City guide · 富山 Toyama
Toyama
A Hokuriku castle town beneath the Tateyama range: glass art, black ramen, and Toyama Bay seafood
Toyama lies between Toyama Bay and the Tateyama mountain range, a city "between mountain and sea." Glass art, black ramen, and Toyama Bay seafood are its calling cards, and it is also the gateway to the Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route. Other places worth a visit in the city: Toyama Castle Park, where the mock keep now houses a local history museum and spring cherry blossoms are reflected in the moat; the Toyama Glass Art Museum, designed by Kengo Kuma, with a bright wooden atrium and glass installations by Dale Chihuly; Fugan Canal Kansui Park, a waterside park along the canal where the lights are reflected on the water at night; and the Toyama Prefectural Museum of Art and Design, beside Kansui Park, whose rooftop looks out over the city and the distant mountains.
History
How the city came to be
Toyama is the castle town of the Toyama Domain: Toyama Castle was first built in 1543, and in 1661 Maeda Toshitsugu received the shogunate's permission to rebuild it; the Toyama Domain ruled from here until the Meiji Restoration. The city was established in 1889, was almost entirely destroyed in an air raid in August 1945 and was rebuilt after the war; a mock castle keep was built in 1954, and the Hokuriku Shinkansen reached Toyama Station in 2015.
- 1543Toyama Castle is first built
- 1661Maeda Toshitsugu receives the shogunate's permission to rebuild Toyama Castle; the Toyama Domain rules from here until the Meiji Restoration
- 1889The city is established
- 1945The city is almost entirely destroyed in an air raid and rebuilt after the war
- 1954A mock castle keep is built; it now houses a local history museum
- 2015The Hokuriku Shinkansen reaches Toyama Station, and the Toyama Glass Art Museum opens the same year
Before you go
Rules to know in Toyama
There is no tipping in Japan
Do
- Say thank you with 'arigatō gozaimashita'
Don’t
- Pressing loose change on staff
Japan is a no-tipping country and bills usually include service; if you press a tip on staff, some will politely refuse.
Verified Oct 19, 2026Source: JNTO: Japanese table manners
Take off your shoes when you see a genkan (entrance step)
Do
- Take off your shoes at the entrance of homes, some restaurants, temples and hot-spring facilities
- If unsure, look for a shoe rack or slippers at the entrance
Don’t
- Stepping onto tatami or indoor wooden floors in shoes
It is seen as very rude.
Verified Oct 19, 2026Source: JNTO: Japanese etiquette
No phone calls on trains and the shinkansen; queue to board
Do
- Put your phone on silent; on the shinkansen, take calls in the area between carriages
- Queue at the marked spots on either side of the train door, and let people off before you get on
- Give priority seats to older people, pregnant women and passengers with limited mobility
Don’t
- Talking on the phone or playing sound aloud in the train
Not illegal, but you will get looks and a reminder from the conductor.
Verified Oct 19, 2026Source: JNTO: Japanese etiquette
Trips beyond the city
These places can be explored from this city but lie outside it. See each place for transport and visiting guidance.
Gokayama Gassho-zukuri Villages, Toyama
Gokayama, Nanto City, Toyama Prefecture, in the upper Shogawa River valley; the World Heritage hamlets are Ainokura and Suganuma, with no railwa…
Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route
From Tateyama Town, Toyama Prefecture, to Omachi City, Nagano Prefecture, across the Northern Alps; the Toyama-side start is Tateyama Station (a…