Extra Time in Toyama

November 8, 2025 - In the original itinerary I was leaving Morodo today and going to a Michelin star onsen called River Retreat Garaku, about 40 minutes outside of Toyama.

Updated plan for the day - more sightseeing in Toyama before leaving for the fancy ryokan, to include seeing the castle, going on a canal boat trip and trying to find Iwasahara.

The breakfast buffet was quite nice and was the first "Western" food I'd had in several days. A nice change. Plastic gloves were available for added hygiene!

The weather was wonderful: sunny and cool. A lot warmer than yesterday.

First stop was the castle which I really enjoyed. I was able to get a joint ticket to see the nearby art museum which had wonderful artwork from as far back as the 1700s.

I tried to cram in a trip to the traditional medicine museum. I was disappointed in that everything was in Japanese and no one appeared interested in helping me find some traditional remedies, so I didn’t stay long. There were some pretty manhole covers....

The canal boat trip turned out to be a bust because I was too late for the options that would end by the time I needed. Instead I hoofed it about a mile over to the tram to get over to Iwasahara. This is the area I tried to find last night in the dark.

I got off at the end of the line and walked over to the beach and then over towards the lighthouse.

Almost by accident I found the old town street. I expected it to be an entire area, but it was really only two blocks long. These two blocks had some beautifully restored old houses and a nice bakery that had bunnies for sale.

It wasn't worth the extra effort, but my curiosity was satisfied.

I managed to find a train option to hotel which avoided the 40 minutes taxi fare recommended by the travel agent. I just made the train which was packed and purely by accident I made the ryokon shuttle and got a free lift to the hotel.

This ryokan is quite modern, but also quite deluxe. It is basically a ryokan built around an art gallery which included shoes made for, and worn by, Lady Gaga.

I was offered a welcome drink and decided on a beer cocktail because it was the only alcoholic option. It was great.  So were the little cookies.

I was informed the outside onsen was closed due to bears…

The room is over the top and had room/beds enough for a family.  Not sure why I got such a big room and can only think it was the only one available….

Finally I was able to get the patio doors open....

It included free minibar and black Qtips

I was a bit underdressed for my Michelin star dinner. Most were wearing their provided pajamas underneath their provided yakuta. Here is a video.

It included locally made sake into which the waitress proceeded to pour water thinking this was my water glass. I insisted on a new glass of sake.... The rice bread roll was lovely, but the whale meat was my least favorite. That said, the broth was delightful. The fugu (puffer fish) was fine, but rather disappointing- not sure what I expected, but I'll not intentionally order it again. I didn’t love the snow crab either because it had a very strong taste. The butterfish was similar to sea bream and very tasty.  The beef was from Toyama and the vegetables were grown on the restaurant's own farm. The potatoes were lovely.  I really enjoyed the pear dessert. The actual pear was under the ice shavings. There was a bit of "choose your own dessert adventure" with the stencil. A genache, apple jelly and a caramel were served with my green tea to end the meal.