Sakai (坂井市, Sakai-shi) is a city located in Fukui Prefecture, Japan. It lies to the north of Fukui City.The modern city of Sakai was established on March 20, 2006, from the merger of the former town of Sakai, absorbing the towns of Harue, Maruoka and Mikuni (all from Sakai District). Therefore, Sakai District was dissolved as a result of this merger.As of June 1, 2011, the city has an estimated population of 94,472, with 29,747 households and a population density of 450.06 persons per km².