Getting Your Bearings
Toyama is the capital of Toyama Prefecture, on the Hokuriku region of Japan's main Honshu island, sitting on Toyama Bay. For a visitor, the single most useful fact is that Toyama Station sits right in the city center and acts as the hub for essentially every way you'll move around: shinkansen and regional trains, trams, and buses all connect here. Central Toyama itself is compact, and the sights of interest can be reached from the station on foot or by bike.
Arriving by Train
Toyama Station is the arrival point for most visitors coming from elsewhere in Japan. The Hokuriku Shinkansen runs from Tokyo, with the fastest service, the Kagayaki, operating mainly in the morning and evening, and the more frequent Hakutaka making all stops north of Nagano. From the Kansai and Chubu regions, the Thunderbird limited express runs from Osaka and Kyoto to Tsuruga, where you transfer to the Shinkansen; from Kanazawa, the Tsurugi shuttles between Kanazawa and Toyama. Nagoya is served by direct limited express services called the Wide View Hida, which offer spectacular views of the Hida River valley, or you can take a faster but more expensive combination of shinkansen and limited express via Maibara and Tsuruga.
These journeys are covered by the national Japan Rail Pass. Toyama is also covered by the JR Hokuriku Arch Pass, which gives unlimited travel between Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka via Toyama and Kanazawa for seven consecutive days. Both passes allow unlimited seat reservations in standard cars, but Green Car and Gran Class reservations cost extra. Note that the Ainokaze Toyama Railway operates local services on lines formerly served by JR; with a Japan Rail Pass, the pass only covers trips between Toyama and Takaoka without a stopover, so you'll pay the regular fare if you get off along that section.
Arriving by Bus
Long-distance highway buses are a cheaper alternative. Seibu runs buses to Toyama from Ikebukuro and the Sunshine City Prince Hotel in Tokyo, one of which is overnight. Several companies also run from Osaka and Kyoto, including West JR Bus from JR Osaka Station and Hankyu from Umeda, with both morning/evening and overnight options. Reservations for Tokyo services can be made via Willer and Japan Bus Online.
Trams and Light Rail
Toyama's public transport is excellent, with several upgrades in the 2000s and 2010s, and the tram network is the most visitor-friendly part of it. The Toyama City Tram Line, commonly called the Shiden, operates from Dentetsu Toyama Station, which is connected to JR Toyama Station. It's organized into three routes: a downtown loop, one route heading south, and one heading west, with many connections to regional rail lines (except at the western end). The downtown loop circles the city center and serves major sights including Toyama Castle and the Toyama City Glass Museum.
Separately, the "Portram" light rail (the Toyamakō Line) departs from the north side of Toyama Station at Toyama-eki-kita and runs to the seaport and Iwase Beach. It heads toward Iwase, a port town that prospered from Kitamae-bune trade ships, and the terminus at Iwase Station is well suited to exploring Iwase on foot.
On fares and payment: trams charge a flat fare per ride. IC cards are accepted, including Suica, Pasmo and Icoca, as well as the local cards ecomyca and passca. The local cards give a discounted fare that does not apply if you tap in with other IC cards, so it's worth picking one up if you plan to ride often.
Regional Rail
Several regional lines extend your reach around town and beyond. The Toyama Chihō Railway, or Chitetsu for short, runs the Main Line east along the coast before heading toward the mountains, the Tateyama Line southeast and then south, and the Fujikoshi-Kamidaki Line south before it joins the Tateyama Line. Chitetsu also connects Toyama Station to the Alpine Route, Kurobe Gorge and Unazuki Onsen, and runs sightseeing trains on the line, the "Alps Express" and "Double Decker Express." The Ainokaze Toyama Railway runs east-west for quite a way, partially overlapping the Chitetsu Main Line along the coast, and the JR Takayama Main Line heads southwest before continuing up the Hida River valley.
Buses
To complement the trams and trains, Toyama has a good bus system. Buses are the practical fallback for anywhere the tram and rail lines don't reach, and they also handle the airport run described below.
Taxis and Rental Cars
Standard taxis are available, along with sightseeing taxis that offer custom routes with driver-guide commentary, including company-recommended "excellent hospitality taxi drivers" — a good option if you'd rather have a local show you around than navigate yourself. Rental cars are also available for travel around the city and prefecture; from Toyama City, it's roughly an hour to areas including the World Heritage site of Gokayama, Himi for seafood, and Kurobe Gorge.
Walking and Bikes
Central Toyama is compact, and the main attractions, including the castle and the glass art museum, lie south of Toyama Station. It's walkable for strong walkers, while the tram network is the convenient choice for everyone else. For more flexibility, shared bicycles run by Avire are available: there are rental stations across central Toyama City, and you can rent and return anytime at any station, 365 days a year, using either a dedicated app or the rental counters.
Getting In from Toyama Airport
Toyama Airport (TOY) sits south of the city center. It has international flights to Shanghai, Seoul, Vladivostok and Dalian, plus local service to Tokyo, Sapporo and Fukuoka — though flight schedules change heavily with the season, so check in advance what's available for your travel dates. The easiest way into town is the bus, which runs to and from the city center in about 25 minutes for ¥420 one way, and stops at the castle park en route to Toyama Station.