Fukui: Let’s Hunt for Glasses in Sabae; Megane Street Gives Stylish Social Media Shots

The Yomiuri Shimbun

14:43 JST, July 6, 2024

SABAE, Fukui — Known as the town of eyeglasses, Sabae, Fukui Prefecture, is stepping up its efforts to fill the city, which is the largest source of frames made in Japan, with designs featuring glasses.

Objects and signs in the shape of glasses are not the only decorations found on the city’s streets; designs of glasses are hiding in all kinds of places, such as on benches and bollards, making the city a photo hotspot for social media users.

Both sides of the about 1,500-meter-long “Megane (glasses) Street” sport objects featuring glasses of all sizes. It’s a sight that attracts many people seeking shots for their social media accounts. The street was developed by the Sabae municipal government and connects Sabae Station on the Hapi-Line Fukui Line, which is operated by a third-sector company, and the Sun Dome Fukui multi-purpose indoor facility, a venue used for various events.

Along a 900-meter-or-so section between the station and the Megane Museum, there are also steps with glasses patterns engraved into them and glasses-shaped benches and plantings. Even bollards at an intersection are wearing silver-framed glasses.

“Private companies started placing many of [the designs] voluntarily, and they increased before we even noticed,” a Sabae municipal government official said.