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A park that recreates Doraemon’s open lot
A park that recreates Doraemon’s open lot in Takaoka City, Toyama Prefecture Takaoka City in Toyama Prefecture is the hometown where Fujiko F Fujio was born and raised. Since there are many Fujiko F Fujio’s works exhibited at the Takaoka Art Museum and other locations in Takaoka City, it is called “Doraemon’s hometown” by fans and tourists. Mr. Fujiko F. Fujio and Mr. Fujiko Fujio Ⓐ were classmates in elementary school Fujiko FujioⒶ was born in the adjacent city Himi, but moved to Takaoka City after his father passed away when he was in the fifth grade (1944), and was a classmate of Fujiko F Fujio at Takaoka Jozuka Elementary […]
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Ninja Hattori-kun Road
Himi City, Toyama is full of characters created by Fujiko Fujio Ⓐ! How exiting! Nin Nin! Himi City, Toyama Prefecture is the hometown of Fujiko Fujio Ⓐ, known for works such as “Ninja Hattori-kun,” “Kaibutsu-kun,” “Pro Golfer Saru,” and “The Laughing Salesman.” Many works of Mr. Fujiko Fujio Ⓐ are on display around “Kozenji temple” where he was born and Himimachi shopping street (also known as “Manga Road” or “Ninja Hattori-kun Road”). The area where these works are exhibited is collectively called “Fujiko Fujio Ⓐ Manga World.” There is a bridge called “Niji no Hashi” (also known as “Ninja Hattori-kun Automation Clock“) that spans the Minato River, flows at the […]
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Gassho-zukuri houses in Gokayama
Gokayama may give you the impression of a peaceful and original Japanese landscape, but it was actually a military base where gunpowder was produced under the floors of Gassho-zukuri houses! “Gokayama” is a deep and rugged mountainous region located in the middle reaches of the Sho River, at the southwest tip of Toyama Prefecture (the border between Gifu Prefecture and Ishikawa Prefecture). Gokayama is a general term for 40 small villages and it is called Gokayama because it has 5 valleys (“go” means five and “yama” means mountain in Japanese). In Gokayama, there is a legend (end of the 12th century) that Heike refugees who were defeated by Yoshinaka Kiso […]
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“Throwing oneself of firefly squid” is a spring feature of Toyama Bay.
If you think that you can see firefly squid anytime you go there, you will be disappointed with the gap between your expectation and the reality. So, please do not hesitate to go “HOTARUIKA Museum (firefly squid museum)”. Every year from March to May, large numbers of firefly squid, glowing blue and white, are washed up in the surf by the waves along the coast of Toyama Bay from Toyama City to Uozu City, centering on Namerikawa City, Toyama Prefecture. This scene is known as the “Hotaruika no Gunyuukaimen – Firefly squid swarming sea surface,” and is designated as a special natural monument in Japan. Incidentally, firefly squid themselves have not […]
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Kurobe Dam
I’ll tell you the secret to seeing a rainbow for sure at the very famous sightseeing water discharge of the Kurobe Dam, which will make even people who are not interested in dams into dam lovers. Kurobe Dam is a dedicated hydroelectric dam built on the Kurobe River, which flows through the town of Tateyama in Toyama Prefecture. It is also called the Kuroyon Dam because it supplies water to the Kurobe River No.4(“yon” in Japanese) Power Plant of Kansai Electric Power Co., Inc. The sightseeing water discharge, which has become a tourist attraction at the Kurobe Dam, is held from late June to mid-October every year, from 6:30 am […]
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Kurobe Gorge
Let’s check the highlights before getting on Trokko in Kurobe Gorge! I will introduce 8 popular spots along the Kurobe Gorge Railway line. Kurobe gorge is the Hida Mountains (commonly known as North Alps) that across 4 prefectures of Toyama, Gifu, Nagano and Niigata. Among them, Kurobe gorge is the most precipitous large V-shaped valley in Japan which flow from the middle to the upper stream of Kurobe river to the east of Toyama prefecture, In Kurobe gorge, Torokko (the trolley train) is running. “Trokko” is a freight car that carries soils and stones from construction sites and English truck is its word origin. Kurobe Gorge Railway Trokko in Kurobe […]