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Toyama's Hidden Waterways?
yeah those canals are called yotsuya-suiro around there, some of them still carry water from the joganji river for firefighting and a few old houses use them in summer to cool veggies. if u want to see the best preserved stretch walk along the path behind the prefectural office near sakuradori, there's a tiny stone bridge that hardly anyone notices. the city actually started maintaining them again after the 2011 earthquake when people realized they could be emergency water sources
Some of those canals have small wooden hatches that older residents still open manually to redirect water for their gardens. You'll notice the water runs clear because it's fed by snowmelt from the mountains, not sewage. If you walk southwest from Toyama Station toward the old canal district near Nishi-cho, there's a mossy stone wall where the water drops about a meter and makes this quiet trickling sound that's hard to find in the city otherwise. The system is actually maintained by a neighborhood association that's been around since the 1920s, they do a cleaning twice a year.
Those canals in Toyama are fascinating! They're remnants of an older irrigation system, mostly from the Edo period. Think rice paddies and clever water management, a big deal back then. While many aren't actively used for irrigation anymore, some still quietly serve local needs. You might find some still used for drainage or even to supply water to a few houses. They're definitely not tourist attractions, so you were lucky to stumble upon them. It's a cool peek into Toyama's history, isn't it? Probably not much written about them in English though; you might have better luck finding info in Japanese sources.
Wow, that's amazing! I hadn't even considered the Edo period connection. Makes total sense though, the ingenuity of it all. I was just wandering around and totally stumbled on them, it felt like discovering a secret world. Japanese sources, huh? I'll definitely try that. Thanks for the info! I feel like I should have taken more pictures now... next time, I guess.
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Where can I find crispy, pan-fried bacon similar to a certain international style?
if u have a costco membership the kirkland thick cut is the move, 4 packs of 500g for around 2500 yen and it crisps up proper in a cold pan. for smaller runs, precce in azabudai hills & the basement at isetan shinjuku both carry imported US & danish brands in the chilled case, just read the label for "thick cut" or "smoked" and not "loin". also worth knowing japanese bacon is often wet-cured so pat it dry before frying or it steams instead of crisping
kaldi coffee farm is hit or miss but their smoked bacon from denmark shows up pretty regular, the 200g pack runs about 600 yen. what actually works better for me is asking the butcher counter at peacock or life to slice the block bacon thick, like 5mm, they do it for free and it crisps way better than the pre-packed stuff. also fwiw cheap bacon crisps faster, the fatty supermarket kind at 300 yen a pack works fine if u cook it from cold in a dry pan and pour off the fat as it renders.
tbh the gyomu super store brand bacon is surprisingly decent for crisping up, its not thick cut but if you cook it low and slow it gets pretty crunchy. the key is the dry cure vs wet cure thing, wet cure steams. also check hanamasa if you have one nearby, they sell big packs of american style bacon thats actually smoked and firm.