Toyama Prefectural Museum of Art and Design
An art museum whose rooftop is a playground built from Japanese onomatopoeia.
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Toyama Prefectural Museum of Art and Design
SaveAn art museum whose rooftop is a playground built from Japanese onomatopoeia.
Kids leap shoes-off on Fuwafuwa, a bouncing dome that was already on this ground before the museum came.
MoreWhat kind of place
Entering the Toyama Prefectural Museum of Art and Design is free; the ticket is only for the exhibition rooms.
On top of it sits a public garden, the Onomatopoeia Rooftop, by the graphic designer Taku Satoh, who picked playful Japanese sound-words first and then designed the play structures from them.
The bouncing Fuwafuwa dome is older than the museum: it stood on this ground and was a favorite with local children before the building went up, and it was moved up onto the new roof.
From up there the view runs to the Tateyama range and over Fugan Canal Kansui Park, and a 360-degree display names the peaks and gives their heights.
Inside, a large touch panel shows 3,500 of the museum's roughly 14,000 posters.
Sources and evidence (12)
- Strong wind, rain, and thunderclouds can close the rooftop.source
- On any day under a heatstroke special alert, the Onomatopoeia Rooftop is closed.source
- Alongside Fuwafuwa, structures called Guruguru and Hisohiso have been added to the roof.source
- The Fuwafuwa dome on the roof is the structure that stood on this ground before, a favorite with local kids, moved up top.source
- The rooftop garden was designed by the graphic designer Taku Satoh, who thought of enjoyable sound-words first and then designed play structures from them.source
- From the roof you can see the Tateyama mountain range and Fugan Canal Kansui Park, and a 360-degree panorama display gives the names and elevations of the peaks.source
- Guide dogs and service dogs may come in with you.source
- Free public Wi-Fi, on the SSID TOYAMAFreeWi-Fi, reaches parts of the building.source
- The hall has an interactive art piece you create through body movement, though as of April 2026 it is out of service.source
- The poster touch panel shows 3,500 works from the museum's poster collection of about 14,000 on a large screen.source
- In the library corner you can sit on a sofa and read the magazines and specialist books freely.source
- An audio guide for the collection exhibition runs as an app on your own phone or tablet.source
With kidsThe part that matters
The roof of this museum is a playground with hours of its own: it opens at 8:00, the play structures can be used until sunset, and it stays open even on days the museum below is closed.
Each structure started from a Japanese sound-word, and on the bouncing dome called Fuwafuwa, children from 3 to 12 leave their shoes at the edge and jump, a few at a time and for a set turn each.
Strong sun can heat the surfaces enough to burn, and Fuwafuwa is closed while that lasts; the roof itself shuts for the winter, from December 1 to March 15.
Downstairs the kids room has about 350 picture books and cork blocks, along with a nursing room and a hot-water dispenser.
Getting into the building costs nothing at all; only the exhibition rooms charge, and children of school age are free even there.
Sources and evidence (8)
- Sunshine can make the structures and benches hot enough to burn, and Fuwafuwa is taken out of use when its surface gets too hot.source
- The rooftop garden is a place to play on structures designed from Japanese onomatopoeia, words like guruguru for spinning and hisohiso for whispering.source
- Fuwafuwa is meant for ages 3 to 12, and shoes come off to play on it.source
- The kids room holds about 350 picture books and cork building blocks, and has a nursing room and a hot-water dispenser.source
- With a 7-year-old just after 9am. An elevator goes up before the museum opens, the roof alone is free, and it was quiet.source
- With a 4-year-old. Fuwafuwa runs 10-minute turns, shoes off, under-3s need a parent. Nursing room by the kids' room.source
- Parking lot inside the building, free for two hours. Strollers and wheelchairs lent free; buses run from the station.source
- Fuwafuwa is for ages 3-12, under-3s with a parent. The roof opens 16 March to 30 November; evenings stay cool in summer.source
By age0-1 / 2-3 / 4-6
- Ages 0-1The Kids Room has about 350 picture books and cork building blocks, and costs nothing to enter — walking into the museum itself is free too, and the library corner has sofas to sit on. From the rooftop garden you look out over the Tateyama mountain range and Fugan Canal Kansui Park.A nursing room and a hot-water dispenser are in the Kids Room. The museum has an elevator (one wheelchair at a time), a multipurpose restroom and a parent-and-child restroom. Only two strollers are available to borrow, from the general information desk. The rooftop garden is closed from 1 December to 15 March. In the indoor car park there are three spaces near the museum entrance for people with disabilities and pregnant visitors.
- Ages 2-3The rooftop garden is lined with play equipment designed from Japanese onomatopoeia — guru-guru, hiso-hiso and others. The bouncing dome, Fuwa-fuwa, is for age three and up, shoes off. That dome is the one that stood on this ground before the museum, already a favourite with local children.Fuwa-fuwa is for ages 3 to 12, and both the number of children and the length of a turn are limited for safety. The play equipment can be used from 8:00 until sunset, which is not the same as the rooftop's own hours of 8:00-22:00. The rooftop is closed from 1 December to 15 March, and shuts in strong wind, rain or thunderclouds, and on any day a heatstroke special alert is in force. Sunshine can make the equipment and benches hot enough to burn, and Fuwa-fuwa is taken out of use when its surface gets too hot. Spreading a mat to eat on the rooftop is asked against.
