The prefectural capital, Toyama City, is located almost at the center of Toyama Prefecture.
The prefectural capital, Toyama City, is located
almost at the center of Toyama Prefecture. The
city developed as a 100,000-koku castle town
(koku: unit of measurement to assess the wealth),
and now has been flourished as a city on the
Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route and the gateway to
the Kurobe Valley. Over the years, the city has
also become known nationwide as a town of
medicine. Toyama City's rich nature, with water
and greenery, is another asset that the city can
boast. The city faces the magnificent Tateyama
Mountain Range in the east and Toyama Bay, which
is called the treasury of seafood, in the north.
The green Toyama-joshi-koen Park is
situated in the remains of Toyama Castle, and has
been loved by people as a place to relax. The
Matsu-kawa River, which flows around the park, is
well-known as a spot for viewing cherry blossoms
and can be enjoyed from a cruise boat. Along the
river, works by local sculptors are exhibited. The
Minzoku Mingei-mura Village (folk art village)
places Gohyakurakan, or more than 500 luohans
facing Mt. Tate-yama, and is composed of a
medicine museum and a folklore museum that exhibit
excavated artifacts, agricultural tools, and folk
art to show you how people used to live in those
days.
In April 2006, Toyama Light
Rail, Japan's first full-scale LRT (Light Rail
Transit) began operating. Since then, the light
rail system has played a significant role in
forming a public transportation network and
revitalizing the central area of the city, while
receiving nationwide attention.
Takaoka City, located west of Toyama City, is
the birthplace of Ecchu culture. Otomo Yakamochi,
the famous poet known for "Manyo-shu" (the oldest
existing collection of Japanese poetry), used to
live here and wrote a number of excellent poems in
this city.
Since the city was built
more than 400 years ago, it has left a number of
cultural assets such as Zuiryu-ji Temple (a
national treasure) and maintained a traditional
atmosphere. The scenery of the 3,000-meter-high
Tateyama Mountain Range, which you can see over
the ocean from Amaharashi Beach, is regarded as
one of the most beautiful in the world. Takaoka is
also a city of commerce and industry, with 170,000
inhabitants and an international trading port. The
city has many industries, such as aluminum,
copperware, paper/pulp, and medicine, whose volume
is the highest among the cities located on the Sea
of Japan side.
