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Takaoka Daibutsu, Yamachosuji and Kanaya-machi
1 / 5Takaoka Daibutsu, Yamachosuji and Kanaya-machiPhoto: くろふね / CC BY 3.0
Tap a photo to see it large. 5 photographs, every one credited.
A bronze Buddha finished in 1933 by the city’s own casters, free to visit. Then the Yamachosuji merchant street and the Kanaya-machi casting quarter of 1611 with its latticed fronts. All within a short walk or tram ride of the station.
- Our number 3 for Fushiki–Toyama, out of ten. It is the first thing we would spend the hours on.
- It is not only a photo stop: seven casters, one lord, and four centuries of bronze.
Why Takaoka Daibutsu, Yamachosuji and Kanaya-machi is famous
Seven casters, one lord, and four centuries of bronze
Takaoka's first Daibutsu was wooden, and the city lost it to fire more than once. The last wooden one burned in the great fire of 1900. The present bronze figure was begun in 1907 by the town's own casters and dedicated in 1933. The Kanaya-machi quarter where that trade began was laid out in 1611, when the first lord of Takaoka brought founders in from a village nearby. Its latticed house fronts were made an Important Preservation District in 2012.
In 1611 a lord gave seven metalworkers a plot of land and a tax break. The town they founded now casts most of the bronze statues in Japan, and a basket you can bend with your hands.
Maeda Toshinaga builds the castle and the town
Granted land and tax relief in Kanaya-machi; iron pots and kettles first
Temple bells and lanterns, then altar fittings and vases
Takaoka bronzes at the world expositions; exports grow
Kanaya-machi, the Daibutsu and the Mikurumayama museum are all walkable in Takaoka, a short train ride from the berth. Nousaku's factory tour needs a taxi and a booking.
Takaoka Daibutsu, Yamachosuji and Kanaya-machi and your ship
Both pins on one map, so the distance is a fact rather than a feeling.
Where the 2 hr 30 min goes
Counted from the moment you step off the gangway. The hour before all-aboard is not in this bar; it is already set aside.
10 minutes each way is the measured figure for shuttle or taxi to takaoka station, then 10 min on foot or 4 tram stops, not the optimistic one. If your ship is late, cut the 2 hr 10 min in the middle. Never cut the hour at the end.
Routes that already include it
Each one is a finished day we have walked and timed, with this stop in it. Read the route rather than assembling it yourself.
What to put beside it
Each of these still lands you back aboard with the hour to spare.
4 hr 10 min for bothShokoji temple, on foot from the wharf
The one sight you can walk to from the big-ship berth.
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4 hr 30 min for bothAmaharashi Coast and the Tateyama view
Onna-iwa rock, the Himi-line train and the 3,000-metre Tateyama range across the bay, on a clear day.
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4 hr 30 min for bothKaiwomaru Park and the Shinminato Bridge walkway
A four-masted training barque of 1930 you can board for ¥500, closed Wednesdays.
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