Kinpuku Watermelon

The "Fukui City Summer Festival Market," now in its 9th consecutive year, will be held at Nihonbashi Mitsukoshi Main Store. Approximately 80 items will be on sale, including Fukui City's proud popular brand crops "Kinpuku Watermelon" and "Ginpuku Watermelon," as well as specialty products recommended for summer.

This year, new products will also feature "sweets that are gentle on the body," made with Fukui Prefecture-grown brown buckwheat flour and organic brown rice flour. Please enjoy Fukui's unique flavors in the Tokyo metropolitan area.

Fukui City Summer Festival Market Event Overview

Date and Time

July 1 (Wed) - July 7 (Tue), Reiwa 8 (2026) 10:00 - 19:30

Venue

Nihonbashi Mitsukoshi Main Store, New Building B2F, Promotion Space (1-4-1 Nihonbashi Muromachi, Chuo-ku, Tokyo)

Items for Sale

We offer a diverse lineup of approximately 80 items, including the following:

Kinpuku Watermelon / Ginpuku Watermelon *Limited quantity

[Egawa]

Water Jelly (Golden Plum, Peach, Matcha)

[Oomugi Club]

Roasted Barley Tea (ready to eat)

[Matsukokaken]

Habutae Mochi, Habutae Dorayaki

[Menbou Tsuruturu]

Buckwheat Flour and Oatmeal Cookies, Chocolate Mousse Bake Sandwich

[Natural Kitchen SAL]

Rice Flour and Tofu Brownies, Rice Flour Baked Cheesecake

[Ranny Cheese]

Habutae Butter Cheese Sandwich

[Echizen Tamuraya]

Grilled Mackerel Sushi, Engawa Sushi

[Taniguchiya]

Oage (fried tofu skin)

[Fukui Hito Mono Design]

Sanrihama Olive Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Flyer

Click here for the Fukui City website

What are "Kinpuku Watermelon" and "Ginpuku Watermelon"?

Golden rind and vibrant red flesh. A rare original variety proud of Fukui City.

Kinpuku Watermelon

The "Kinpuku Watermelon," an original variety independently developed by Fukui City, is a small watermelon weighing approximately 2kg, notable for its beautiful golden rind.

Developed over many years by the Fukui City Horticultural Center, it was born in 2000. It was named with the wish for "Fukui City's economic recovery and the health and happiness of its citizens."

The vibrant red flesh has few seeds and a thin rind, making it delicious to eat right up to the rind. You can enjoy its mellow sweetness, crisp texture, and abundant juiciness.

Its gorgeous appearance makes it a popular choice for summer gifts and souvenirs, a gem that Fukui City is proud of.

Ginpuku Watermelon

The "Ginpuku Watermelon" is an original Fukui City variety developed to be a "pair gift watermelon" to Kinpuku Watermelon.

While its appearance is that of a typical green-skinned, black-striped watermelon, its most striking feature is the vibrant orange flesh that appears when cut. Its unexpectedness and beauty will surely elicit cheers.

It is also a small size weighing approximately 2kg, with few seeds, making it easy to eat. It has a strong sweetness but a refreshing aftertaste, and you can enjoy its abundant juiciness. By comparing it with the mellow sweetness of Kinpuku Watermelon, you can better appreciate their individual characteristics.

"Ginpuku," paired with the auspicious "Kinpuku," is perfect for celebrations and seasonal gifts.

A rare variety with vibrant orange flesh that is fun to compare.

This is Fukui

On March 16, Reiwa 6 (2024), the Kanazawa-Tsuruga section of the Hokuriku Shinkansen opened. "Fukui," located in the center of Japan, sandwiched between Kanazawa and Kyoto. We will introduce Fukui's gourmet food, features, history, and attractions by area, with improved access from Tokyo and Nagano.

Fukui Station West Exit Dinosaur Plaza

In front of the Fukui Station West Exit Scramble Crossing, Fukui City Tourist Information Center

Fukui City is the prefectural capital located in the northern part of Fukui Prefecture. Around Fukui Station, dinosaurs greet you everywhere. Since about 80% of dinosaur fossils excavated in Japan have been found in Fukui Prefecture, Fukui Prefecture is called the "Dinosaur Kingdom." Upon arriving at the station, we recommend taking commemorative photos with moving dinosaur monuments and trick art at the dinosaur spots around Fukui Station.

Beaches

Sunset over the Echizen Coast Echizen Crab

Fukui City offers excellent access from the city center to the sea and mountains! You can reach the Echizen Coast in about an hour from JR Fukui Station. The sunset over the sea is a magnificent sight. Fresh seafood landed on the Echizen Coast is one of Fukui's prides. You can enjoy not only seafood, including "Echizen Crab," but also various gourmet dishes.

