After their first weekend in Japan, we caught my sister and brother-in-laws first bullet train out of Tokyo to Toyama (if you didn’t know my sister was in Japan, please check out my previous two posts, using the arrows below, for more context on that).
For anyone who likes trains, it was specifically the E7 bound for Tsuruga. The blue and gold colouring felt especially fitting for the “first bullet train together occasion” as blue is both mine and Michael’s favourite colour. The gold trim on the E7 also added a kind of celebratory vibe suited for the extra special occasion. I was over the moon with how the plans came together! On the journey we got to see Fuji-san so clearly overlooking Tokyo as well as many other mountains in Gunma, Nagano and Toyama itself. They were so great and vast, that pictures out the window just couldn’t do them justice.
We picked up our rental car near Toyama station and were very pleasantly surprised when we were essentially greeted by a comfy mini-van from the rental company. We had paid for the cheapest of their cars, and usually that means we get assigned a Yaris (a great car when it’s just the two of us, but one I was worried wouldn’t be so great with two adults in the back). Our “Roomy” car/van really lived up to its name. We changed the spelling to Rumi/ルミ to create a nickname for the car that was appropriate, cute and worked in both Japanese and English. (SIDENOTE: this trip went on 4 months before Demon Hunters was released, the overlap of the names is completely coincidental ha.) Rumi did us well, through rain and shine, into the mountains and along the Chūbu coasts. Their sliding doors made it easy for Ellen and Michael to get in and out, their high ceiling made us all very comfortable and their boot space was perfect for our cases. Rumi was perfect and we knew it from the get-go, so we all thanked whatever had blessed us to have such a vehicle for this trip, happily jumped in and got going, into the hub of Toyama for our first adventure, the five of us.
It was our first time in Toyama, and oh boy did it greet us like a punch in the heart. The sakura had just hit full-bloom and the river running through the middle of the city, by the castle, was flourishing with the light pink petals. As not many people visit Toyama, there weren’t many people at all, so we could enjoy our little Hanami picnic without being disturbed. The skies were blue and the weather was warm without being scorching. It made Ellen tear up at the beauty, and even Sammy and I, after seeing many sakura in our time in Japan, were speechless at the sight. It was beyond incredible! Something you could never have planned, as the moment is so fleeting and special, so we could only be grateful yet again, for the blessing of such a memory together.
The castle and its gardens were also really beautiful; we explored them after our picnic. Afterwards, we went up an observation tower to get a 360 view of the city. With the mountains wrapping around us from one side, and the ocean spanning the other, I can’t really put into words the comfort I felt from Toyama. It hugged my soul and called for me to stay. I really did not want to leave. Sammy and I made note: we want to return to Toyama and explore more of the prefecture on a more chill holiday. Watch out on my blog for a Toyama update, which will hopefully come sooner rather than later (finger crossed)!
