Fushiki - Toyama cruise

From the port of Fushiki your destination is Toyama. During your MSC cruise you can visit this city, the capital of the same prefecture, situated on the island of Honsū. Right on the Japanese sea, Toyama has a population of over one million. Surrounded on three sides by steep mountains, it enchants visitors with its lush natural beauty.

On an excursion you can reach Tateyama Kurobe, a truly spectacular route through the Northern Alps of Japan in Chubu-Sangaku national park, and admire wonderful landscapes. In winter the mountains are covered in snow and in spring, between the towns of Midagahara and Murodo, an impressive and spectacular "snow corridor" forms, whose walls can reach 20 meters. It is a walk that will take your breath away and that has become a national tourist attraction.

Further south, the historic villages ofShirakawa-go and Gokayama were declared UNESCO World Heritage sites in 1995. Situated in the heart of the mountains, they attract tourists from all over the world who come to see their traditional gassho-zukuri style houses, that is houses with steep thatched roofs that resemble the Buddhist monks palms placed together in prayer. In actual fact the steep roofs are designed to withstand heavy snow fall during the winter. The houses are about 18 metres long and 10 metres high and houses four floors where different generations of the same family live. The last floor of the house is dedicated to silkworm farming.