Fukui Prefectural Dinosaur Museum, Fukui

One of Japan's biggest dinosaur museums, in Katsuyama, Fukui, source of many of Japan's dinosaur fossils. See 50 full skeletons.

Large exhibition hall of the Fukui Prefectural Dinosaur Museum with many dinosaur skeletons under a painted sky — Photo: 先従隗始, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

Mounted skeletons of duck-billed dinosaurs on display at the museum — Photo: 先従隗始, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

A museum in a town where dinosaur fossils turn up

The Fukui Prefectural Dinosaur Museum is a dome shaped like a silver egg, set among the hills of Katsuyama in Fukui Prefecture. It opened in 2000 and is counted, together with the Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology in Canada and the Zigong Dinosaur Museum in China, as one of the world's three great dinosaur museums.

Nearby, in the Kitadani area of Katsuyama, is a dinosaur fossil dig site, and one new kind of dinosaur after another has been named from fossils found there, including Fukuiraptor and Fukuisaurus. Many of the dinosaurs found in Japan come from this area.

50 full skeletons and a new wing added in 2023

The centrepiece World of Dinosaurs zone displays 50 complete dinosaur skeletons. Some are built from real fossils, and there is also a moving robot Tyrannosaurus. Besides the dinosaurs, there are exhibits tracing the history of the Earth and of life.

In July 2023, after a closure of about six months, a new wing was added. Its Dinosaur Tower, an atrium rising from the first to the third floor, holds life-size reconstruction models of six creatures found in Fukui, including Fukuiraptor. There is also a "visible storage" area where you can peer into the fossil store through glass, and a spot where you can watch technicians cleaning fossils through a window.

There is also the Outdoor Dinosaur Museum, where you can try hunting for fossils at the nearby dig site, and hands-on fossil research programmes (both require booking).

Tickets and getting there

You need a ticket for a set date and time to get in, booked and bought in advance on the official website. Same-day tickets can be bought at the reception desk or ticket machines on the third floor, but only on days when advance tickets have not sold out. Check the official website for opening hours, closing days and prices.

By train, take the Echizen Railway Katsuyama Eiheiji Line from Fukui Station to Katsuyama Station (about an hour), then the direct bus to the museum (about 10 to 15 minutes). From Tokyo, take the Hokuriku Shinkansen to Fukui Station and change to the Echizen Railway. By car, it is a little over 40 minutes from Fukui Station.

Tips

If you turn up without a booking you may not get in. Especially at weekends and during long holiday periods, buy a timed-entry ticket on the official website before you set off.
The entrance is on the third floor. You get in by holding the QR code on your ticket over the entrance gate.
On 11 October and 22 November 2026 there will be traffic restrictions in the area, with temporary shuttle buses running. If you are driving on those days, check the notices on the official website.