Toyama Prefecture [富山県]
Toyama Prefecture is located at the northeast part of Hokuriku District.
The northeastern coast faces the Sea of Japan, and the other part faces Toyama Bay.
The bay is very deep and the maximum depth is more than 1,000 meters in the small bay.
So cold water is around the bottom, and a warm ocean current also flows into the bay.
Therefore, many kinds of fish live in this bay.
So we can taste the various fresh fish in Toyama Prefecture.
On the coast of Uozu city located at the east side of the bay, it is known that mirages are sometimes seen in spring.
There is Toyama Plain around Toyama Bay.
Most of the cities in this prefecture are in this plain.
Toyama city is the prefectural capital, and is at nearly center of the plain.
This plain is richly cultivated with rice.
And there are also many manufacturing plants as the center of Hokuriku industrial zone.
Especially, medicine manufacture in Toyama has been well-known since the 15th century.
The south and east parts of the prefecture are mountainous.
Particularly, the eastern part has the mountains of Northern Alps about 2,400 to 3,000 meters high.
Kurobe River flows along the Northern Alps and forms very deep valley.
It is the most popular place in Toyama Prefecture for tourist.
Tourist Attractions in Toyama Prefecture
Transportation
Railway
- To Toyama from Tokyo : By Hokuriku Shinkansen, about 2 hours and 10 to 40 minutes.
- To Toyama from Osaka : By limited express of JR Kosei & Hokuriku Lines, to Kanazawa, about 2 hours and 45 minutes.
Then, by Hokuriku Shinkansen, about 18 to 23 minutes. - To Toyama from Nagoya : By limited express of JR Tokaido & Hokuriku Lines, to Kanazawa, about 3 hours.
Then, by Hokuriku Shinkansen, about 18 to 23 minutes.
Express bus
- To Toyama from Nagoya : About 3.5 hours
- To Toyama from Osaka : About 6 hours
- To Toyama from Tokyo : About 7 hours
Airport
Toyama Kitokito Airport is located about 8 km south of Toyama station.
It has the flights from Shin-Chitose (Sapporo) and Haneda (Tokyo).
Main events in Toyama Prefecture
Tonami Tulip Fair (Late April to early May)
Photo by Toyama Prefectural Tourism Association
It is a fair of tulip held in Tonami city located about 25 km west-southwest of Toyama city.
Toyama Prefecture produces half of the whole tulip bulbs in Japan, and Tonami city is the largest production center in the prefecture.
This fair shows about 3 million tulips in Tonami Tulip Park.
There are various areas that a lot of colorful tulips are decorated.
And there are hands-on spots where visitors can actually experience to make a craftwork of tulip.
Fushiki Hikiyama Festival (May 15)
Photo by photolibrary
It is the spring festival of Fushiki Shrine in Fushiki district in Takaoka city located at the northwest part of Toyama Prefecture.
In the afternoon, seven decorated floats parade through the town with the energetic calls.
In the evening, each float is decorated with more than 300 lanterns.
And bumping between two floats is performed.
It is the highlight of the festival, then the visitors are excited about the powerful bumping.
Owara Kaze-no-bon (September 1 - 3)
Photo by Toyama Prefectural Tourism Association
It is the famous festival held in Yatsuo town about 15 km south-southwest of Toyama city.
Many dancers in the town dance to the folk song "Etchu-Owara-bushi".
The song is relatively slowly and is like a elegy.
It is played with only Shamisen, Chinese fiddle and Japanese drum.
The dancers dance in silence and the dance is elegant and sophisticated.
So it is the manner of visitors to see the dance silently and not to use a flash to take a photo.
Yatsuo is a small and narrow town. But in this period, more than 250 thousand visitors come to see the dance here.
Local foods and products in Toyama Prefecture
Firefly Squid
Photo by Toyama Prefectural Tourism Association
It is a kind of squids, and the length of body is only about 5 to 6 centimeters.
It is called "hotaru-ika" in Japanese.
As the name suggests, it has many luminous organs on its surface of the body and they emit blue-green light in the dark.
It is living in the depths of the Sea of Japan, and many firefly squids come around the eastern coast of Toyama Bay to spawn in spring.
Firefly squids after spawning are caught only in Toyama Bay in Japan.
So, we can eat it around April.
Glass Shrimp
Photo by Toyama Prefectural Tourism Association
It is a shrimp living in the depths of 300 to 600 meters of the sea.
The length of body is 5 to 8 centimeters.
It is called "shiro-ebi" in Japanese.
Many glass shrimps are caught in Toyama Bay, but they live only around Japan.
A live glass shrimp is transparent with slight pink color, so it is called "jewel in Toyama Bay".
It is caught from April to November, and we can eat it in Toyama Prefecture.
Masu-no-sushi
Photo by Toyama Prefectural Tourism Association
It is a popular sushi in Toyama Prefecture.
Some bamboo leaves are laid in a round case made of thin wooden boards, and some salted fillets of trout are put on the leaves. ("Masu" means "trout".)
And after vinegared rice is filled on the fillets, the case is packed with a press of lid.
This sushi is sold in the case at main railroad stations, department stores, supermarkets, convenient stores in Toyama Prefectures.
It is well-known throughout the country, so we can get it in Tokyo.
Toyama Black ramen
Photo by Toyama Prefectural Tourism Association
It is a ramen noodle served in Toyama city.
Ramen is a popular Japanese noodle dish, but the soup of this ramen is very darker than the others.
So this is called "black ramen".
Because much shoyu (soy sauce) is mixed into the soup, the color becomes dark.
In addition, much black pepper is sprinkled on the ramen.
So it tastes more salty and spicy than the other ramen.
This ramen was created in 1955.
At that time, many manual laborers had been working for reconstructing Toyama city destroyed by the air laid in World War II.
Because they sweat a lot, several restaurants served the ramen containing much soy sauce for them to supply salt.
After that, some restaurants has served the ramen as the main menu.
