A Day in Toyama: River Cruise, Great Views, and Medicine History

You may visit Toyama on your way to the Tateyama-Kurobe Alpine Route or for the excellent sushi this city is famous for, thanks to its access to the Sea of Japan.

With its rich history, culture, and art facilities, Toyama is a city that will remain ingrained in your memory and close to your heart. In this article, we introduce a one-day itinerary featuring must-visit places in Toyama.

One-Day Itinerary in Toyama City

10:00-11:15 Matsukawa Chaya: River Cruise and Japanese Sweets

↓ walk 5 minutes

11:20-12:15 Toyama City History Museum: Toyama Castle

↓ walk 15 minutes

12:30-14:00 Lunch at Ikedaya Yasubei Shoten

↓ walk 3 minutes

14:00-14:20 Shimakawa Ame: Candy Souvenirs

↓ walk 5 minutes

14:30-14:50 Tsuki Sekai Confectionery

↓ walk 2 minutes

15:00-16:30 TOYAMA Kirari: Toyama Glass Art Museum

↓ walk 4 minutes

16:45-17:15 Local Souvenir Shopping at Jibamonya Main Store

↓ walk 10 minutes

17:45-18:15 Toyama City Hall Observation Tower
Recommended Hotel in Toyama City

10:00-10:20 Enjoy the Toyama Castle Matcha Parfait at Matsukawa Chaya

Start your day in Toyama with a river cruise offered by Matsukawa Chaya, a cafe located by the Matsukawa River in Toyama Castle Ruin Park.

However, before boarding the boat, how about tasting the exquisite Toyama Castle Matcha Parfait (650 yen) offered by Matsukawa Chaya?

Inspired by Toyama Castle, this photogenic dessert is a refreshing treat made with pieces of mochi (glutinous rice cakes), sweet bean paste, and matcha powder.

Matsukawa Chaya is also home to the Taki Rentaro Memorial Museum, a room dedicated to composer Taki Rentaro (1879-1903), who lived in Toyama for two years. He is remembered for "Kojo no Tsuki" (Moon Over the Ruined Castle), a music piece that may have been inspired by his childhood memories of seeing Toyama Castle.

While exploring the exhibits, you can listen to some of Taki Rentaro's compositions. Visiting this room offers a chance to discover a lesser-known side of Toyama through the music and stories of a remarkable life.

Matsukawa Chaya
Location: 1-34 Honmaru, Toyama, 930-0081 Map
Business hours: 10:00 - 17:00
Website: https://matsukawa-cruise.jp/en/
*The Matsukawa River Cruise is out of service until spring 2025 due to embankment renovations.

10:20-10:45 Japanese Sweets Workshop at Matsukawa Chaya

While enjoying the Matsukawa River Cruise, you can also savor wagashi confections made by yourself along with matcha tea!

If you apply for a wagashi-making experience kit in advance, you can make the sweets in about 15 minutes while you wait to board the cruise boat.

Toyama boasts a thriving tea ceremony culture, in which traditional confectionery (wagashi) plays an essential role. Among the many wagashi manufacturers in the city, Matsukawa Chaya has partnered with Heiando to provide Japanese Sweets Making DIY kits.

These kits contain the basic ingredients and utensils needed to create one beautiful piece of Japanese confectionery, along with instructions and a link to a video demonstrating how to make it.

You can shape your own seasonal confection, which you can take aboard the cruise along with a bowl of matcha green tea. (Wagashi kit with matcha: 1,200 yen; wagashi kit only: 730 yen)

For details about the wagashi-making experience kit and reservations, please refer to the official page of the Japanese sweets workshop at Matsukawa Chaya.

10:45-11:15 Matsukawa River Cruise

The Matsukawa River Cruise is a wonderful way to learn more about Toyama's history and culture. The cruise lasts about 30 minutes and takes you along two kilometers of the Matsukawa River, which is known as one of Japan's top 100 cherry blossom spots, with 530 cherry trees lining the riverbanks.

In spring, the river transforms into a tunnel of cherry blossoms. In summer, the refreshing shade of the emerald green foliage provides a cool escape. In autumn, the stunning array of red, orange, and yellow hues invites you to reflect on the changing of the seasons.

