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It’s a great time to crack open some fossils in Ono City, Fukui Prefecture

Master Blaster Aug 25, 2025
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Lots of fun for fans of science and/or breaking things.

Lake Kuzuryu is a scenic spot nestled between Gifu and Fukui prefectures that’s perfect for fishing, camping, and other activities. However, last March, a landslide occurred which blocked off many of the area’s tourist spots to visitors from elsewhere in Japan, greatly affecting businesses there until a detour was opened in the middle of July.

That’s why our writer Tasuku Egawa decided to pay the area a visit and show everyone why Lake Kuzuryu is a fun and beautiful place to visit. That photo above is just a taste of the outstanding views that can be had there, and even the spot where he took that picture on the Hakogase Bridge, also known as the “Bridge of Dreams,” is gorgeous when seen from the opposite side.

▼ The arrow shows the approximate position Tasuku was standing when he took the photo above this one.

It’s not uncommon to spot some people out leisure fishing and taking in all the breathtaking nature around them.

But the purpose of Tasuku’s visit on this day was the Ono City Fossil Excavation Experience Center Horrosa. For just 1,350 yen (US$9) adults can break open some rocks in search of prehistoric fossils, and kids can do it for even less.

Fukui Prefecture is famous for its plentiful fossils, particularly those belonging to dinosaur species, making this perhaps the best place in Japan to try finding one of your own.

Inside are bins filled with large amounts of rocks that look like they might have fossils in them and have been gathered for your convenience.

The rocks are also arranged based on the geological period that they originated from. The sign below shows that the rocks in its bin date back 160 million years to the Jurassic period and were gathered from the Nagano stratum in Nagano, Ono City, which was in shallow ocean at the time.

After paying the admission fee, you’re given an explanation on what to do and are able to rent the necessary equipment of gloves, goggles, a chisel, and a hammer.

It’s not really rocket science though. It’s just rock science, and all that involves here is finding a rock that looks promising and cracking it open to see what’s inside. Tasuku had a good feeling about these three.

He took the first one and split it into two with his chisel and hammer.

Much to his surprise, he got a fossil on his first try! This rock came from a forest in the Cretaceous period, so it seems like this was a plant fossil of some sort.

And even more surprising was that he could see fossils even in the parts he didn’t break open. It would seem the trick is to inspect the rock carefully before choosing it.

According to the rules of the center, anyone can take home one or two small fossils like Tasuku found as a souvenir. However, rare and larger fossils will be kept for further research and possibly even identified as a new species. In other words, even in this “experience” attraction, it might be possible to make a real scientific discovery.

There were several other people there at the same time as him, and they all seemed to be taking one or two rocks with them, suggesting that the chances of finding something during your visit are pretty good.

The staff of this center are researchers who inspect rocks around areas under construction. If fossils are found there, the staff will gather as many other rocks as they can in the area before the construction begins and store them for inspection at a later date.

It just so happens that a tunnel was dug for the Chubu Jukan Expressway near Ono City, which means an exceptionally large amount of promising rocks were pulled out from that and stored in a pile so large it would take more than a lifetime to go through them all.

▼ Speaking of expressways, if you plan to go by train, be sure to check the schedule of nearby Kuzuryukoe Station. Only five trains pass through daily.

This makes the Ono City Fossil Excavation Experience Horrosa a great way for researchers to get extra hands to do some of the work, while guests can experience authentic fossil hunting with rocks that have a higher chance of containing a specimen, compared to what you’d find hiking through a random forest. Everyone wins!

There’s also another fossil excavation experience in neighboring Katsuyama City, but only the Ono City Fossil Excavation Experience has the chance to find ammonites from the Jurassic period. It was a lot of fun for Tasuku too. He admits it might be more of a niche thing, but it felt very authentic, was a lot of fun, and is a fantastic way to support this disaster-affected community.

Attraction information
Ono City Fossil Excavation Experience Center Horrosa / 大野市化石発掘体験センターホロッサ
Fukui-ken, Ono-shi, Kakuno 14-3
福井県大野市角野14-3
Four Sessions by Reservation
9:30 a.m. – 10:30 a.m.
11 a.m. – Noon
1:30 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.
3:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.
Admission: 1,350 yen (Adults), 1,100 yen (High School Students), 700 yen (Junior High Students and Under)
*Group discounts are available
Website

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