Chi-Chia's blog

An overview of the Hokuriku history notes. It lists the fifteen notes from prehistory to Reiwa in order, gathers the themes that recur across periods (place names and administration, the Hokuriku road and the Sea of Japan, Hakusan, Tateyama and Jōdo Shinshū, the Maeda family, Toyama's castle, medicine, and water, Komatsu's kilns, port, and airport, ties with Taiwan, and disasters), adds crafts and townscapes the notes did not cover, such as Ko-Kutani, Kanazawa gold leaf, and the teahouse districts, and ends with a table matching places on the trip to the notes.

A practical guide for Kanazawa, Toyama, Komatsu, and Fukui: seasonal and operating conditions for a trip from 15 to 22 November, tickets and transport on the Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route in mid-November, the Kurobe Gorge Railway after its full reopening in October 2026, places for children, nature, historic sites, and locations from anime, TV dramas, and films, and restaurants and takeaway food in Toyama, Kanazawa, and Fukui, including the Toyama episode of Izakaya Shinkansen 2.

A pre-trip note for Kanazawa and Toyama covering the Reiwa era since 2019: through tram service across Toyama Station, the 2024 extension of the Hokuriku Shinkansen to Tsuruga and the Hapi-Line Fukui, the 2024 Noto Peninsula earthquake and the Oku-Noto floods, messages of sympathy between Hokuriku and Taiwan after earthquakes, the return of Toyama–Taipei flights, the full reopening of the Kurobe Gorge Railway, and manga and anime from Nagai Go, Ima Ichiko, Fujiko Fujio Ⓐ, and 2.43.

A pre-trip note for Kanazawa, Toyama, and Komatsu covering 1989–2019: the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art and other cultural facilities, World Heritage status for Gokayama and National Treasure status for Zuiryūji, the Toyama Light Rail and municipal mergers, the Hokuriku Shinkansen reaching Kanazawa in 2015, flights from Komatsu and Toyama to Taipei, Mori Yoshirō, the Fukui floods, the Noto Peninsula earthquake, the Shika criticality accident, and people such as Fujiko Fujio Ⓐ, Fujita Yoshinaga, and Takita Yōjirō.

A pre-trip note for Kanazawa, Toyama, and Komatsu covering 1945–1989: US occupation and military government, the Shōwa emperor's tour of Hokuriku, repatriates and links with Taiwan, Kanazawa University inside the castle and the Kanazawa College of Art, the Uchinada struggle, Komatsu Air Base and Toyama Airport, Kanazawa port and the Hokuriku Expressway, Kurobe Dam and the Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route, YKK and Komatsu, the itai-itai disease lawsuit, and manga, literature, film, and television from Hokuriku Broadcasting, Fujiko Fujio, Itsuki Hiroyuki, and Zero Focus.

A pre-trip note for Kanazawa, Toyama, and Komatsu covering 1926–1945: the Kanazawa broadcasting station, kafē and talkies, the former Ishikawa Bank Hashiba branch, a Noh stage built of Alishan cypress from Taiwan, and the Toyama Denki Building, the 9th Division's moves from Shanghai and Manchuria to Taiwan, Komatsu's city charter and naval airfield, evacuation and building clearance in Kanazawa, the Toyama air raid of 2 August 1945, links with Taiwan, and the arrival of US troops in Kanazawa after the war.

A pre-trip note for Kanazawa, Toyama, and Komatsu covering the Taishō era: the 1918 rice riots from Uozu and Namerikawa to Kanazawa, three generations of the Maeda family after the domains and the Ikutoku Foundation, the 9th Division in Siberia and the universal suffrage movement, ministers and members of parliament from Hokuriku such as Kigoshi Yasutsuna and Sakurai Hyōgorō and Toyama's prefectural electricity business, Komatsu Seisakusho and Toyama medicine sellers abroad, Murō Saisei, Takehisa Yumeji, and Shimada Seijirō's Chijō, trams, cinemas, a department store, and Awagasaki amusement park, Taishō buildings such as Saigawa Bridge and the old prefectural office, the discovery of the Ōzakai cave, middle-school baseball, and links with Taiwan.

A pre-trip note for Kanazawa, Toyama, and Komatsu covering the Meiji era: the abolition of the domains and the creation of Toyama Prefecture in 1883, the Bandori uprising and the assassination of Honda Masachika, the Kioichō Incident and the freedom and people's rights movement, foreigners who came to Hokuriku, the Fourth Higher School and figures such as Nishida Kitarō, Kanazawa's power looms and the Ogoya mine in Komatsu, the 9th Division and the Russo-Japanese War, the railway and rebuilding after the Toyama and Takaoka fires, and the 1907 survey of Mount Tsurugi.

