World Famous Eyeglasses City, Made in Sabae

Megane Museum 

(Sabae City, Fukui Prefecture) 

【Megane (眼鏡)】 is the Japanese word for glasses, which improve people's vision. It is said that the first glasses were invented around the 13th century in Italy and brought to Japan by Portuguese missionaries in the 16th century. Now, 33% of Japanese people wear glasses all the time. If you walk in a Japanese town, you can see many people wearing glasses of different shapes, colors, and designs. Glasses are not only for vision correction, but also for fashion and self-expression. Some people wear them even if they don’t need them, just to look cool or smart.

Sabae city, located in Fukui prefecture, is a famous glasses-producing city. 95% of Japanese glasses are made in this city, which has a history of over 100 years of glasses manufacturing. Sabae glasses are known for their high quality, craftsmanship, and innovation.

The history of Sabae glasses began in 1905. The main industry of this rural area was agriculture. Because of the severe winter weather on the Japan Sea coast, people had no income during the cold season and had to leave their homes to work. A man named Gozaemon Masunaga decided to change this situation by establishing a local industry. He came up with an idea of manufacturing glasses frames. He invested his own money to invite craftsmen to the village and taught the villagers the manufacturing skill. It was not an easy way, but his efforts made the glasses industry the main source of income for the city.

In the 1980s, the world's first titanium frame was developed in Sabae, which was rust-resistant, lightweight, and less likely to cause metal allergies. Now, Sabae's glasses have evolved to offer not only high quality as optical devices, but also excellent design as fashionable accessories, collaborating with luxury high fashion brands.

If you are interested in glasses, you should definitely visit the Megane Museum in Sabae, which is a 15-minute walk from Sabae station. The museum displays the history of glasses and how they are made. You can see the process of making glasses and the tools used in each step. They also have an interesting collection of glasses worn by famous people, such as Japanese comedian Yasushi Yokoyama, the 45th Prime Minister of Japan Shigeru Yoshida, and singer Tatsuo Kamon. The glasses were part of their identities. People recognize them by their glasses.

The museum also has a glasses antenna shop. Wall shelves and show cases display more than 3,000 latest models of glasses. They are all made in Japan by about 50 companies from Fukui Prefecture. If you cannot decide which one to pick, reliable opticians will help you choose.