In recent years, the Hokuriku region, spanning the northern coast of central Japan, has been increasing in popularity among travellers. The main catalyst was the opening of the Hokuriku Shinkansen line in 2015, which halved the travel time from the Tokyo area. However, Kanazawa, in Ishikawa Prefecture, has largely occupied the spotlight. Far less attention has been paid to the adjacent Toyama Prefecture and its eponymous capital, even though what Toyama has to offer can easily be inferred from its name alone — the literal meaning of the Japanese characters 富山 is “abundant mountains”.
It was already late afternoon when we arrived at Toyama Station, as we had spent most of the day up in those very mountains, at the historic town of Hida-Furukawa. We first went to check in at the aptly named Daiwa Roynet Hotel Toyama-Ekimae, across the street from the station. Having visited Toyama twice previously, I had stayed in this hotel before and I was happy to choose it again for its cleanliness and convenient location.
We had exactly one place left to go for the day: the city hall, only 500 m away from the station along the main street.
Because it was a weekend, the city offices were closed and the lobby of the city hall was deserted, but the free of charge observation tower was still open. There was a lone security guard there along with a handful of domestic tourists.
Entering the observation tower for the first time is an unforgettable moment, without doubt among the greatest in all of our travels. No words can describe the breathtaking vista of the majestic snow-capped Japanese Alps towering over the city.
The interior of the observation tower, despite being somewhat cramped, provides unobstructed views in all directions. Of course, we immediately went to the mountain side first.
In the Northern Alps range, a particularly notable summit is Mt. Tate (立山), which has drawn worshippers for centuries and is considered one of Japan’s three sacred mountains along with nearby Mt. Haku in Ishikawa Prefecture and Mt. Fuji. Its distinctive broad profile consisting of three peaks can easily be spotted from Toyama.
Another highly recognizable peak is Mt. Tsurugi (剱岳), one of the only places in Japan where glaciers can be found. The word tsurugi refers to a type of sword, a fitting description for the mountain’s sharp profile.
The north is the only side without mountains, but it does have the Sea of Japan and the Tower 111, so named because its 111 m height makes it the tallest building in Toyama Prefecture. However, it is a corporate office and not open to the public.
As the observation tower closes early during the winter months, we could only stay there for 15 minutes or so, and even then ended up being the last visitors to leave, by which time the sun was already on the verge of setting. We could have gone to the canal park, but it is located on the opposite side of the station, and we decided that we were too tired to walk for 20 more minutes in the cold. This was a missed opportunity because I experienced on my previous trip that the park is wonderfully illuminated at night.
Instead, we went straight to dinner. Certainly, the best-known local dish in Toyama is black ramen, a visually unique variant of the ubiquitous noodles; its characteristic dark soup is made using a large amount of soy sauce. Numerous ramen restaurants can be found in the blocks south of the station, so we just picked one very close to our hotel and then went back quickly after eating.
The next day, we actually had to depart from Toyama around noon because we were forced to make cuts when trimming our original itinerary from 22 days to 15 days. Staying for just one night in Toyama does not provide nearly enough time to see everything, and we were forced to decide what to prioritize. We chose the Toyama Glass Art Museum — it would also be my first time to see it because it was closed when I last visited.
As with most other places in the city center, the most convenient way to get there is to ride the tram. Trams in Toyama are modern and the network offers frequent service and good coverage. Interestingly, there used to be two unconnected, separately operated tram systems in the city. They have been joined only since March 2020, when the short link segment on the north side of Toyama Station was opened and the companies merged.
The Glass Art Museum is nearest to the Nakamachi tram stop, occupying the top two floors of a building that it shares with the public library. Designed by the renowned architect Kengo Kuma, the facility has an especially impressive interior, where the extensive use of wood presents an intriguing contrast to the glass.
On the sixth floor, the first area of the museum displays a few Dale Chihuly pieces. Although they are the museum’s largest artworks, more or less similar ones can be seen in Seattle (albeit for a significantly higher ticket price). The other area on the fifth floor exhibits a diverse collection of works by Japanese artists, many of which we found to be quite thought-provoking. Sadly, photography is not allowed there.
After visiting the museum, we had only enough time left to retrieve our luggage from the hotel and buy some sushi to eat on the train. We boarded the Hokuriku Shinkansen in the direction of Tokyo, meaning that I had failed, for the third time, to see the Amaharashi Coast. Of course, we will return to Toyama on a future trip to Japan in order to finally go there, and also to Kanazawa and the rest of the Hokuriku region, which I want Ritz to experience but were unfortunately also cut from our honeymoon itinerary.
