Japanese creative company NAKED has begun a new projection mapping event at Maruoka Castle in Fukui, as well as the nearby Otenshuzen Park. The company has also introduced a new way to safely promote the area’s beautiful nighttime scenery, with the NAKED Distanced Lanterns. 

Since 2014, NAKED has used new creative and futuristic technology to better highlight the appeal of local sites around Japan. 

In March 2021, NAKED’s influence at Maruoka Castle became permanent with the start of the Maruoka Castle x NAKED Hikari Musubi installation. The castle itself is one of the oldest in Fukui prefecture, and visitors and locals alike can now enjoy a symphony of beautiful lights shining on the historic landmark year-round. This new version of the projection-mapping project is ‘Hikari Musubi ~Creating the Future~’, and it hopes to convey the charm of Sakai city to the rest of the world. 

The company brought its projection-mapping technology to Shinzen Izumi Elementary School in Tokyo in 2014 and to Kesennumakoyo High School in Miyagi in 2015. In 2016, NAKED launched the 0 x 0 Mugen Project in collaboration with the Osaka University of Arts, which supports the projects of students at the university as well as those of prospective students. 

Event Overview

Maruoka Castle Tower

The theme of this projection-mapping show is ‘From Maruoka Castle to the World and the Future.’ The Maruoka Junior High School Chorus Club is responsible for some of the event’s music. 

NAKED Distanced Lanterns®︎

A participatory artwork allowing people to create light while maintaining social distance, the NAKED Distanced Lanterns project has invited local citizens to design lanterns to display outside Maruoka Castle. 

Japanese creative company NAKED began a new projection mapping event at Fukui Prefecture’s Maruoka Castle on March 31 as part of its Future Creation Project.

Maruoka Castle Castle Tower

Castle Tower Parkお天守前公園

NAKED launched its Future Creation Project back in 2014 as a way to express local sites around Japan in a creative manner going into the future. The project is held together with local children, grown-ups, and businesses, and takes place both inside and outside Japan.

The company took its projection mapping technology to Shinsen Izumi Elementary School in Tokyo in 2014 and again to Kesennumakoyo High School in Miyagi in 2015. It then rolled out its 0 x 0 Mugen Project in collaboration with Osaka University of Arts in 2016 which supports the projects and productions of students at the university as well as students looking to study there.

This year, NAKED joined hands with the locals of Fukui to set up a one-year projection mapping event at Maruoka Castle as part of the Future Creation Project.

The Shibamasa World amusement park in Fukui Prefecture is bringing in some new pool fun on June 30 where guests can look forward to a wet experience swimming and riding the rubber rings next to the wide open Sea of Japan and green laws. They’re describing it as like a ‘resort’ experience.

The Monster Wing is a new giant slide arriving this year. There are sudden drops, as well as a wall you’ll slide up at 68° and more. They’re calling it the “world’s first giant combination slide.”

You’ll begin the fun in a 6-person rubber boat at 25m high and speed around the curves before hitting a sudden drop. And just when you think you’ll get a breather, you’ll be hit again, feeling a sense of weightlessness. The end of the slide connects back to the pools.

This is the sequel to The Monster Slider, another slide that appeared in 2016 and was a huge success.

They’re also teaming up with the internationally beloved Hello Kitty to bring guests something called Hello Kitty Pool Land.

The park will also be lit up when the sun goes down this summer with the Summer Night Illuminations. There’ll be fireworks too, meaning you can enjoy being at the park all day long.

There are so many places that are famous for soba noodle in Japan. However, there are not so many soba noodles that are named after the name of a place. Fukui prefecture which used to be called “Echizen” has reprehensive food called “Echizen Oroshi Soba.” If you want to enjoy their food, I would love for you to visit one of the popular restaurants.

The familiar restaurant since they are little.

When you are asked “what do you want to eat in Fukui prefecture,” most people would answer “Echizen Oroshi Soba.” If you love soba noodle, you don’t want to miss this soba noodle which has great combination of grated daikon and dashi (Japanese soup stock.) There are so many different tastes depending on each restaurant, so most people found their favorite soba noodle. Kumiko Otani, the young hostess of one of the most popular restaurants called “Miyoshi-ya” which was established more than eighty years ago said, “People most likely to go out to eat at soba restaurants. There are soba restaurants more than famous hamburger restaurants in Fukui. So I bet people has familiar soba restaurant since they are little.”

