Fukui福井県
Fukui-ken, ふくいけん. The name ends in 県 (ken), prefecture.
Fukui is on the Sea of Japan coast. It is known for the Tōjinbō cliffs and a large dinosaur fossil record.
Facts
- Japanese name
- 福井県
- Reading
- Fukui-ken / ふくいけん
- Region
- Chūbu 中部
- Capital
- Fukui 福井市
- Population
- 766,863 (2020 census)
- Area
- 4,191 km²
- Density
- 183 people per km²
- Municipalities
- 17: 9 cities and 8 towns
- Designated cities
- None
- Districts (郡)
- 7
- Codes
- JIS 18, ISO 3166-2 JP-18
- Website
- www.pref.fukui.lg.jp
- Tree
- pine 松
- Flower
- daffodil 水仙
- Bird
- dusky thrush つぐみ
The tree, flower, and bird are the prefectural symbols, chosen by ordinance. Every prefecture has all three.
The most populous municipalities
| Municipality | Population | km² | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fukui City福井市 | 262,328 | 536.41 | 34.2% |
| Sakai City坂井市 | 88,481 | 209.67 | 11.5% |
| Echizen City越前市 | 80,611 | 230.7 | 10.5% |
| Sabae City鯖江市 | 68,302 | 84.59 | 8.9% |
| Tsuruga City敦賀市 | 64,264 | 251.41 | 8.4% |
| Ono City大野市 | 31,286 | 872.43 | 4.1% |
| Obama City小浜市 | 28,991 | 233.11 | 3.8% |
| Awara Cityあわら市 | 27,524 | 116.98 | 3.6% |
| Katsuyama City勝山市 | 22,150 | 253.88 | 2.9% |
| Echizen Town越前町 | 20,118 | 153.15 | 2.6% |
2020 census. Share is the municipality's part of the prefecture's population. The other 7 are listed below.
How an address here begins
福井県福井市…
Fukui-ken, Fukui-shi, …
The prefecture name is written first, then the municipality name. The guide explains the rest of the address, and the map finds any address you paste into it.
Neighbouring prefectures
Every municipality in Fukui市区町村
17 local governments, each with its own mayor and assembly. Each has a page with its population, area, neighbours, and boundary on the map.
Cities市
Districts, with their towns and villages郡 町 村
A district is a name that groups towns and villages in an address. It has no office and no election. Each town and village in it is a government.
Questions about Fukui
- Is Fukui a city or a prefecture?
- Fukui (福井県) is a prefecture, one of Japan's 47. Fukui City (福井市) is a municipality inside it and its capital. On its own, the name usually means the city. With 県 on the end it means the prefecture.
- What is the capital of Fukui?
- Fukui City (福井市). The prefectural office is there. It is also the largest municipality in the prefecture.
- What does 県 mean in 福井県?
- 県 (ken) means prefecture. It is the ordinary word for prefecture, used by 43 of the 47. The other four are Tokyo (都), Hokkaidō (道), Osaka, and Kyoto (府), which are the same kind of government with a different word at the end of the name.
- How many municipalities are in Fukui?
- 17: 9 cities and 8 towns. Each is a local government with its own mayor and assembly. The towns and villages are grouped into seven districts (郡), names used in addresses, not governments.
- What is the population of Fukui?
- 766,863 at the 2020 census, on 4,191 km², which is 183 people per km². Fukui is the 43rd most populous of the 47 prefectures and the 34th largest by area.
- Which prefectures border Fukui?
- Four prefectures: Ishikawa (石川県), Gifu (岐阜県), Shiga (滋賀県), and Kyoto (京都府). Borders across water are not counted.
- What region is Fukui in?
- Chūbu (中部). A region is a customary grouping of prefectures, not a government, so Fukui elects a governor and an assembly but the region elects nothing.
- How is Fukui written in Japanese?
- 福井県, read Fukui-ken and written ふくいけん in hiragana. The last character, 県, is the word for prefecture, and the name is often used without it in English.
- How does an address in Fukui begin?
- With the prefecture name, then the municipality name: 福井県福井市… (Fukui-ken, Fukui-shi, …). After that are written the named area, the chōme, the block, and the building number.
- What is the largest city in Fukui?
- Fukui City (福井市), with 262,328 people at the 2020 census. It is also the capital. The three most populous municipalities are Fukui City (福井市, 262,328), Sakai City (坂井市, 88,481), and Echizen City (越前市, 80,611).
- What are the symbols of Fukui?
- The prefectural tree is the pine (松), the flower the daffodil (水仙), and the bird the dusky thrush (つぐみ). Fukui chose them by ordinance, as every prefecture has.
Boundaries: MLIT 国土数値情報. Population: 2020 Population Census (令和2年国勢調査). Area: Geospatial Information Authority of Japan (全国都道府県市区町村別面積調, 2020). Municipality counts are from the boundary data on the map. Website and symbols: the prefecture's Japanese Wikipedia article, read in September 2026.