Sabae
Sabae (鯖江市, Sabae-shi) is in Fukui Prefecture.
Understand
Tourist information site
The city has an official Japanese-only guide site with integrated machine translation.
Get in
By plane
The nearest airport to Sabae is in Komatsu. Buses connect Komatsu Airport with Komatsu Station for ¥260, from which you can take a Hokuriku Line local train or limited express train to Sabae station.
If coming internationally, the best airport to arrive in is Kansai Airport in Osaka. From Kansai Airport, you can reach Sabae by train in 3 1/2 hours by taking the Haruka limited express train to Shin-Osaka and transferring to the Thunderbird or Raichō, described below.
By train
Sabae is served by Sabae Station on the JR Hokuriku line, which links Toyama with Maibara. A connection to the Kosei Line at Tsuruga provides a direct link to Kyoto and Osaka.
Sabae is connected to Kyoto and Osaka 1-2 times per hour by the Thunderbird and Raichō limited express services. All Raicho trains and a handful of Thunderbird trains serve Sabae Station. Both of these trains make the run from Osaka in about 2 hours and from Kyoto in about 1 hour and 20 minutes.
The Shirasagi limited express also stops at Sabae Station on runs from Nagoya via Maibara. Trains reach Sabae from Maibara in about an hour.
If coming from Tokyo, take the hourly Tokaido Shinkansen Hikari service to Maibara. From there, take the Shirasagi to Sabae (3 hours and 20 minutes).
There is no charge for the above services with the Japan Rail Pass.
Get around
The best way to get around Sabae is by car, though there is a local train that goes through the city.
See
- 🌍 Nishiyama Park (西山公園), Sakuramachi 3-8-10. This small park is particularly beautiful in springtime, when hundreds of azaleas trees bloom on the slopes. There is also a small zoo there, complete with red pandas. Free.
- Megane Museum (めがねミュージアム), 2-3-4 Shin-yokoe. 10:00-19:00, closed We. Museum for eyeglasses. You can make your own frame in the workshop.
Buy
Sabae is the center of the Japanese eyeglass industry. 90% of frames are made here. There are many great shops around the city to get your own locally made pair.
Eat
The prefecture is famous for sauce katsudon and oroshi soba, both of which can be found all around Sabae.
National Route 8, a major road linking Fukui prefecture with Kanazawa, runs through Sabae, so you can find many local and national chain restaurants along the road.
- 🌍 Konomi (このみ), Sakuramachi 2-8-19 (Near Nishiyama Park), ☏ +81 778-52-0806. A great little okonomiyaki restaurant.