Fukui Prefectural Dinosaur Museum
恐竜博物館
Usual hours and prices, checked 2026-10-04 against the sources under “What this place is”. They can change for holidays and events — confirm before you go. Official site
Our guide
The Fukui Prefectural Dinosaur Museum, in Katsuyama, is one of Asia's leading dinosaur museums, known for its fossil displays and its research. It stands in Nagaoyama Park near the Kitadani Dinosaur Quarry, where rocks of the Early Cretaceous Kitadani Formation come to the surface and many dinosaur remains have been dug out — among them Fukuiraptor kitadaniensis and Fukuisaurus tetoriensis, both named for Fukui. Since 2009 the whole of Katsuyama has been a Japanese Geopark, “Dinosaur Valley Fukui Katsuyama”.
Since 2014 there has been a guided tour to the field station beside the excavation site, running from the end of April to early November — worth planning around if you want to see where the fossils come from. We have not checked the museum's hours, fees or a route.
Written by japan-spots.com (2026-09-22) from the sources credited on this page. Distances are straight lines between map positions.
Photos
Photos from Wikimedia Commons, each under its own licence — see credits
- Fukui Prefectural Dinosaur Museum 20231217 — Totti · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source · resized
- 福井県立恐竜博物館 — GIGA146587 · CC BY 4.0 · source · resized
- Fukui Prefectural Dinosaur Museum 2021-07 ac (2) — Asturio Cantabrio · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source · resized
- Grande-salle-du musée-deFukui — N.Cayla · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source · resized
- Tyrannosaurus at the Fukui Prefectural Dinosaur Museum — DannyWithLove · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source · resized
- 2017 3 20 Fukui Dinosaur Museum 1 — Totti · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source · resized
- Fukuiraptor Animatronics — Fred Cherrygarden · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source · resized
- Fukui-prefectural-museum-extérieur — N.Cayla · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source · resized
- FukuiDinosaurMuseum03 — Douggers · CC BY-SA 3.0 · source · resized
- Fukui Prefectural Dinosaur Museum 20210504 60 — 先従隗始 · CC0 · source · resized
What this place is
The Fukui Prefectural Dinosaur Museum (福井県立恐竜博物館, Fukui Ken-ritsu Kyōryū Hakubutsukan), located in Katsuyama, Fukui, Japan, is one of the leading dinosaur museums in Asia that is renowned for its exhibits of fossil specimens of dinosaurs and paleontological research. It is sited in the Nagaoyama Park (Katsuyama Dinosaur Forest Park) near the Kitadani Dinosaur Quarry that the Lower Cretaceous Kitadani Formation of the Tetori Group is cropped out and a large number of dinosaur remains including Fukuiraptor kitadaniensis and Fukuisaurus tetoriensis are found and excavated. Since October 2009, the entire area of Katsuyama City has been recognized as a Japanese Geopark "Dinosaur Valley Fukui Katsuyama Geopark".Since July 2014, the guide tour to the field station next to the excavation site has been available from the end of April to early November.
Visitor information checked: 2026-10-04 · Official visiting information
Background text from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)
What to expect at this type of place: Museum
Getting there
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