In Japan’s gastronomic firmament, Toyama Prefecture has long been overlooked and overshadowed by its neighbor, Ishikawa. The excellence of its seafood, sake, rice and other agricultural produce has never been in doubt. But its restaurants never managed to attain the same degree of prominence as those in the samurai city of Kanazawa, Ishikawa’s prefectural capital.
In recent years, though, that old order has undergone a sea change. First came the advent of the Hokuriku Shinkansen in 2015, which opened up a fast, efficient and direct link between Tokyo and the Sea of Japan. Then, in 2016 the first Hokuriku-focused Michelin Guide was published, followed by an expanded version five years later that shone the gourmet spotlight well beyond Kanazawa and onto Toyama, too.
These days, the secret (such as it was) is well and truly out. Toyama is firmly on the map — and on the itineraries of gourmet travelers in the know. It was even listed by The New York Times as one of the “52 Places to Go in 2025.” Now, as further confirmation, Toyama is also the location for The Japan Times’ 2025 Destination Restaurant of the Year: Himawari Shokudo 2.
