Iwase Historic District and Masuda Sake Brewery

Iwase is a beautifully preserved old port district on the northern edge of Toyama city, and it offers one of the prefecture's most rewarding afternoons for lovers of Japanese food and drink. In the Edo and Meiji eras Iwase flourished as a hub of the kitamaebune trade — the coastal shipping route that carried goods around the Japan Sea — and the wealth of its shipping merchants is still visible in the grand wooden townhouses, latticed facades, and storehouses that line the historic main street, Omachi. In recent years the district has been sensitively revived, with these heritage buildings restored and reoccupied by sake breweries, glass studios, cafes, and craft shops, turning a once-quiet backwater into a stylish destination that keeps its old soul.

The anchor of the district is the Masuda Sake Brewery, maker of the acclaimed Masuizumi label. Founded in the nineteenth century, Masuda has become one of Toyama's most respected breweries, known for elegant, food-friendly sake brewed with clear water from the surrounding mountains and rice suited to the region's climate. The brewery's shop and tasting space let visitors sample its range, from crisp, refined junmai daiginjo to richer, more robust styles, and learn how Toyama's cold winters and pure snowmelt shape the local sake. Iwase's revival has been closely linked to the brewery's own efforts to breathe life back into the neighbourhood, making a visit here both a tasting and a lesson in how craft and heritage can regenerate a place.

Sake is a natural fit for Toyama's food culture. The prefecture's celebrated seafood — white shrimp, firefly squid, yellowtail from the deep bay — pairs beautifully with clean, dry local sake, and a stroll through Iwase can easily be built around this pairing, with seafood restaurants and cafes occupying the old merchant houses. Beyond the brewery, the district is dotted with glassblowing studios and galleries, reflecting Toyama city's modern reputation as a centre for glass art, along with sweet shops, coffee roasters, and boutiques, all housed in atmospheric historic buildings.

Part of the pleasure is simply walking the old street, admiring the carpentry of the merchant houses and imagining the port at its trading height, before ducking into a tasting room or a canal-side cafe. The scale is intimate and the pace unhurried, a contrast to the bustle of central Toyama.

Getting there is half the fun: the Toyama Light Rail, a sleek modern tram line often called the Portram, runs from near Toyama Station out to the Iwase waterfront, a short and scenic ride ending a few minutes' walk from the historic district. The tram is not covered by the Japan Rail Pass but is inexpensive and frequent. For travellers who want to pair Toyama's seafood with its sake and step into a living piece of Japan Sea trading history, Iwase — with the Masuda brewery at its heart — is an essential and characterful stop.