This Echizen Soba pictures show you the soba noodle which already has grated daikon on the top, but you technically dump the dashi soup containing grated daikon on the top of soba noodle before you eat by yourself. You won’t be able to stop eating this great combination of soba noodle and soup.

The secret of this taste is chef’s technique and particular dashi soup.

The soba noodles which Miyoshi-ya serve are made of 100% buckwheat flour, but if you ordered to your house, they will mix a little regular wheat flour. It is because they want to avoid the soba noodles getting torn to pieces when they boil it at their house. This particular buckwheat flour is 100% made in Fukui prefecture. The chefs who have proficient skills are grinding with millstones which are also made in Fukui prefecture. The sensitive buckwheat flour which is easily affected by heat can have great flavor by being grinded slowly. And the chefs who trained many years make sure the water temperature which changes depending on the season by their hands, and slice the soba into pieces.

The dashi soup which has been passed down since the establishment of this restaurant mixes two different kinds of soy sauce. By cooling this dashi soup for grated daikon rapidly will make it to have more flavors.  And they also mix grated hot daikon and sweet Aokubi daikon, and put green onions and dried bonito shavings. You can enjoy the rich flavor, excellent throat comfort, and great texture at same time by eating this Echizen Oroshi soba.

■Echizen-Soba Miyoshiya

Address: 1-11-3 Junka, Fukui-shi, Fukui

Koji Yamada(Photo/Fusosha)　

Yuko Tanaka(Interview & Article/Fusosha)

Provided media:FUSOSYA 「NIHONZENKOKU OTORIYOSETECHO WEB」

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■Related article：Fukui prefecture’s local soul foods 　Good-old Japanese sweets store that represents Fukui prefecture will make you comfortable.

 “Habutae-mochi” is the lightly sweet and soft Japanese well-known sweets that is recognized as the souvenirs from Fukui prefecture for a long time. I visited old-established Japanese sweets store since I heard there’s Japanese sweet that I can enjoy their taste and texture even more.

Sand the melty rice cake with fluffy bread

“Matsuoka-ken” which is good-old atmosphere Japanese sweets store is located in ten minutes’ walk from Fukui train station on the main road. This place is an origin of “Habutae-mochi” which is known as the famous Fukui sweets.  This store used to sell white pongee fabrics like a silk (Habutae), but they started running a sweets business one hundred years ago. The thin and silky rice cake which was named after this story is an excellent Japanese sweet.

　They came up with the idea to put this typical rice cake inside of Dora-yaki (a red-bean pancake) about thirty years ago. Actually, they knew the rice cake would go with dora-yaki because “Hagoromo-monaka” that put rice cake inside the Monaka (red-beans sandwiched between two thin crisp wafers made from rice) was popular about fifty years ago. This dora-yaki is like by food critic, Yukio Hattori, food writer, Asako Kishi and some of the other food specialists. The melty rice cake, plenty of red-bean made in Hokkaido and the pan cake buns make this sweet soft and fluffy. It is also its characteristic that it is lightly sweetened.

The secret specialty food which has addictive texture is limited on sale for summer

There is bamboo whisk for making Japanese tea decorated inside the old showcase in the store. Their appearance matches with atmosphere of this store. The owner, Ritsuko Kawashima, said “there are a lot of people in summer. They’re sometimes having long lines of people. ” She said that there is café space inner part of this store only in summer time. What are people coming here to get is summer time exclusive food “hand-made shaved ice.”

They shave the ice with a plane for each bowl after they get an order. It has an addictive texture which has both smooth ice and crushed ice, and some people said that they don’t feel like it is summer if they don’t eat this food. People from all over Japan are coming to get this. The sauces that go on the top of shaved ice such as maccha syrup, sweet red-beans and black sugar syrup are all made from scratch. They can’t send shaved ice to your house, so I would like you to visit this store.

■Matsuokaken Main shop

Address: 3-5-19 Chuo, Fukui-shi, Fukui

Koji Yamada(Photo/Fusosha)

Yuko Tanaka(Interview & Article/Fusosha)

Provided media:FUSOSYA 「NIHONZENKOKU OTORIYOSETECHO WEB」

■Related article：This food will make you addictive. Fukui prefecture’s soul food called “Sauce cutlet rice bowl”