*Click Here for Day #1 of our Hokuriku Road Trip

Day #2 of our Hokuriku Road Trip would be just as filled as Day #1 was. Our main deadlines to meet were to be at the Fukui Prefectural Dinosaur Museum by 9:00 and then have lunch with our college friends in Tsuruga by 12:30. Time was a little tight, but we wanted to maximize the things we were able to do. Based on this timeline, we were able to work backwards and determine our wake up time. We decided to get up at 5:00 in the morning which gave us a little wiggle room.

Amagozen Cape

We got up a little after 5:00 and began to pack up. We then went to the restrooms to wash up and brush our teeth. After freshening up, we were ready to go by 6:00. First on our list was Amagozen Cape. We were hoping to walk there as driving would have taken over 25 minutes due to the ETC’s limited entry and exit locations.

Fortunately, there was a walking path by the northern most parking spaces. We made our way north, passing under the ETC and walking by the Amagozen SA Northbound. It took us about seven minutes before we reached the cape.

The views from the cape were really beautiful. The sun was peaking through the clouds and reflecting off the water. The park was very well kept and the paths were free of debris and obstructions. The ocean was pretty calm with the waves gently crashing along the shoreline. Along the path we saw some of these beautiful purple flowers. We stayed for about ten minutes before making our way back to the car.

Tojinbo

We then took a 40 minute drive to the south towards Tojinbo. After getting off the ETC expressway at Kaga IC, we took local roads to the coast. We drove around for a bit and finally parked at the Tojinbo Tower parking lot. We then took a short five minute walk to the coast. Tojinbo was really beautiful. The rock formations were really unique. We were essentially able to walk down to the water via some man made stairs built into the rock.

The little tourist town that had sprouted around Tojinbo was a bit disappointing. A few of the restaurants looked well kept, but many were in a dilapidated condition. Some of the businesses that were still open looked to be in various stages of disrepair. We headed back to the car and made our way to the Fukui Prefectural Dinosaur Museum.

Fukui Prefectural Dinosaur Museum

The Fukui Prefectural Dinosaur Museum was definitely the highlight for Day #2 of our Hokuriku Road Trip. The trip took us about an hour. As we approached the park, it kind of felt like we were going to Disneyland. We were surprised to see how busy it was. It was barely 9:00 and the primary parking lot was already filled. Some staff members ushered us to an overflow lot. Unlike Disneyland though, after we were ushered to the overflow lot, that was it. There were no additional attendants telling us where to park. What followed was a little chaotic as many drivers ignored the lines on the ground and proceeded to take the shortest route to their targeted parking spot.

While avoiding other cars, we parked close to the exit. We made our way up some stairs that led to the entrance to the museum. We entered a portable building that housed a number of ticket vending machines. Our tickets ended up being a reasonable ¥730 each. We were surprised at how affordable they were. In addition, children under elementary school age and seniors over the age of 70 were free.

We then headed towards the entrance. It was here that we faced a potentially day ruining event. Apparently, we needed to reserve a time slot in advance to enter the dinosaur museum. The restrictions were put in place due to Covid and partly to prevent overcrowding.

A staff member walked us through the process on our phones. When we got to the page to book our reservation window, only the latest time slot of 15:00 to 16:30 was still available. Since we had a limited amount of time, that was not going to work. We were told that if we kept refreshing the page, there was a chance that someone else would cancel their reservation. We waited there for a few minutes, refreshing every couple of seconds. To pass the time we decided to go to one of the souvenir shops outside. After about 20 minutes of near constantly refreshing the loading screen, a larger party of six people cancelled their reservation and we were able to sign up and take two of those spots. It was about 9:30 when we entered the museum.

In order to be in time for our lunch plans at 12:30, we had to leave the dinosaur museum by 10:30. With about an hour of time, we moved with a sense of purpose. The museum was very impressive for both its size and the quantity and quality of its exhibits. The main floor had an impressive collection of dinosaur skeletons on display. We were surprised to find that a number of the fossils were from the US states of Wyoming and Montana.

After wrapping up at the dinosaur museum, we made a quick stop at Roadside Station Dinosaur Valley Katsuyama. We picked up some omiyage before heading out.

Tsuruga

Time was of the essence so we decided to take the ETC toll road down to Tsuruga. We made good timing and got to Uosada Seafood Restaurant at around 12:35. We enjoyed a delicious seafood meal with a beautiful view of Tsuruga Bay. After lunch we decided to go walk along the beach. We dipped our feet in the cool water. There was a decent amount of natural debris on the beach like twigs, seaweed, etc..

Our friends recommended Suishohama beach that was about 15 minutes away by car. We decided to give it a shot. When we arrived, we found that parking at the beach was going to be ¥2,000 per car. Since we were driving separately that would have been ¥4,000 to just walk on the beach for a couple minutes. We took a hard pass. We retreated back to Tsuruga and made our way to the Tsuruga Red Brick Warehouse. It was a repurposed naval and rail storage building that was now a collection of trendy shops and eateries. We really enjoyed how the city was able to repurpose a historic landmark and make it relevant to modern times.

After our refreshing snack, we bid our friends farewell. They were kind enough to give us these omiyage cookies. We said our goodbyes and saw them off. Before leaving, we went across the street to the Tsuruga Railway Museum. We picked up a manhole card and watched a short video about an old railway that used to link Tsuruga to Lake Biwa in Shiga Prefecture.

Tokumitsu Parking Area

After getting back in the car, we took the ETC back to Fukui city. We were able to meet up with another college friend. After dropping off some omiyage, we chatted for a bit before heading out. We then took National Road 8 north. It was still fairly early and National Road 8 was only 20 minutes longer than the ETC. At some points National Route 8 felt like a highway.

We made good time and arrived at Mattokaihin Hot Spring within 90 minutes. Before our bath we got a quick bite to eat at Ramen Tonton. We had some affordable and filling ramen, fried rice, and gyoza.

We spent the night at the Tokumitsu Parking Area which was located right on the coast. There was an entrance to the down side of the parking area which would set us up beautifully for the following day.

Final Thoughts

Day #2 of our Hokuriku Road Trip was another long day on the road. We got a lot accomplished and were able to see Tojinbo, The Fukui Prefectural Dinosaur Museum, and Tsuruga Bay. Over the course of the day, we enjoyed delicious sashimi bowls in Tsuruga and hearty ramen in Hakusan. We pushed ourselves to drive a little further and it would make Day #3 of our Hokuriku Road Trip much more manageable.

More to Come…