Toyama

We had a two night stay in Toyama, giving us a full day off the bike to explore.  The city is quite picturesque, nestled at the top of the bay, surrounded by snow capped mountains.  There is more to see and do than we had time for in a single day with lots of day trip options left for next time.  It was a shame that we missed racing at the Keirin track by a single day.  I think going to a race at the track would be an experience.

Eat

We enjoyed a tasting paddle and some European style pub snacks at Kobo Brew Pub.  The beers were a great break from the ubiquitous Asahi/Kirin/Sapporo triumvirate and the fit out of this historic building is pretty amazing.  The prices took a little shine of the experience though.  My recollection is the beer prices were fine for good quality craft beer but the snacks were quite expensive for very modest serving sizes.

See and Do

The old port area is worth a quick wander through.  There's a number of restaurants, sake tasting to be had and the shopping street seems to still be keeping head above water.  

Nakjima Lock on the Fugan Canal was constructed nearly a hundred years ago and remains in working order.  I don't think it serves an important function in commercial transport any longer but is designated as an important cultural property.  We were able to watch the lock in operation as one of the tourist cruises came down the canal and through the lock while we were there. 

A little west of the station is a ridge where you can get good views of the city from Kureyahama Park.  At the base of the ridge there is a collection of small museums known collectively as the Toyama Municipal Folkcraft Muesum.  The two of interest to our party were the Takamuragyujin Memorial Museum and the Museum of Medicine Peddlers. 

Gyujin Takamura is an artist none of us had heard of previously.  The museum was built to house hundreds of his ink paintings donated to the city shortly after the artist's death in 1984 (Showa 57).   Our group enjoyed our visit with the monochromatic works the most striking in my view.

Apparently Toyama is still an important centre for pharmaceuticals production.  This builds on a long history.  As far back as 1690, Toyama had a network of door to door medicine sellers (baiyaku) who operated on a "use first, pay later" system called okigusuri.  On each delivery, the customer would pay for the medicine they had used and the baiyaku would restock used items.  The museum contains a small but interesting collection of tools used to manufacture medicines and the evolution of the bags the baiyaku would carry to make their deliveries.  On entry we received a paper blow up "balloon" which is a recreation of one of the traditional marketing materials used by the companies to promote their wares.

The Toyama Glass Art Museum is located on the top floor of the city library building.  This striking building is worth a visit in its own right as it's a world away from the practical and functional (read cheap) library buildings that are the norm in my part of the world.  The museum collection ranges from very subtle explorations of shade and depth to the wild extravagance of the Dale Chihuly pieces.