Uozu: Tatemon Festival, Sea and Mountain Scenery

Uozu offers striking contrasts: at the Tatemon Festival, people move huge floats decorated with lanterns; at the aquarium, the exhibits range from mountain streams to the deep sea; and from the Ferris wheel, you can see both Toyama Bay and the Tateyama mountain range. The Dousugi trees and the landscape of the Minamata Valley offer a completely different focus. You can plan your trip around whether you want to experience culture, wildlife, an amusement park or nature.

The Tatemon Festival: carrying and pulling together

Uozu’s Tatemon Festival, “Uozu no Tatemon-Gyōji,” was inscribed on the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage list on December 1, 2016. The festival takes place at Suwa Shrine, 1-16 Suwa-chō, Uozu. Every year, a great many people gather there on the day of the festival.

The floats are about 16 meters tall and hung with more than 90 lanterns. They weigh about 5 tons and are pulled by around 80 people. These impressive dimensions shape the festival, as does the opportunity to take part in various tasks: these include assembling and raising the floats, pulling or carrying them, and finally taking them apart. For families who want not only to watch a tradition but also learn about its different stages, this communal event is a special reason to visit.

From mountain streams to the deep sea

The Uozu Aquarium permanently exhibits around 330 animal species from the waters of Toyama Prefecture and Toyama Bay. Its themes range from the mountain streams of the Northern Alps to the deep sea of the Sea of Japan. This offers a broad view of different habitats without needing to move between separate nature attractions. The large Toyama Bay tank also features feeding demonstrations, during which divers feed large fish such as yellowtail.

A visit can therefore be seen as a discovery of the region’s waters—from mountain streams to the depths of the Sea of Japan. Families traveling with children can complement this nature-focused visit with a trip to Mirage Land or time spent in the landscape of the Dousugi trees. Which experiences you choose to focus on can also help you select a vacation rental in Uozu that suits the emphasis of your trip.

Mirage Land, with views of the sea and mountains

Mirage Land is an amusement park in Uozu Sōgō Park and is considered a popular destination for families and children. Its 66-meter-high Ferris wheel offers views of both Toyama Bay and the Tateyama mountain range. At the Frontier Petting Zoo inside Mirage Land, children and adults can ride and feed three friendly ponies by the sea. There are also views of the sea and the Tateyama mountain range.

This offers a different kind of outing from the aquarium or the Tatemon Festival: here, the focus is on the amusement park, the Ferris wheel and interacting with the ponies. If these experiences are important to your family, they may be the deciding factor in choosing Uozu as a destination. It’s best to choose a vacation rental or holiday home based on which outings you want to shape your stay.

Dousugi trees and the landscape of the Minamata Valley

Many Dousugi trees surround enormous rocks. Together with the rich natural scenery of the Minamata Valley, they create an extraordinary landscape. The trees grow mainly in Katakai Prefectural Park, where the city of Uozu has created a walking trail. This makes nature another focus of your trip, alongside the aquarium and amusement park experiences.

Keep one specific restriction in mind when planning this outing: beyond the Dousugi trees parking lot, access by private car is discouraged in order to protect the surrounding natural landscape. If you are mainly interested in the trees and walking trail, take this guidance into account when choosing your outings and accommodation in Uozu.

Discover more destinations

If you’d like to explore more destinations, you can also find Nanto, Kurobe, Takaoka, Tateyama, Toyama, Tonami, Asahi and Nakaniikawa District here.

Back to the main travel guide: Toyama Prefecture.