Seafood, Kurobe Gorge & More: 10 Things to Do in Toyama

You might be familiar with Toyama as a paradise for outdoor adventurists and photographers: the Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route is a popular sightseeing course during the fall season when the mountain range comes alive in shades of red, orange and yellow. 

But there’s more to Toyama than just beautiful scenery and hikes. This Hokuriku destination has delicious regional food, ample Buddhist temples to visit and opportunities to immerse yourself in the local arts. 

To find out what you can get up to while in Toyama, keep reading…

Get a glimpse of the daily lives of monks on this tour of Zuiryuji Temple in Takaoka. 

The head priest will guide you through the grounds, telling you all about the history of this national treasure and giving you insight into what it’s like to be a monk. 

Finish off the excursion with delicately crafted matcha and wagashi sweets, experiencing a private tea ceremony in the quiet garden. 

For a hands-on experience with a souvenir you can take home, consider this Toyama crafts and whiskey distillery tour. 

The tour begins with a walk through Nosaku, one of the finest copperware makers in Toyama. There, you’ll try your hand at making your own guinomi sake glass to take home with you. 

Via taxi (participants are responsible for this transportation), you’ll continue on to Saburomaru Whisky Distillery, Hokuriku’s only whisky distillery. Enjoy a tasting of the local whisky before finishing off the evening with seasonal cuisine at Kamado Flamme Tanzaburo.

Fun fact: Guinomi comes from the sound of gui, referring to the sound of drinking or “gulping,” and nomi, “to drink.”

Those passionate about art and traditional craftsmanship will love this historic tour of Takaoka. Start off the visit at Shimatani Shoryu Studio, the only copperware studio that still makes Buddhist rin bells. There, you’ll make your own suzugami vessel out of tin. 

Next, you’ll join a tour of Zuiryuji Temple by the head priest. This site is considered a national treasure and one of the main Buddhist landmarks in Hokuriku. 

Finally, you’ll end the day with a traditional tea ceremony at the temple, being served matcha and sweets using the suzugami vessel you created during the copperware workshop.

Experience temples like never before on this tour of Shokoji Temple, complete with a special edition lunch box of shojin ryori, the vegetarian cuisine of Buddhists in Japan. 

Access sites that are typically closed off to parishioners, including the Golden Room and Kyodo Sutra Hall. As you walk the grounds, your guide will bring you up to speed on the temple’s entire 600-year-old history. 

After concluding your tour of Shokoji, you’ll sit down to enjoy a bento made by local farmers and chefs. 

Note: Please be mindful that this is a religious environment, so it’s best to wear more modest clothing and closed-toe shoes with socks.

Experience Toyama’s food culture on this private food tour of Toyama City. You’ll visit a seafood restaurant — making the most of Toyama Bay’s fresh seafood — a robatayaki fireside joint and a local bar to cap off the night with original cocktails inspired by the region.

The best part of this experience? The personal connections you’ll establish with the locals as you try their spectacular cuisine. 

Find out more: So Fresh, So Clean: Top 9 Destinations For the Best Seafood & Sushi in Japan

From bountiful mountains and plains to the Sea of Japan, Gomangoku’s menu is filled with the finest, freshest ingredients of the region, including barracuda, crab, shrimp and sushi.

The “King of Toyama Bay,” however, is the buri (yellowtail), best served during the winter months in a milky shabu-shabu broth made from kelp stock and soy milk. Another local must-try dish is himi udon — Toyama-style noodles with a chewier bite and thinner cut. 

And it doesn’t stop there, either… As Toyama is so revered for its seafood, you can also get a taste for dishes like steamed tilefish, crab and salt-grilled sweetfish, served alongside a selection of unique course menus worth exploring. 

From 10 years at Park Hyatt Tokyo Kozue to the Consulate General of Japan in Milan, the Embassy of Japan in Bolivia and its equivalent in the United Kingdom, Head Chef Yuki Yamaoka’s experience is as well-traveled as his expert palate. 

Across lunch and dinner course menus, Yamaoka takes the region’s unique flavors and transforms them into innovative dishes you won’t find anywhere else.

With fresh seafood and vegetables immediately available in Toyama, it’s no wonder the chefs in the region take their cuisine seriously. For more ideas on the best restaurants to suit your budget and palete in our guide to the best restaurants in Toyama.

This stunning piece of architecture is likely to catch your eye when you first arrive in Toyama City. Made to resemble the icicles of Tateyama in the winter, the outside is constructed of glass, aluminum, and rock, three materials that are abundant in Toyama. 

For just ¥200 for an admission ticket, you can access a number of permanent exhibitions like the Glass Art Garden by Dale Chihuly and other temporary exhibitions, both of which you can learn more about on the museum’s website.

If you’re planning to visit Toyama during the spring, there’s no better place to view the cherry blossoms than Toyama Castle Park. 

After perusing the reconstructed main keep with displays educating you on the castle’s history, enjoy a picnic or a boat cruise along the beautiful Matsukawa River. 

Did you know that Toyama is a major player in the Japanese pharmaceutical industry?

If you come to the Toyama Folkcraft Village, you can learn all about Toyama’s long history of medicine making. There’s also an art gallery focused on the local tradition of black ink wash, Toyama clay dolls, pottery and a Japanese tea ceremony house.

In the opposite direction of the Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route lies the Kurobe Gorge, one of the deepest gorges in Japan and accessible via the Kurobe Gorge Railway. 

Some of the most iconic spots along this hour-and-a-half-long journey are the Unazuki Dam, the Shin-Yanagawara Power Plant, which resembles a European castle, and the bright red Shin-Yamabiko Bridge. 

There are a number of hot springs along the way, so consider staying in one of them before or after your journey to fully soak in the gorgeous scenery. 

Note: Please be advised that part of the railway was damaged in the January 1 Noto Peninsula earthquake, so presently, passengers will only be taken as far as Nekomata Station.

Looking for more ideas for your northern Japan itinerary? Check out these blog posts on the best restaurants in Toyama, a 3-day itinerary for Kanazawa and an epic road trip of western Japan. 

Fresh seafood from Toyama Bay, the famous sights of the World Heritage Gokayama Villages and the awe-inspiring Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route in the distance, watching over it all.

Yes! From this article alone, you have 10 reasons to visit Toyama soon, from luxurious seafood and historic temples to unforgettable train journeys across the Kurobe Gorge.

Toyama Bay borders Toyama and Ishikawa prefectures and is most beloved for being a spawning ground of hotari, Japan's regal firefly squid. It is also one of Japan's three largest bays.