- Ages 4-6Fuwa-fuwa runs up to age 12, so this is the age to take the shoes off and really bounce. The rooftop has a 360-degree panorama viewer that labels the mountains with their names and heights, so a child can pick out the peaks of the Tateyama range. At the poster touch panel they can page through 3,500 of the museum's roughly 14,000 posters on a large screen themselves. The collection exhibition is free to view for anyone of university age or younger.The Atelier runs workshops pitched so that everyone from small children to adults can join, and artists sometimes work there in public. The TAD Gallery, Atelier, Hall, library corner, video corner, Kids Room and poster touch panel are all free. The Hall's interactive art, which you create by moving your body, is suspended as of April 2026. The museum is open 9:30-18:00 with last entry at 17:30, and closed on Wednesdays (except public holidays), the day after a public holiday, and over the New Year. Parking is free for two hours if you visit the museum or Kansui Park.
By weatherRain, heat, cold
- Rainy dayThe rooftop garden, the onomatopoeia playground, can close for weather such as strong wind, rain, or thunderclouds. Indoors, the kids' room (about 350 picture books, cork blocks, a nursing room, and a hot water dispenser), the reading corner, and the poster touch panel are all free to use.
- Hot dayNot checked yet
- Cold dayNot checked yet
Time needed2 h
How was it with your kids?
Not greatGreat
- ElevatorElevator：with conditionsconditions
- Stroller OKStroller friendly：with conditionsconditions
- RentalStroller rental：not checked
- NursingNursing space：with conditionsconditions
- ChangingDiaper changing table：not checked
- Family WCFamily restroom：with conditionsconditions
- Own foodOutside food allowed：not checked
- EnglishEnglish support：not checked
* Other not checked (2)
Diaper disposal bin, Kids' toilet seat & step stool
Green = we confirmed it. Gray = not checked yet. Gray with a line through = the place does not have it.
Worth a look before you go
Japanese · opens translatedFirst-hand
With a 7-year-old just after 9am. An elevator goes up before the museum opens, the roof alone is free, and it was quiet.
The Onomatopoeia Rooftop at the Toyama Prefectural Museum of Art and Design
Japanese · opens translatedFirst-hand
With a 4-year-old. Fuwafuwa runs 10-minute turns, shoes off, under-3s need a parent. Nursing room by the kids' room.
Toyama Prefectural Museum of Art and Design: the rooftop thrills kids, and the indoor play spaces are good too
Japanese · opens translatedFirst-hand
Parking lot inside the building, free for two hours. Strollers and wheelchairs lent free; buses run from the station.
See it, touch it, move: the Toyama museum is one to bring children to
Japanese · opens translatedGuide
Fuwafuwa is for ages 3-12, under-3s with a parent. The roof opens 16 March to 30 November; evenings stay cool in summer.
Go and take photographs on the Onomatopoeia Rooftop at the Toyama museum
Toyama Prefectural Museum of Art and Design · Links & reads ▾
Where to go next
Where it is
Before you go
- Visitors are asked not to spread out a blanket and eat on the roof.source
- Walking a pet on the outdoor stairs is discouraged, though assistance dogs for people with disabilities may come in.source
- Groups of 20 or more must apply in advance to view the exhibitions.source
- Online tickets are sold for the collection exhibition and for special exhibitions.source
Basics
- Fee：Entering the building itself is free — you only pay to go into the exhibition rooms. The collection display is ¥350 for adults (¥280 for groups of 20 or more); special exhibitions vary by show, and a special-exhibition ticket also covers the collection display. School-age children and students (elementary, junior high, high school) are free for both. Anyone 70 or over, and students up to university level, are free for the collection display (show a student card). Holders of a disability certificate or Mirairo ID are free, with one companion. The rooftop garden, the kids' room, the atelier, the library corner and the poster touch panel are all free to enter.source
- Hours：The museum is open 9:30-18:00, last entry 17:30, closed Wednesdays (unless it is a public holiday), the day after a public holiday, and over the new year. The rooftop garden keeps different hours: 8:00-22:00, last entry 21:30, and it closes for the winter from 1 December to 15 March — outside that period it is open even on days the museum itself is shut. The play equipment on the roof can only be used from 8:00 until sunset. High wind, rain or thunderclouds can close the roof at short notice, and it also closes when a heatstroke special alert is in force.source
- Time to allow：2 h
- Booking：Online tickets are sold for both the collection displays and the special exhibitions. Groups of 20 or more must book ahead.source
Basics in detail (23)
- Its coordinates are 36 degrees 42 minutes 37.4 seconds north, 137 degrees 12 minutes 37.3 seconds east, the destination behind the map link on the access page.source
- The museum is open 9:30 to 18:00, with last entry at 17:30.source
- It closes every Wednesday unless that Wednesday is a holiday, on the day after a holiday, and over the New Year period.source
- Maintenance and exhibition changeovers can close it unexpectedly, and it sometimes opens on off days or stays open later for a season or an event.source
