Tsuruga Red Brick Warehouse

This building symbolizes Tsuruga, which flourished from the Meiji period to the early Showa period as an international city connecting Japan with continental Europe via Russia. Designed by a foreign engineer, it was built in 1905 as a petroleum storage facility. One of Fukui Prefecture's most notable brick structures, it was later used to store military supplies and kombu kelp. In 2009, the north and south buildings and the brick wall were registered as National Tangible Cultural Properties.

In 2015, the facility reopened as the Tsuruga Red Brick Warehouse following the renovation of its Diorama Building and Restaurant Building. The Diorama Building in the north building features a detailed recreation of the cityscape from the late Meiji period to the early Showa period, when Tsuruga was at its peak as a port town. The Restaurant Building in the south building offers dining in a historic red-brick setting.

Measuring 27.6 m long and 7.5 m deep, the Railway and Port Diorama is one of the largest in Japan. Based on restored maps, it recreates the streets of Tsuruga from the late Meiji period to the early Showa period at approximately 1:80 scale. Highlights include a 15-minute diorama show and short film presented on the hour and half past each hour. The diorama, model trains, and buses move in time with the video, while the lighting in the sky and throughout the town changes during the show. Visitors can also place their faces inside the diorama at a special viewing area and see scenery that is hidden from the front.