Hotaruika Museum

Published: Aug 11, 2026

Updated: Aug 11, 2026

firefly squidhotaruikaNamerikawaToyama Baybioluminescence

Representative image — not a photograph of this location.

Firefly squid spend their lives in deep water and come into Toyama Bay in spring to spawn. They are a few centimetres long, they have light organs down the arms and body, and when disturbed they emit a strong blue light. In Namerikawa the bay's shelf comes close enough to shore that they arrive in enormous numbers, and the town has built a museum around them.

The centrepiece is a darkened room where live squid are handled in a tank and light up on cue, several times a day. That only works between late March and the end of May, when the animals are actually in the bay and can be caught fresh each morning; outside the season the show uses bioluminescent plankton instead, which is interesting but is not the same thing. Boats also run pre-dawn to watch the fishing itself. It is the only place in the world set up to show you this.

Essential Information

Opening Hours

9:00 AM – 5:00 PM | Last admission 4:30 PM

Closed: Closed Tuesdays, or the following day when the Tuesday is a holiday | Open daily 20 March – 31 May

Entrance Fee

¥620 adults, ¥310 children (1 June – 19 March) | ¥820 adults, ¥410 children (20 March – 31 May)

Best Season

Late March–May for live firefly squid and the glow show

Visit Duration

60–90 minutes

Getting There

Access Information

410 Nakagawara, Namerikawa. About 8 minutes on foot from Namerikawa Station on the Ainokaze Toyama Railway, with free parking for 160 cars. Open 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM with last admission at 4:30 PM. Admission ¥620 for adults and ¥310 for children from 1 June to 19 March, rising to ¥820 and ¥410 from 20 March to 31 May. Closed Tuesdays, or the following day when the Tuesday is a holiday, but open daily from 20 March to 31 May.

Insider Guide

Premium

**Only late March to the end of May shows live squid.** Outside that window the glow demonstration uses luminous plankton. If the live show is the reason you are coming, the season is not negotiable. **Admission goes up in season, and it is worth it.** ¥820 rather than ¥620, and no closed days during the run. The difference buys you live animals rather than a substitute. **The fishing boats leave before dawn.** Pre-dawn trips to watch the set nets being hauled run in season, book separately and well ahead, and are weather-dependent. That, not the museum, is the once-in-a-lifetime version. **Eat them while you are here.** In season the squid are sold boiled, raw and pickled all over the town and are noticeably better within a few hours of landing than anywhere inland. **Closed Tuesdays out of season.** The rest of the year Tuesday is the rest day, moving to Wednesday when Tuesday is a holiday.

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