Tsuruga (敦賀つるが市し Tsuruga-shi) is a city in Fukui Prefecture.

Understand

Tsuruga has been a natural seaport for ages, and these days it is flourishing as a sea gateway to foreign countries. Container ships and high-speed ferries are in service daily, and people and goods are traveling and transporting via the port.

Get in

By boat

• 1 Shin-Nihonkai Ferry (新しん日本海にほんかいフェリー), Mariyama 95-4, ☏ +81 770-23-2223. This ferry has lines connecting daily to Tomakomai port at Hokkaido (20 hr). Once in a week there is a line to Tomakomai with stops in Niigata and Akita. 

By train

• Limited Express Thunderbird. This JR train connnects with Kyoto, 1 hr, and Osaka, 1 hr 20 min. (updated Aug 2020)

Get around

• 2 Tsuruga Information Center (敦賀つるが観光かんこう案内あんない所しょ), Kanawacho 1-1-19 (In JR Tsuruga Station), ☏ +81 770-21-8686. Daily 08:00-19:00. Loads of local sightseeing information available here. (updated Aug 2020)

See

• 1 Kehi Shrine (氣比けひ神宮じんぐう), Akebonocho 11-68, ☏ +81 770-22-0794. A well-known shrine throughout its history, its gate is renowned as one of the Top 3 torii gates in the nation, and the shrine was visited in 1689 by theh poet Matsuo Basho on his famous trip through northern Japan. (updated Jul 2019)

Do

Kehi no Matsubara

• 1 Kehi no Matsubara (気き比ひの松原まつばら). A recreational area along the Tsuruga Bay. It combines a large pine grove with a white sand beach, very popular with swimmers in summer season. 

• Tsuruga Tunnel Hot Springs (敦賀つるがトンネル温泉おんせん), Mukaide, 41 Yoshiko (From Tsuruga Station take a Fukutetsu Bus to Tunnel Onsen). The hot spring was discovered during a railway tunnel digging. An indoor and outdoor spa is located on a hill, and bathers can enjoy a beautiful view of the town and the bay. 
• Matsumoto Statues (松本まつもと零れい士しシンボルロード). About twenty bronze statues of characters and scenes from the popular anime and manga by Leiji Matsumoto are scattered across the downtown. The statues, each perhaps 1.2-1.5 m (4-5 feet) tall, were erected in 1999. 

Eat

Tsuruga is a major fishing port on the Sea of Japan. Enjoy freshly-caught seafood at local markets, sushi shops, and restaurants. Famous seafood delicacies include Tsuruga blowfish and, in the winter, Echizen crab.

Go next

• Obama
• Sabae
• Fukui
• Nagahama
• Hikone
• Wakasa
• Mihama
• Minamiechizen
• Takashima

Routes through Tsuruga

Fukui ← Echizen ←	N  S	→ Nagahama → Maibara
Komatsu ← Fukui ← Takefu ←	N  S	→ Nagahama → Maibara
Maizuru Higashi ← Obama ←	W  E	→ in to