Toyama
— — the bay that glows blue in spring.
Not only on a wall.
“A prefectural capital on the Sea of Japan, where the Tateyama range climbs sharply from the coastal plain to peaks above three thousand metres. In April and May the bay glows at night with hotaru-ika, firefly squid surfacing in the millions to spawn. The town below holds the Glass Art Museum, the canal at Fugan, and the long approach to the alpine route that crosses the mountains.
Toyama, on ceramic.
Each tile is finished by hand in our Knoxville studio. Artwork is slowly infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure, and rests beneath a thin glossy finish. The colour lives in the surface, not on top of it.
Pick any four 4-inch tiles — National Parks you've been to, a Smokies set, the four seasons of one place. $ for a set of , cork-backed, ready to live on the table.
The place, in three passes.
Toyama is the capital of Toyama Prefecture on the central Sea of Japan coast of Honshu, set between Toyama Bay and the northern Japanese Alps. The city itself holds about 410,000 people. The Tateyama range rises directly inland to peaks above 3,000 metres, including Tateyama at 3,015 metres, one of Japan's three sacred mountains. The Jinzū River flows through the city to the bay. Toyama serves as the western gateway to the Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route, the high mountain crossing open from mid-April to late November.
Toyama Bay is one of the deepest bays on the Sea of Japan, plunging past 1,000 metres close to shore. From late March through May the bay glows blue at night with hotaru-ika, firefly squid surfacing in the millions to spawn at the head of the bay. The phenomenon is concentrated at Namerikawa, north of the city, where a dedicated museum and night cruises mark the season. The same deep, cold water gives the bay its winter snow crab and yellowtail, both protected by local seasonal catch rules.
Spring in Toyama is layered. The cherry blossoms along the Matsukawa River canal usually open in early April. Snow walls along the Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route, the famous yuki no ōtani, can stand twenty metres tall when the route opens on 15 April and slowly diminish through May. The firefly squid runs in April and May. Autumn brings koyo colour to the Kurobe Gorge from mid-October. Winter snow is heavy on the alpine route but the city itself sees only moderate accumulation, sheltered by the coastal plain.