Hokuriku: Day 1

"Welcome" posters at Toyama Station, featuring some of the local specialties or popular sightseeing spots.

My day started at 6am, which is when the overnight bus dropped me outside of Toyama Station.  Nothing--not even Starbucks--was open yet, so I spent a minute admiring their version of safety cones (see below) and then got on a train headed for the coast.

Toyama: home of the cutest safety cones you will ever see.
These were part of a construction area.  The scarves are real, by the way...

At 8:30 my train arrived at Amaharashi, overlooking Toyama Bay.  The name, I learned, translates as "rain or shine".  It's named after a local monument: a sort of stone shelter built on the beach more than a century ago which shields occupants from rain or intense sun.

It was raining, which made me feel right at home.  For Oregonians, a rainy day at the beach is pretty much an ordinary day at the beach.  Amaharashi also takes things a couple of steps further in its resemblance of Oregon beaches, with its pine trees and famous large rocks out in the water.  But one of the most-boasted-about qualities of this particular spot is that you can also admire the Hida Mountains in the distance.

Toyama Bay and waves waving.

The large-ish rock on the right is called the "mother" rock; the smaller rocks nearby represent her children.  There is a similarly-shaped "father" rock further down the coast, not visible in this shot. The Hida Mountains are in the distance.

Next, I made my way back to Takaoka where I stopped to see Zuiryu-ji, a zen temple designated as a National Treasure.  This temple is less particular than others about letting tourists wander around inside one of the main halls, and there were few places that were off limits.  I get a kick out of taking my shoes off, lining them up neatly at the bottom of the steps, and then wandering around a centuries-old cultural property in my socks...

Zuiryu-ji's San-mon (main gate)

One of my favorite shots from today: a view of the Butsuden ("Buddha hall")
from a window in the Hattou (a hall for ceremonies, lectures, and daily services).

After the temple I was off to the other side of the town to see their "Great Buddha" statue.  I liked his mustache, but that's really all I have to say about that.

From there, off to the hotel.  Spent the afternoon kind of lazing around and then took a walk to find dinner.  I bought new rain boots when I was Stateside over Christmas and have been waiting to try them out, so I was very pleased to see that if things go as planned, I will get to wear them in both rain and snow this weekend.

A "boot selfie" in the hotel elevator.  This one's for you, Wendy. ;)

More tomorrow...