Dive Deep into Breathtaking Scenery and History! 4 Must-Visit Spots for Your Toyama Trip

Toyama Prefecture is a captivating tourist destination, offering a wide array of attractions from rich natural landscapes surrounded by sea and mountains to beautiful cityscapes where history and modern art intersect. For travelers planning a ‘Toyama trip’, we’ll introduce classic yet unmissable spots that become many times more enjoyable when you know their historical backgrounds.

Toyama Glass Art Museum

📍 Address: 5-1 Nishicho, Toyama City, Toyama Prefecture 930-0062, Japan

Located within ‘TOYAMA Kirari’, a multi-purpose complex in the heart of Toyama City, the ‘Toyama Glass Art Museum’ is a must-see spot for art lovers and general visitors alike. Toyama has a rich history of thriving as the ‘Medicine Capital of Toyama’, where the production of small glass bottles for medicines flourished. Leveraging this historical background, the museum was born as ‘Toyama, City of Glass’.

The building was designed by world-renowned architect, Kengo Kuma. Its exterior combines granite, glass, and aluminum to express the mountain ridges of the ‘Tateyama Mountain Range’. Inside, a warm, open atrium space unfolds, extensively featuring cedar planks (louvers) from Toyama Prefecture. Beautiful natural light streams in, creating a comforting atmosphere that simply walking through it will soothe your soul.

Must-See Highlights and How to Explore
The biggest highlight is the ‘Glass Art Garden’ on the 6th floor. The installation works by Dale Chihuly, a master of contemporary glass art (such as ‘Toyama Persian Ceiling’), will astonish you with their vibrant colors and dynamic forms, making you wonder, ‘Is this really glass!?’ Despite such richness, admission to the permanent exhibition is an incredibly low 200 yen (for general visitors and university students).
The museum also houses the Toyama Municipal Library and a cafe, allowing visitors to read a book or relax with a coffee between art viewings. Photography is permitted in many areas (note that some works may be prohibited from SNS posting, so pay attention to the signs), making it ideal for a leisurely visit with your camera.

Fugan Unga Kansui Park

📍 Address: 1 Minatoirifunecho, Toyama City, Toyama Prefecture 930-0805, Japan

About a 15-minute walk from Toyama Station’s North Exit, ‘Fugan Unga Kansui Park’ is an oasis of relaxation surrounded by abundant water and greenery, right in the city center.

This area was originally a boat pool for the Fugan Canal, constructed in the early Showa period by renovating the meandering Jinzu River and utilizing its abandoned riverbed. It was once used as a timber storage pond, and despite proposals to reclaim the land due to water pollution, it was dramatically revitalized as a waterfront park for citizens to enjoy.

Must-See Highlights and How to Explore
Within the park, you’ll find a Starbucks Coffee, lauded as ‘the world’s most beautiful’, which won the Store Design Award in 2008. Spending time on its glass-enclosed interior or terrace seats, gazing at the tranquil canal and its symbolic ‘Tenmon Bridge’, is an exceptional experience.
Another unmissable attraction is the sightseeing boat, the ‘Fugan Suijo Line’, which departs from here. On this cruise, you can experience a ‘water elevator’ system, similar to the Panama Canal, when passing through the ‘Nakajima Lock Gate’, a nationally designated important cultural property. The dynamic experience of ascending and descending a water level difference of approximately 2.5 meters while on the boat, combined with the captain’s lively historical commentary, is sure to captivate both adults and children.
The park’s elegant and beautiful illumination at dusk and night, as well as its winter light displays, make it perfect for an evening stroll, a pre-dinner date, or a photo walk.

Kurobe Dam

📍 Address: Ashikuraji, Tateyama Town, Nakaniikawa District, Toyama Prefecture 930-1406, Japan

One could say that Kurobe Dam, Japan’s tallest arch concrete dam boasting a height of 186m, is ‘a crystallization of grand nature and human power’ in Toyama tourism.

This was the ‘Kuroyon (Kurobe No. 4 Power Plant)’ construction project, planned to resolve the severe power shortage in the Kansai region during Japan’s post-war rapid economic growth. After a monumental struggle, depicted in the film ‘The Sun of Kurobe’, against extreme cold of minus 20 degrees Celsius and a ‘fracture zone’ spewing 500 liters of underground water and sediment per second, it was completed in 1963 with the precious sacrifice of 171 lives and the labor of 10 million workers. Visiting this enormous structure after learning its history of blood and sweat will multiply your awe and emotion many times over.

Must-See Highlights and How to Explore
What you absolutely want to aim for is the ‘Sightseeing Discharge’ held annually from late June to mid-October. The sight of over 10 tons of water per second being released as a roaring mist is so powerful you can feel the ground shake beneath your feet. On clear days, beautiful rainbows can also form.
While there are several viewing areas, we strongly recommend making the effort to climb the stairs to the uppermost ‘Dam Observation Deck’. The panoramic view of the emerald green Kurobe Lake and the Tateyama Mountain Range below is breathtakingly beautiful. If you get tired from walking, take a break at the rest house and savor the famous ‘Kurobe Dam Curry’. As this is a mountainous area where the weather can change easily, bringing an extra layer, even in summer, is a must.

Shogawa Gorge

📍 Address: Komaki, Shogawacho, Tonami City, Toyama Prefecture 932-0304, Japan

For travelers seeking natural tranquility and mystical landscapes in the southwestern part of Toyama Prefecture, we highly recommend ‘Shogawa Gorge’. The Shogawa River was once used for transporting timber from the Hida mountains, but with the construction of the Komaki Dam, known as ‘the best dam in the Orient’, in the early Showa period, a beautiful dam lake was born in the deep valley.

The ‘Shogawa Gorge Pleasure Boat’, departing from the Komaki Dam embankment, will transport you to a completely different world, cut off from the hustle and bustle of daily life.

Must-See Highlights and How to Explore
The highlight of the pleasure boat cruise is the journey to ‘Omaki Onsen’, a secluded inn renowned throughout Japan as ‘a hidden gem only accessible by boat’. Omaki Onsen was destined to be submerged at the bottom of the lake during the Komaki Dam’s construction but survived by relocating its hot spring inn to higher ground. The sight of this lone inn nestled in a steep gorge, often featured as a setting in suspense dramas, deeply stirs the wanderlust (in addition to the Omaki Onsen course, there are also shorter scenic cruises).
While each season presents its own splendid scenery, the ‘autumn foliage’ in mid-November, where the mountainsides appear to be ablaze, and the ‘ink-wash painting-like snowscape’ in winter, where pristine white snow intertwines with emerald green waters, are truly breathtaking. However, the number of pleasure boat services is limited throughout the day, so it’s essential to check the timetable in advance and plan your schedule with plenty of time to avoid missing your boat.

Conclusion: A Journey Through Toyama’s History and Nature

Toyama’s tourist spots offer more than just beautiful scenery; understanding the ‘history’ and ‘human stories’ behind their creation significantly enhances your travel experience. From glass art born from the history of medicine peddling, a canal park regenerated from an abandoned riverbed, a colossal dam built at the cost of lives, to a hidden hot spring that escaped its fate at the bottom of a dam lake.
Each offers a deeply memorable experience that can only be found in Toyama. For your next vacation, we encourage you to embark on a Toyama trip to immerse yourself in the drama of its grand nature and rich history.