The cruise master shares the story of Toyama and how it rose from the ashes of WWII to become a flourishing city once again. You’ll glide under beautiful bridges, some of which are adorned with exquisite glass art, for which Toyama is now famous.

The sounds of water and the gentle breeze, the fish swimming in the river, and the blue herons and kingfishers you might encounter along the way—the Matsukawa River Cruise awakens your senses, helping you appreciate the beauty that lies right before your eyes.

For details on the Matsukawa River Cruise and the latest information, please check the official website.

11:15-12:00 Toyama City History Museum: Toyama Castle

Housed within the reconstructed Toyama Castle, the Toyama City History Museum is an excellent place to learn more about the region's history, from the founding of the province that became Toyama to the civil wars of the 16th century and the peaceful Edo period (1603-1868).

The rooms feature maps and historical artifacts, including armor and weapons that were used during the 16th century when Toyama Castle was built.

You can also visit the observation deck in the tower to enjoy panoramic views of the city.

Toyama Castle Ruin Park also features a serene Japanese garden, complete with a pond, waterfall, and trees and flowers that are characteristic of this garden style.

The park has many highlights and scenic spots that you'll want to capture in photos, so be sure to take the time to explore it at your leisure.

Toyama City History Museum
Location: Toyama City, Honmaru 1-62 Map
Website: https://www.city.toyama.toyama.jp/etc/muse/index.html (Japanese)

12:30-14:00 Lunch at Ikedaya Yasubei Shoten, Toyama's Famous Medicine Maker

One of the industries that flourished during the Edo period in Toyama was medicine making. The city became especially renowned for Hangontan, a plant-based medicine highly acclaimed for its effectiveness.

Ikedaya Yasubei Shoten is a local medicine shop that continues to produce traditional remedies in Toyama, including Hangontan, which is now available as a treatment for stomach aches.

The interior of the shop preserves beautiful Japanese architectural features. There is a wide range of herbal medicines available, so be sure to ask the staff for advice if you're looking for something specific.

In one corner, you’ll find a wooden machine that was once used to make the small, round pieces of Hangontan. You can even try your hand at making them and experience a slice of Japanese medicine history!

We recommend Yakuto, a healthy cuisine restaurant located on the second floor of the building, for lunch. This restaurant is renowned for its high-quality Yakuzen cuisine—well-balanced dishes that incorporate medicinal herbs with healing properties.

The Yakuzen Lunch set is not only incredibly delicious and beautifully presented, but it is also healthy, featuring flavorful unpolished rice and side dishes made from steamed vegetables. This exquisite, artfully arranged meal provides the perfect balance of proteins, minerals, vitamins, and carbohydrates to energize you for the rest of the day.

Ikedaya Yasubei Shoten
Location: Toyama City, Tsutsumichodori 10-3-5 Map
Hours: 9:00 - 18:00; the restaurant Yakuto 11:30 - 14:00
Website: http://www.hangontan.co.jp/ (Japanese)

14:00-14:20 Shimakawa Ame: Candy Souvenirs

Just a 3-minute walk from Ikedaya Yasubei Shoten is Shimakawa Ame, a traditional candy shop that has been in business since 1663.

Shimakawa Ame specializes in candy made from additive-free malt syrup using traditional methods. Sugar is not used in this candy, so the sweetness and flavor come solely from the natural ingredients.

Their shelves are full of colorful packages featuring various types of candy and liquid malt syrup. The candy offers a gentle, invigorating sweetness and makes a lovely souvenir from Toyama, where the traditional methods of making this candy by hand have been lovingly preserved for centuries.

Shimakawa Ame
Location: Toyama City, Furukajimachi 6-7 Map
Business hours: 10:00 - 18:00
Website: https://shimakawanoame.jp/

14:30-14:50 Tsuki Sekai Confectionery

Tsuki Sekai Main Store is a renowned confectionery shop in Toyama, famous for its delicate Tsuki Sekai confections inspired by legends related to the Moon. Made with eggs, high-quality wasanbon sugar, white sugar, and agar, these confections melt in your mouth.

