This lush green park is located on the prefectural border with Ishikawa, and is a popular hiking and outdoors destination for people from Toyama and Ishikawa alike. Beyond its natural beauty, this park boasts rich historical significance: it was the site of the Battle of Kurikara Pass in 1183, during the Genpei War. This battle was won in part through clever trickery. The Minamoto forces tied torches to the horns of hundreds of oxen at night to create the illusion of a much larger army, scaring off the Taira forces. Even today, Oyabe is full of imagery evoking this event, including statues in this park, and even the town’s mascot.
Tsuzawa Andon Community Hall
Experience the spirit of one of Oyabe's most exciting festivals, all year round! Visitors can learn about the Tsuzawa Yotaka Andon Festival and its history through the andon lantern carts and floats on display, and videos of the festival itself. This facility also serves as a community center where locals and visitors can meet and interact with each other. For an even more in-depth experience, visitors can also enjoy coloring and decorating paper lanterns, coasters, and hand fans with designs inspired by both the festival’s traditional motifs and the town of Oyabe itself.
Miyajima Gorge
Up in the mountains, the world is quiet save for the sounds of bird songs and the waterfalls that run through this spectacular gorge. These waterfalls can be found along a hiking trail, making this an excellent destination for lovers of the great outdoors. Though Miyajima Gorge is beautiful all year round, it just might be at its best in November or early December, when the autumn colors reach their peak — and when it’s cool enough out to best enjoy the hot baths at the nearby hot spring resort, after a day of walking through nature.
Example One-Day Tours in Oyabe
Family Fun & Adventure in Oyabe
Sakura-machi Jomon Park
Learn about the prehistoric Jomon civilization that once lived in Japan, with rebuilt structures like an old stilt house, and a museum with plenty to see and do. Explore a detailed diorama depicting ancient life, look at exhibits of artifacts from everyday life and architecture, and go hands-on with rebuilding miniature wooden structures and “unearthing” pottery fragments! There are also hands-on workshops available that teach skills like prehistoric weaving, carving comma-shaped magatama charms from jade, or even building a fire.
Inabayama Ranch
Inabayama Ranch is located high up on Mt. Inaba, offering incredible panoramic views of Oyabe and beyond. This ranch has hillside pastures where cattle graze, far above the world below, and on weekends from spring through autumn, the ranch opens with even more to offer. Visitors can check out their petting zoo, for up-close encounters with animals like goats and rabbits, and get lunch at the café — enjoy favorites like Japanese curry, pork cutlet sandwiches, or even Hamburg steak made with premium beef from Inabayama Ranch.
Crossland Oyabe
Crossland Oyabe is a park, but also much more. Families can enjoy a relaxed picnic or a fun time running around on the vast grassy lawn, play on the playground structures, ride the miniature train, or pedal around on unique pedal-powered vehicles. There’s plenty to see and learn about here, too! Get an up-close view of a dual-rotor helicopter from the Ground Self-Defense Forces, explore the Leonardo da Vinci museum or ride an elevator to the top of the Crossland Tower and see Oyabe from 100 meters up! Crossland Oyabe even has multiple event halls, making it a popular venue for concerts and other performances.
Ukawa Strawberry Farm
This strawberry farm has quickly become a local favorite, particularly from January through May when it opens for all-you-can-eat strawberry picking! The farm grows five different varieties of strawberries, and this is a delicious way to compare them and find your favorite: which ones are sweetest, which ones are juiciest, or which ones offer the tastiest balance of sweet and tart? The farm also offers fresh strawberries for sale during this season, but they can sell out quickly — try to get there early, while they still have some left! Even when it’s not strawberry season, the shop and café here offer enough to enjoy, with strawberry-based desserts on the menu, and a selection of strawberry treats to take home, like bags of freeze-dried strawberries in various varieties, or even fun strawberry-shaped charms.
Hata Soy Sauce Brewery
For a century, the Hata Soy Sauce Brewery has made soy sauce the old-fashioned way, using locally grown soy beans and wheat, and doing every step by hand. In addition to their emphasis on choice ingredients, they go a step beyond for their flagship product in particular: the fermentation process starts in a special room with brick walls, perfect for preparing the koji mold fermentation that gives their soy sauce its signature complexity. Their soy sauce is further enhanced with a three-year aging period in large wooden tubs, before it’s finally ready to bottle and ship. The finished result is beloved by gourmands and high-end restaurants — it has a rich yet balanced complexity, without being too salty, making it shine in dishes like local seafood and kamaboko fish cake. Visitors to their factory can sample their soy sauce in the shop, and even tour the factory where they prepare the soy sauce itself.
Oyabe Kamaboko Fish Cake
Kamaboko is a type of Japanese fish cake made from ground cod, which is then shaped and steamed to cook it, for a satisfying firm chew and a subtle sweetness. It’s a popular favorite in Toyama, and in Oyabe in particular. One of the things that sets Oyabe kamaboko apart, beyond the emphasis on old-fashioned quality, is the local custom of large kamaboko for celebrations from the new year to birthdays to wedding parties, formed into elaborate shapes and vibrantly colored with all-natural ingredients. In addition to these celebratory works of kamaboko art, local shops have developed their own distinctive products meant to be a part of everyday life, from kamaboko corn dogs to oranda (“Holland”), thin sheets of kamaboko mixed with colorful pickled vegetables and fried.
