Toyama & the Tateyama Alps, Go Deeper
A prefecture caught between 3,000-metre peaks and a deep, cold bay. From Toyama you can climb into the heart of the Northern Alps on a route of cable cars and buses, ride an open trolley through a gorge, and stand on a coast where the mountains seem to float over the sea. Down at the water, the bay gives some of Japan's most delicate seafood.
- Tap Open in Google Maps on any place for live directions, transit, hours & reviews.
- Get an ICOCA / Suica IC card — tap on/off trains, subways & buses, no ticket needed.
- Carry some cash (¥) — many small shops, shrines & old streets are cash-only.
- Go early: the famous spots are calm and beautiful before ~9am.
Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route
A 37-kilometre mountain crossing of the Northern Alps, linked by cable car, ropeway and bus, climbing to the Murodo plateau at about 2,450 metres. In spring the road is cut through a corridor of snow walls up to 20 metres high — the famous 'Yuki-no-Otani'.
Kurobe Dam
Japan's tallest dam at 186 metres, built into the deep Kurobe gorge in a legendary feat of postwar engineering. From late June its tourist water discharge thunders out at over ten tonnes a second, throwing up rainbows against the peaks.
Kurobe Gorge Railway
A tiny open-sided trolley train that rattles from Unazuki Onsen deep into one of Japan's steepest gorges, over red bridges and past hot springs. Fresh green in summer, blazing in autumn, with the wind and the river in your face.
Gokayama
Two remote mountain hamlets, Ainokura and Suganuma, of steep-thatched 'gassho-zukuri' farmhouses, inscribed as UNESCO World Heritage alongside Shirakawa-go. Quieter and smaller than its neighbour, it keeps the feel of a working village.
Zuiryu-ji
A magnificent Zen temple at Takaoka, built for the second Kaga lord Maeda Toshinaga; its Buddha hall, Dharma hall and gate are National Treasures. The severe, symmetrical layout is among the finest surviving early-Edo Zen architecture.
Amaharashi Coast
A stretch of coast where, on clear winter mornings, the snow-capped Tateyama range appears to float above Toyama Bay beyond a lone pine-topped rock. A view so prized it was praised by the ancient poet Otomo no Yakamochi.
Fugan Canal Kansui Park
A canal-side park in the city, laid out around the old Fugan waterway, with a graceful footbridge and a café often called one of the most beautiful of its chain. Lovely by day and lit up at dusk over the water.
Toyama Castle
A castle in a central park, once held by the Maeda branch that ruled Toyama. The keep is a modern rebuild housing a local museum, but its moat and stone walls make a green heart to the city.
Shiroebi & Bay Sushi
Toyama Bay is so deep and cold it yields delicacies found almost nowhere else: translucent 'shiroebi' white shrimp, the 'jewel of the bay', glowing firefly squid in spring, and winter yellowtail — all at their best as local sushi.
Crafts of this region
Authentic pieces made near here — learn the story, then bring one home.
Kutani Ware
九谷焼 · Kaga, Ishikawa
Kaga Yūzen
加賀友禅 · Kanazawa, Ishikawa
Wajima Lacquer
輪島塗 · Wajima, Ishikawa
Tsubame-Sanjō Metalwork
燕三条 · Tsubame-Sanjō, Niigata
Echizen Washi
越前和紙 · Echizen, Fukui
Takaoka Copperware
高岡銅器 · Takaoka, Toyama
Yamanaka Lacquer
山中漆器 · Kaga, Ishikawa
Echizen Ware
越前焼 · Echizen, Fukui
Plan this trip
Curated experiences (tea ceremonies, guided walks) and places to stay for this route.
Coming soon