 40 min), then transfer to the Express Thunderbird and get off at Fukui station (about 50 min). From Fukui station go on the JR Hokuriku main line to Sabae station (15 min).

Address:
3-8-9 Sakuramachi, Sabae, 916-0027, Fukui Prefecture (Nishiyama Park)
Tel：+81-(0)778-51-2200 (Nishiyama park)