Fukui: Project to Install 23 Life-size Dinosaur Models Complete at JR Fukui Station

The Yomiuri Shimbun

11:14 JST, October 5, 2024

FUKUI — A project to erect 23 dinosaur monuments in front of JR Fukui Station was completed last month.

The city and the Fukui prefectural governments began preparations to set up the dinosaur figures in 2015 to attract visitors to the prefecture, known as a “dinosaur kingdom” because many dinosaur fossils have been discovered in the area.

The 23rd and last monument under the project — a life-size robotic version of the predatory dinosaur suchomimus — appeared at the station on the morning of Sept. 18. The robot, 10 meters long and four meters tall, has a long mouth, similar to that of an alligator, and sharp claws. Tooth fossils of a dinosaur presumed to belong to the same family as suchomimus have been discovered in the prefecture.

The robot can move its neck and mouth and even cry.

JR Fukui Station — now a stop on the Hokuriku Shinkansen — is already home to life-size dinosaur monuments. A Tyrannosaurus that roars and regularly moves its head, as well as a Triceratops that moves its head every 10 minutes, entertain tourists visiting the area.