Asuwa River Cherry Blossom Avenue

Garagara-yama Campsite, Takao Momiji Ski & Snowboard at Asuwa Shrine

In Fukui, where the seasons are distinct, cherry blossom viewing in spring, swimming and camping in summer are also recommended. In autumn, you can enjoy beautiful autumn leaves, and in winter, you can enjoy winter sports such as skiing and snowboarding.

Ichijodani Asakura Family Site

Meisho Yoko-kan Garden JAM Fukui Katsuyama Mountain Resort

When traveling, weather and climate are important concerns. In winter, the "Echizen Crab" season, it often rains or snows. Fukui City also experiences heavy snowfall for a prefectural capital, with snow typically falling from late December and accumulating easily in January. By March, the snow on the roads melts, making it easier to get around. Summers are surprisingly hot, with heatwaves exceeding 35°C continuing in August. Spring and autumn are pleasant and ideal for sightseeing. May enjoys good weather on more than half of the days. In November, the average daytime temperature is 16°C, but it gets cold in the mornings and evenings, so be sure to bring warm clothing.

Full of Exquisite Gourmet Food

Fukui, a treasure trove of food, offers a wide array of local gourmet delights! The secret to the deliciousness of Fukui's food lies in the ingredients grown abundantly in Fukui's climate and the clean water from the Hakusan water system. We introduce must-try gourmet dishes that locals have loved for years.

Echizen Oroshi Soba

Served with "tsuyu" (broth). Also available as a set with tempura or for comparison.

◆ "Echizen Oroshi Soba," a representative Fukui gourmet dish

"Echizen Oroshi Soba" is cold soba noodles topped with plenty of grated daikon radish, bonito flakes, and chopped green onions. The sharp spiciness of the grated daikon radish is sure to be addictive.

In Fukui, it is customary to eat cold oroshi soba even in the cold winter. It is said that Honda Tomomasa, who became the lord of the domain in the early Edo period in what is now Echizen City, popularized this oroshi soba, making it a representative soul food of Fukui.

There are three main ways to eat it: "Pouring soba broth over grated daikon, green onions, and bonito flakes on the soba," "Mixing grated daikon with soba broth and pouring it over soba topped with green onions and bonito flakes," or "Mixing the squeezed juice of grated daikon with soba broth and pouring it over soba topped with green onions and bonito flakes."

It is primarily served during lunchtime, and soba restaurants are crowded with office workers, families, and locals. Some restaurants are open early in the morning or late at night, allowing you to enjoy soba as a late-night meal after drinking. Its casual and relaxing atmosphere is also appealing.

Sauce Katsu-don

Set of Sauce Katsu-don and Oroshi Soba. "Europa-ken," with 14 stores in the Hokuriku region of Fukui Prefecture.

◆ "Sauce Katsu-don" that you can't stop eating

Along with Echizen Oroshi Soba, "Sauce Katsu-don" is another representative Fukui gourmet dish. In Fukui, "Katsu-don" generally refers to Sauce Katsu-don, not the egg-coated version.

There are famous restaurants specializing in Sauce Katsu-don, and even dedicated specialty stores. It is often served as a set with oroshi soba at soba restaurants, allowing you to enjoy Fukui's two major gourmet dishes at once. Beyond restaurants, sauce katsu is also a standard item in the prepared food section of supermarkets in Fukui.

The restaurant that created this Sauce Katsu-don is the long-established Western restaurant "Europa-ken," with its main store located on Katamachi-dori, a bustling street in Fukui City.

It is said that around the end of the Meiji era, many restaurants were established as spin-offs from Europa-ken, and other establishments began serving Sauce Katsu-don, which eventually became a representative gourmet dish of Fukui.

◆ "Mizu Yokan" indispensable for Fukui winters

Speaking of "Mizu Yokan," isn't it a summer treat? No, in Fukui, it's eaten in winter.

Every year from around November, mizu yokan goes on sale at Japanese confectioneries in Fukui Prefecture, and various types of mizu yokan appear in supermarkets. Many places only sell it during the winter, making it an essential Japanese sweet for Fukui winters.

But why do people in Fukui eat cold mizu yokan in the cold winter?

There are several theories, but a prominent one is that young apprentices who went to work in other towns made it from azuki beans they brought back when they returned home at the end of the year, or that they remade yokan they brought back from their workplaces by adding water and distributed it to their neighbors.

Unlike練りようかん (neriyokan - kneaded yokan), it has a high water content and spoils easily, so it's best eaten fresh! When you visit Fukui in winter, be sure to try the refreshing mizu yokan.

Main Access Routes to Fukui

Source: Fukui City Tourism Official Website "Fukuiro" https://fuku-iro.jp/

FACT BOX

  • Source: PR TIMES
  • Category: Event
  • Organizations: Natural kitchen SAL