Toyama Prefecture has been recognized by The New York Times and Afar, earning a spot on the former’s list of “52 Places to Go in 2025” and the latter’s “Where to Go in 2025.”
Bordered on one side by the Japanese Alps, Toyama is part of Japan’s ‘Snow Country’, complete with spectacular forests and charming thatched-roof houses. Its World Heritage alpine villages of Suganuma and Ainokura are nestled between sweeping mountain ranges, bubbling hot springs, and yawning gorges, evoking a sense of anachronistic wonder. The Kurobe Dam stands out as Japan’s tallest, while the Tateyama Mountains hide an equally impressive natural wonder: a volcanic crater lake. Access to the Sea of Japan makes the region known for its fresh seafood (including the signature firefly squid) and master artisans, who still produce glassware, bronzeware, and wood carvings in traditional Japanese fashion.
As noted by Afar, Toyama has become a culinary hotspot in Japan, drawing international chefs with its offering of quality seafood ingredients like squid, perch, and baigai (a local mollusk.) In Toyama’s storied Iwase district, centuries-old warehouses now host sake and beer breweries that carefully guard a distilling legacy that dates back generations.
The New York Times elevated some of Toyama’s cultural offerings into the spotlight, encouraging visitors to add the Glass Art Museum - from world-renowned architect Kengo Kuma - to their itinerary. September sees the Owara Kaze no Bon festival light up Yatsuo, literally with lanterns and figuratively with traditional dance. Toyama Castle Park packs a reconstructed feudal keep, an art museum, and a serene Japanese garden into central Toyama, offering an ideal day trip excursion and a perfect place to stop for a restful lunch.
Toyama is accessible via Japan’s bullet train system (shinkansen) from Kanazawa, Nagano, Tokyo, and other stations of the Hokuriku line. Buses are also available, connecting Toyama with Matsumoto city and other popular transport hubs. From the most common access point of Tokyo, the bullet train to Toyama takes two and a half hours.
