Toyama Castle - Toyama

Posted on May 13, 2007 by Adam R.

Five minutes drive to our local train station and my wife and I off to see her old school mate named Baku who is living in Toyama City, about forty minutes away by local train. We are going for “HanamiJapanese tradition of celebrating sakuraRefers to both ornamental cherry trees and their blossoms. - cherry blossom trees - every April. People get together and drink sake while watching the sakura leaves and the newly arriving spring.” drinking Sake under the Cherry Blossoms, which is a not to miss event throughout Japan. We are going at night as it supposed to be especially scenic and there are less people.

We meet up with Baku and agree to go for dinner at a local “IzakayaJapanese drinking pub - popular after work spot for Japanese salary-men.” Japanese style pub, which is a very casual place to eat and drink. I am about to have my first experience with overly drunk salary man, we enter under the Izakaya’s “Noren” shop curtain and the noise hits us. Packed into this tiny place is about thirty very drunk salarymen and on seeing me a chorus of “karewa oki ne” He is big, rings in my ears. After a few drinks are dishes are arriving and within twenty minutes we are done and off the Toyama Castle Park.

On arriving Toyama Castle is lit up by floodlights and cuts a striking figure in the dark night, unfortunately the castle itself is closed which is disappointing but we are there to drink under the Sakura flowers so make our way across the bridge over the castle moat and into the castles gardens. To my surprise the entire park’s gardens are also lit up and each sakura tree seems to have it’s own upward facing spotlight. This garden is out of a dream and the bright pink trees look like frozen “hanabi” fireworks in the dark night.

Baku has a blanket and a bottle of sake stashed in her bag and soon we are set up under a tree of our own, only to be called over to join another group. Very friendly people in the countryside I have found compared to the City and soon everyone is sharing food, drink and laughs. I wish this night could last forever but hours have passed and we have to catch the last train back to Tonami. Toyama Castle seems very small compared to other Japanese Castles.

The deafening sound of a large colony of resident crows at Toyama Castle was the only drawback to memorable evening. Hanami anywhere is great but in the shadow of a Japanese Castle makes it all the better.