A box of Tsuki Sekai confections would delight any friend or acquaintance with an interest in refined Japanese cuisine! The store also offers several other types of confections and their seasonal variations, making it the perfect place to pick up a gift that represents Toyama.

Tsuki Sekai Main Store
Location: Toyama, Kamihonmachi 8-6 Map
Business hours: 9:00 - 18:00
Website: http://www.tukisekai.co.jp/

15:00-16:30 TOYAMA Kirari: Toyama Glass Art Museum

TOYAMA Kirari, one of the city's iconic buildings, was designed by architect Kengo Kuma and houses the Toyama City Library and the Toyama Glass Art Museum.

Toyama is known for its arts and crafts that use glass as a primary material. Glass crafts developed here alongside the medicine industry, which required various small containers and utensils made of glass for the storage and production of medicine.

In addition to its permanent displays, the Toyama Glass Art Museum also hosts domestic and international exhibitions of glass art. When we visited, the Toyama International Glass Art Exhibition was taking place, featuring hundreds of intricate glass artworks on display.

The Museum Shop on the second floor features exquisite interior items, accessories, and everyday objects made of glass. Many of these pieces are locally crafted and make ideal mementos from your trip to the city of glass art and rivers.

Toyama Glass Art Museum
Location: Toyama City, Nishicho 5-1 Map
Hours: 9:30 - 18:00
Website: https://toyama-glass-art-museum.jp/en/

16:30-17:00 Local Souvenir Shopping at Jibamonya Main Store

A great place to find local produce is Jibamonya Main Store, a market located in the shotengai shopping street in the city center. This shop specializes in agricultural and forestry products sold directly by producers from all around Toyama Prefecture.

From fresh vegetables and fruits to baked goods, sweets, jams, seafood, dairy products, ice cream, beverages, and desserts, the range of offerings is boundless! Loved by Toyama residents and visitors alike, Jibamonya is the perfect place to experience all the products and flavors that Toyama is renowned for.

Jibamonya Main Store
Location: Toyama City, Sogawa 3 Chome-3-2-11 Map
Hours: 10:00 - 18:30
Website: https://www.siminplaza.co.jp/jibamonya/

17:30-18:00 Toyama City Hall Observation Tower

At the end of your explorations in Toyama, we recommend stopping by the Toyama City Hall Observation Tower, a facility with free admission. This observation deck offers panoramic views over Toyama City and its surroundings.

On clear days, you can spot the Tateyama mountain range to the southeast and Toyama Bay to the north. The breathtaking views from this tower will leave you with a lasting impression of Toyama as a serene city where local culture flourished, cradled by the rich natural environment of the region.

Toyama City Hall Observation Tower
Location: Toyama City, Shinsakuramachi 7-38 Map
Hours: 9:00 - 21:00
Website: https://www.city.toyama.lg.jp/shisei/profile/1010702/1013545/index.html

Recommended Hotel: Hotel JAL City Toyama

Picture courtesy of Booking.com
For your stay in Toyama, we recommend Hotel JAL City Toyama, a family-friendly 4-star accommodation located near JR Toyama Station.

The rooms are spacious, stylish, and comfortable, ensuring a pleasant overnight stay.

Picture courtesy of Booking.com

Breakfast is served in the elegant restaurant on the first floor, where dishes are prepared using local ingredients with great care for quality and flavor.

Hotel JAL City Toyama is an excellent hub for your explorations of Toyama, with the city hall and Matsukawa Chaya located just a 10-minute walk away.

Hotel JAL City Toyama
Location: Toyama City, Takaramachi 1 Chome-4-1 Map
Website: https://www.toyama.hoteljalcity.com/

Enjoy Exploring Toyama

Toyama can be easily reached from Tokyo via the Hokuriku Shinkansen, with the journey taking about two hours from Ueno Station.

The exquisite Toyama Glass Art Museum, which is a work of art in itself, along with the city's remarkable history, makes Toyama a must-visit destination for travelers seeking deeper insights into Japanese culture.

Main image by Pixta