We stopped by Roadside Station Dinosaur Valley Katsuyama in Fukui on our way to the Fukui Prefectural Dinosaur Museum. The roadside station itself was open 24 hours a day. The store and little café area opened up at 9:00. With Dinosaur Valley in its name, it was not surprising to find dinosaurs everywhere. It was also the closest roadside station to the Fukui Prefectural Dinosaur Museum which was only a 10 minute drive away.

The main highlights were a dinosaur slide and a small water feature that kids could play in. The slide wasn’t that long, but it was pretty steep. The water feature in the back was a small man made creek with a small fountain.

Throughout the roadside station they had a number of subtle dinosaur accents. There was a likeness of a dinosaur on the side of the building that could only be seen at an angle. There were also these dinosaur tracks that followed the pedestrian walkways and this super cute wooden clock with 12 smaller dinosaur clocks inside.

The roadside station was also a stop along the Japan Eco Track. A number of the cycling routes for Kuzuryu River & Mt. Arashima #22 ran through the roadside station. In the future, we’d like to try some of these cycling routes.

The tourism information section was practically non-existent, except for a few flyers. The only memorable part was this nice map of the surrounding area. It was quite comprehensive and we were able to see the places we’ve been to and the places we were going to.

Roadside Station Dinosaur Valley Katsuyama Food Corner

We also made a brief stop on the way back from the Fukui Prefectural Dinosaur Museum. During this visit we were able to check out the small café, souvenir shop, and the local products store. The small café had a couple of dinosaur themed foods, but otherwise the menu was pretty limited.

Likewise the local market attached to the souvenir shop was pretty small compared to some of the other roadside stations we’ve been to. The souvenir shop had a decent selection of dinosaur related goods, we picked up some dinosaur shaped bean paste sweets before heading out.

Final Thoughts

The building and facilities at Roadside Station Dinosaur Valley Katsuyama in Fukui were pretty new and modern looking. In general, everything just felt a bit small. If your super into dinosaurs, then its worth a stop. Otherwise, probably just keep going.

More to Come…