- The rooftop garden, the Onomatopoeia Rooftop, is open 8:00 to 22:00 with last entry at 21:30, which is separate from the museum's own 9:30 to 18:00.source
- The rooftop is closed from December 1 to March 15, and for the rest of the year it stays open even on days the museum itself is closed.source
- The play structures on the roof can be used from 8:00 until sunset, a shorter window than the rooftop's hours, which run to 22:00.source
- In winter the rooftop is occasionally opened when conditions have been confirmed safe.source
- The collection exhibition costs 350 yen for adults, or 280 yen each for groups of 20 or more.source
- Special exhibition prices depend on the show, and a special exhibition ticket also gets you into the collection exhibition.source
- Elementary, junior high, and high school students see both the collection exhibition and special exhibitions free.source
- Visitors 70 and over, and students up through university, see the collection exhibition free, with students showing a student ID.source
- Holders of a physical disability certificate, an intellectual disability certificate, a mental health certificate, or a Mirairo ID enter free, and one companion each is free as well.source
- The exhibition rooms charge admission, but entering the museum itself is free.source
- The TAD Gallery, the atelier, the hall, the library corner, the video corner, the kids room, and the poster touch panel are all free to enter.source
- Parking is 330 yen for the first hour and 110 yen for each additional 30 minutes, but two hours are free if you use the museum or Kansui Park.source
- Three parking spaces for people with disabilities and for pregnant visitors sit near the museum entrance inside the parking structure.source
- It is about a 15-minute walk from the north exit of JR Toyama Station, or about 3 minutes by taxi or car.source
- From stop 1 at the station's north exit, take the bus for Toyama Red Cross Hospital via the prefectural art museum and get off at Toyama Prefectural Museum of Art and Design, right at the entrance.source
- From Toyama Airport it is about 20 minutes by taxi or car, roughly 9 kilometers (5.5 miles).source
- The indoor parking lot holds 103 cars, including the three spaces for people with disabilities and pregnant visitors, and is open 8:00 to 22:30.source
- The parking lot is locked overnight, from 22:30 to 8:00.source
- The museum is at 3-20 Kiba-machi, Toyama 930-0806, and the phone number is 076-431-2711.
Once you've decided
evidence & sources (7)
- Official: Stroller friendly, Nursing space
- Official: Indoor / outdoor, Best-fit ages (guide)
- Official: Family restroom, Elevator
- Official: Stroller access notes
- Official: main site
The rooftop garden was designed the other way round. Taku Satoh started from Japanese sound words, guruguru, hisohiso and fuwafuwa, then built play equipment to match. Fuwafuwa is a bouncing dome you climb onto with shoes off, moved from an earlier playground on the same site. From the roof the Tateyama range and the canal park spread out, and a 360-degree panorama viewer names the peaks and their heights on screen. Indoors, a kids' room holds about 350 picture books, and the atelier runs workshops small children can join.
| Indoor / outdoor | Indoor & outdoor | The galleries and the kids' room are indoors; the playground is on the open roof. | Web-checked | checked Aug ’26 | tad-toyama.jp |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stroller friendly | Yes | Two strollers are lent out, along with wheelchairs — ask at the general information desk. | Web-checked | checked Aug ’26 | tad-toyama.jp |
| Nursing space | Yes | There is a nursing room, and the kids' room also has a nursing space and a hot water dispenser. | Web-checked | checked Aug ’26 | tad-toyama.jp |
| Family restroom | Yes | Both a multipurpose toilet and a parent-and-child toilet. | Web-checked | checked Aug ’26 | tad-toyama.jp |
| Elevator | Yes | One elevator, sized for one wheelchair. | Web-checked | checked Aug ’26 | tad-toyama.jp |
| Best-fit ages (guide)Extra info — guide only | Yes | The rooftop 'Fuwafuwa' bouncing dome is for ages 3 to 12; shoes come off, and the number of children and the length of a turn are both limited. The play equipment runs from 8:00 until sunset only. In summer the equipment and benches get hot enough to burn, and Fuwafuwa can be suspended when its surface heats up. There is no childcare room. | Web-checked | checked Aug ’26 | tad-toyama.jp |
| Stroller access notesExtra info — guide only | Yes | About 15 minutes on foot from the north exit of JR Toyama Station, or 3 minutes by car; the bus from stop 1 (via the Red Cross Hospital and the museum) drops you right outside. Toyama Airport is about 20 minutes by car (9km). The indoor parking lot holds 103 cars, including 3 spaces near the museum entrance for disabled and pregnant visitors, and is open 8:00-22:30 (locked overnight). Parking is ¥330 for the first hour then ¥110 per 30 minutes, but two hours are free if you visit the museum or Kansui Park. Guide and assistance dogs are welcome. | Web-checked | checked Aug ’26 | tad-toyama.jp |
| Diaper changing table | Not checked yet | ||||
| Diaper disposal bin | Not checked yet | ||||
| Kids' toilet seat & step stool | Not checked yet | ||||
| Outside food allowed | Not checked yet | ||||
| English support | Not checked yet |