A pre-trip note for Kanazawa, Toyama, and Komatsu covering the late Edo and bakumatsu years: Kenroku-en and Seisonkaku, Zeniya Gohei and Ōno Benkichi, Ishiguro Nobuyoshi and the Toyama medicine trade, revived Kutani and the Haneda insect mound, the Hietsu earthquake of 1858, foreign ships and an Englishman's overland journey through Kanazawa in 1867, and the Kinmon Incident, the Tengu party, the assassination of a Toyama senior retainer, the Utatsuyama development, and the Hokuetsu campaign of 1868.

A pre-trip note for Kanazawa, Toyama, and Komatsu covering the early and middle Edo period: Maeda Toshitsune's creation of the Toyama and Daishōji branch domains and his retirement to Komatsu, the Tatsumi Canal, Gyokusen'inmaru garden and other works in Kanazawa, sealed village tax-assessment documents and the transfer of the Hakusan foothill villages to shogunal rule, Maeda Tsunanori's Hyakkō Hishō, Maeda Masatoshi and the Toyama medicine trade, Bashō's journey through Hokuriku in 1689, and the Shōtoku uprising, the Kaga disturbance, and Komatsu's festival floats in the eighteenth century.

A pre-trip note for Kanazawa, Toyama, and Komatsu covering the late Sengoku period: the fall of Nanao Castle and the Oda advance into southern Kaga in 1577, Uozu Castle and the Honnōji Incident in 1582, Maeda Toshiie's Kanazawa Castle, the Battle of Suemori in 1584, Sassa Narimasa's journey to Hamamatsu and Hideyoshi's Etchū campaign of 1585, and the Battle of Asainawate at Komatsu in 1600, with later works of fiction and art.

A hands-on review of Samsung's The Premiere 5 ultra-short-throw laser projector, covering my pre-purchase comparison, image quality impressions, wall-surface issues, hotel use, and USB-C PD power.

A stay at OA Hotel near Wai'ao Beach in Yilan, covering the six-person room, parking, rooftop sea-view bath, Wai'ao Beach, OA Pizza, and breakfast at THE ARCHIPELAGO.

A stay at The Moment Hotel Yilan by Lakeshore inside the Yilan Park of NCFTA, covering the guest room area, parking, room details, the kids' playroom, and the convenience and limits of staying beside the park.

A summer family trip to Fenqihu, Alishan National Forest Recreation Area, and Shizhuo, with a stay at the Chunghwa Telecom Alishan guesthouse, rides on the Alishan Forest Railway, a walk from Zhushan to the Ogasawara Mountain Viewing Platform, the Shuishan Forest Therapy Trail, and a very early drive back to Taipei.

A pre-trip note for Kanazawa, Toyama, and Komatsu covering the Muromachi period: the Kaga shugo Togashi and the Chōkyō uprising of 1488, Rennyo and the Honganji temple network across Kaga and Etchū, the Kanazawa Midō of 1546 and the first documented use of the name Kanazawa, the Jinbō castles at Toyama and Masuyama, and Komatsu's Ataka harbour, Kaga-ware kilns, and Hasadani mountain castle.

A four-day summer family trip from Changhua to Xitou and Sun Link Sea in Nantou, with the DOD PERRY WAGON's first outing, a long walk to the Xitou Astronomical Observatory, firefly watching in the rain, and a carsick ride home.

A spontaneous family stay at Fame Hall Garden Hotel in Longtan, Taoyuan, covering the room, the Toddler's Playroom, dinner at Parents Restaurant, breakfast, fish feeding, and how the hotel felt after another return visit.

A pre-trip note for Kanazawa, Toyama, and Komatsu covering the Kamakura period: the Hokuriku front of the Jōkyū War of 1221 and the Nagoe shugo line, the layers of tradition behind the Ataka barrier and Kanjinchō, Kamakura-period artifacts of Tateyama worship, and Shinran's Jōdo Shinshū in later Hokuriku history.

A pre-trip note for Kanazawa, Toyama, and Komatsu covering the Heian period: the founding of Kaga Province in 823, a governor's working visit recorded in the Tamefusa-kyō-ki, the rise of Hakusan and Tateyama worship, and the 1183 Battle of Kurikara Pass that pushed the Hokuriku road onto the national stage.