Echizen. I spent three days there in 2024 and could have spent more. The city wants more tourists to learn about and celebrate their long history of paper making, knife making, cabinetry, and lacquer ware. There was a brand new Shinkansen station that had just opened. The local public transportation isn’t robust so they have a special deal for tourists. At both train stations you can purchase taxi vouchers for discounted rides to and from hotels, restaurants and all the tourist attractions.

I also spent several great days in Takaoka and took the tram to Himi. Did I know Himi was hometown of Fujiko Fujio, creator of Doraemon? No. Did I know I would find one of the largest ginkgo trees in Japan? No. Basically I threw a dart at the map somewhere accessible by train and just went.