Located a 10-minute walk from Toyama Station, “Fugan Canal Kansui Park” is a waterfront park with a wide expanse of waterfront and grassy lawn. The 9.8-hectare park includes restaurants, cafes, an observatory, and an art museum, making it Toyama’s great place for dates.
The Starbucks Coffee Toyama Kansui Park Store, also located in the park, was designed as a symbolic location for each region of Japan, and has gained popularity as a “Starbucks Regional Landmark Store” that showcases local culture to the world.
The Tenmon Bridge, which spans the gently flowing Fugan Canal, is the symbol of Kansui Park. There are observation towers equipped with elevators at both ends, and the observation towers are connected to each other by a 58-m-long red string telephone (suspended from December to March), which allows visitors to talk to each other from both sides using cups.
The illuminated Tenmon Bridge at night is also wonderful, and is an oasis of calm throughout the day.
The park is also home to the Toyama Prefectural Museum of Art and Design, which is a fun place for families to visit.
The Toyama Prefectural Museum of Art and Design opened in 2017 as the predecessor of the Museum of Modern Art, Toyama. It is an art museum that connects art and design, designed by Hiroshi NAITO, who also designed the “New Shibuya Station Building on the Tokyo Metro Ginza Line” and the “Toraya Akasaka Store” in recent years.
Visitors can view works by Japanese and world masters of the 20th century such as Picasso, Pollock, and Shiko Munakata, as well as posters, chairs, and other design works, and there are also occasional special exhibitions of a wide range of genres from Western paintings to original drawings for animation and picture books.
The east-facing side of the museum is entirely made of glass, offering a beautiful view of the Kansui Park.
The rooftop garden “Onomatopoeia Rooftop” where children can play freely is my favorite spot. The spacious grassy area is equipped with original playground equipment designed by graphic designer Taku Satoh.
As the name “Onomatopoeia Rooftop” suggests, the playground equipment has a motif of onomatopoeia and mimetic words, and its colon-like form is very cute.
I went at dusk, and it was very pleasant to play as much as I could in the beautiful sunset with a view of the Tateyama mountain range.
The Onomatopoeia Rooftop is free to use. The playground equipment can be used until sunset, but the rooftop itself is open until 10 p.m. and can also be used on days when the museum is closed (closed from December to March), so be sure to stop by if you are in the neighborhood.
Toyama Prefectural Museum of Art and Design
| Address | 3-20 Kibamachi, Toyama |
| TEL | +81-76-431-2711 |
| Open Hour | 【Museum】 9:30-18:00 (Admission until 17:30) 【Onomatopoeia Rooftop】 8:00-22:00 (Admission until 21:30) *Roof garden play equipment is available from 9:00 to sunset. |
| Close | 【Museum】 Wednesdays (Except national holidays) When Wednesday is a national holiday, closed on the following weekday. New Year’s holidays * Please note that the Museum may be closed for maintenance or an exhibition change out. * Opening hours and days of the Museum may be changed depending on seasons or events. 【Onomatopoeia Rooftop】 December 1 – March 15 |
| Admission Fee | 【Collection Exhibition】 Adults ¥300 【Special Exhibition】 Exhibition admission fees vary depending on the exhibition. *Tickets for the special exhibitions also include admission to the collection exhibition. |
| Website | https://tad-toyama.jp/en/ |
