VOL.215 MAY 2026
[SPRING SPECIAL ISSUE] ENJOYING JAPAN’S SPRING BY LOCAL TRAINS Enjoy Beautiful Views of Tulips and Rice Paddies along the Johana Line

A train car (KiHa 40 series model¹) on the Johana Line, featuring a tulip-themed headmark.
Photo: Tonami City

Extending for about 30km across Toyama Prefecture from Takaoka Station to Johana Station, the Johana Line is a truly historical local line which started operations in 1897. Tonami City along the route hosts the Tonami Tulip Fair from late April each year, when around 3.5 million tulips come into full bloom. This article introduces the charm of the Johana Line in spring, where travelers can enjoy colorful tulips and the nostalgic rural landscapes.

Route map of the Johana Line

The Johana Line is one of Toyama Prefecture’s longest-running railway lines. Now directly connected to Shin-Takaoka Station on the Hokuriku Shinkansen, today’s Johana Line is frequented by large numbers of visitors from both inside and outside Toyama Prefecture.

Spring on the Johana Line is symbolized by the Tonami Tulip Fair. Each year around 300,000 visitors from Japan and overseas attend the Fair, held from late April to early May during Japan’s consecutive holiday period. “When the Fair is on, we run a number of special train services each day using a diesel train car with a tulip-themed headmark, contributing to a really vibrant Fair for spring,” says NISHINO Takashi of Toyama City Office’s Planning and General Affairs Department.

The main venue of the Tonami Tulip Fair is Tonami Tulip Park, just a short walk from Tonami Station. Around 3.5 million tulips are in bloom during the Fair, comprising 300 varieties. Sights at the park include the Large Flowerbed, where 210,000 tulips form colorful designs, and the 4m-high, 30m-long Snowy Great Valley tulip corridor, inspired by the Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route, a scenic spot that stands for Toyama Prefecture. The sheer scale of the tulip arrangements offers a facinating spectacle for visitors.

“When tulip cultivation began in Tonami City in 1918, the flower was still rare in Japan.Since then,  tulips have been grown for over a century and have developed into a local specialty of the region. Currently, Tonami City boasts the largest tulip bulb cultivation area in Japan. Moreover, there are few places outside Japan where tulip fields on this scale can be seen.”

Meanwhile, the Tonami Tulip Gallery close to the park offers an opportunity not only to admire tulips blooming throughout the year thanks to the latest cultivation technologies, but also to learn about tulip cultivation methods and the history of these flowers.

During the fair, tulips can be enjoyed not only inside the venue but also throughout the city. The Tulip Farm event, held in several tulip producers’ fields within the city, is another popular attraction for visitors. The Tulip Farm Bus operates four times a day, taking passengers on an approximately one-hour circular route around the various fields, offering enjoyable opportunities for a close-up look at these great expanses of tulips. This special experience can only be enjoyed in an area where tulip bulbs are produced.

“Walk through the city, and colorful tulip fields come into view everywhere. The whole experience is rooted in the warm-hearted, welcoming spirit of the local residents who have prepared their city for the Fair. Many residents volunteer to set up planters along the roadside. It is a delightful surprise for visitors coming here: ‘Wherever I walk in Tonami, I’m greeted by tulips everywhere,’ they say.”

Another charm of the Johana Line is the picturesque landscape created by the rice paddies. As the train passes by Tonami towards Johana, an unusual landscape — traditional farmhouses scattered across a fan-shaped expanse of rice paddies in a vast plain — opens up before the window. This type of settlement is called a sankyoson or “scattered village”.

“This style of village — where houses are scattered individually among the rice paddies — is one of the Japan’s oldest village landscapes. In late April, the rice-paddy plain is filled with water prior to rice-planting, and it reflects its surroundings like a vast mirror, beautifully setting off the train as it weaves its way through the fields.”

Those seeking a truly luxurious way of taking in this view are recommended to experience the Belles Montagnes et Mer (nicknamed the berumonta), a special sightseeing train that runs only on weekends. The train’s name comes from the French words for “beautiful mountains and sea.” Its interior is designed around the concept of a “moving gallery,” in which the window frame encloses the ever-changing sankyoson landscape like the frame of a picture, allowing passengers to appreciate the lovely scenes like works of art.

The Johana Line trains passing through this nostalgic-looking landscape continue to run on diesel even today, giving the line an old-time atmosphere. However, newer and more environmentally friendly train cars are scheduled to be introduced in 2028. Surveys are currently underway to explore connecting the Johana Line with the Himi Line, creating a single through-service from Shin-Takaoka Station, ensuring even more convenient travel for passengers in the future.

For just a few more years, passengers can enjoy the nostalgic red train as it winds through the rice paddies and tulip fields. This spring, don’t miss the chance to ride the Johana Line and experience scenery that can only be seen at this time of year.

• 1. A diesel train car series manufactured by Japanese National Railways between 1977 and 1982.

By MURAKAMI Kayo
Photo: Tonami Sankyoson Museum; Tonami City; PIXTA