Eiheiji Town

Monks train in 19 protected halls.

Daihonzan Eiheiji

Photo by 663highland (CC BY 2.5)

01 ／ Mai Road

On an abandoned railway line,a car ran with no driver.

The electric railway that opened from Eiheijiguchi in 1925 later became the Keifuku Electric Railroad Eiheiji Line and closed in 2002. On about 2 km of the footpath built on its route, the Eiheiji Mai Road (永平寺参ろーど), a remotely monitored Level 3 self-driving vehicle in 2021 and a Level 4 vehicle with no driver in 2023 were each the first in Japan to be approved. Service has been suspended for the time being since April 2026.

Line closed 2002
About 2 km
Japan's first Level 4 approval, 2023

02 ／ Crown

Modeled on a Gaya crown,made in the Japanese islands.

Nihonmatsuyama Kofun (二本松山古墳) is a burial mound on a hilltop 273 m above sea level. In 1906, two 5th-century crowns were found in its stone coffin. They closely resemble the band-style crowns common in the Gaya region of the Korean Peninsula, but the shapes of their dangling ornaments and upright decorations differ and they carry no patterns, so they are thought to be copies made in Japan. They are held by the Tokyo National Museum along with a helmet and armor from the same tomb.

Found 1906
Two crowns
5th century

03 ／ Happa-zushi

Leaves of the tung tree in the gardenwrap trout sushi.

Happa-zushi (葉っぱずし), made along the Kuzuryu River and mainly in the Eiheiji area, wraps salted trout, vinegared rice and ginger in leaves of the tung tree (油桐), packs them into a sushi box under a weight, and is eaten at festivals and Obon. The oily surface of the leaf keeps the rice from sticking, so it can be unwrapped and eaten without chopsticks. People planted tung trees in their gardens and called them sushi trees; the town made it the town tree.

Town tree: tung
For festivals and Obon
No chopsticks needed

Living here

A university hospital and a prefectural university in town.

about 20,000 people
Rural district town

The Matsuoka area has the University of Fukui's medical school and hospital and a campus of Fukui Prefectural University. The Echizen Railway Katsuyama Eiheiji Line runs east to west through the town along the Kuzuryu River, and the building of Matsuoka Station, the nearest station to the town office, is a Registered Tangible Cultural Property. Schoolchildren bow at the school gate on their way to and from school and clean in silence.

People living here: 18,965people
Area: 94.43km²
Households: 7,285households
Rent (average for rentals): 50,464yen
Healthcare: 1 hospital ／ 12 clinics

Area and habitable land at the same scalee-Stat B1101 / B1103

Population from 2010 onward (municipal boundary changed).2006-02-13 に新設合併（松岡町・上志比村）。2010年調査から市域が変わっている。

Children waiting for childcare: —8 nurseries and similar
Home purchase subsidy: —
Average annual temperature: —

These 3 items are waiting on a nationwide data source. We do not fill them with estimates.

Shape

Borders 3 municipalities.

Eiheiji Town in Japan36.092°N 136.299°E

Territory of Eiheiji Town

Boundaries: National Land Numerical Information (N03)

North to south

10.7km

福井市, 坂井市, 勝山市

Travel times per leg are not published by the municipality, so they are not shown.

Eiheiji Town isthis kind of town.

01At Daihonzan Eiheiji, the temple Dōgen founded in 1244, 19 buildings used for training, including the Buddha Hall, Dharma Hall and main gate, became Important Cultural Properties in 2019
02On a footpath built on an abandoned railway line, Level 3 and Level 4 self-driving vehicles were the first in Japan to be approved (suspended for the time being since April 2026)
03A hilltop tomb yielded crowns made in Japan on the model of Gaya crowns, and happa-zushi, trout wrapped in tung leaves, is handed down along the Kuzuryu River

See the town as it is now.

Source: Wikidata (P2002, P2003, P2013, P2397)

If something caught your eye, ask the town itself.

Eiheiji Town official site ↗Wikipedia ↗