Takayama Hokuriku Area Tourist Pass user guide. Perfect deal to travel Takayama, Kanazawa, Toyama, Shirakawago from Nagoya or Osaka

shirakawago winterRail pass for visitors
Tanabata festival decoration in Takayama ©Y.Shimizu/©JNTO
Tanabata festival decoration in Takayama ©Y.Shimizu/©JNTO

This train pass has been very popular to travel Kanazawa, Takayama and Shirakawago. The train route to these destinations from Nagoya and Osaka are covered. However there are some restrictions. You may be confused how you use this pass.

In this post, I will clarify the condition and the coverage area of this pass. You will find what you can do and what you cannot do by this pass in this post. I also compare the price of pass and a regular fare. You will easily find how you can get the worth of this pass.

Who is eligible

Visitors who land as “Temporary Visitor” status can purchase this pass.

Types, prices and conditions

There is only 5-day pass.

Purchasing placeAdultChild (6-11yrs)
Overseas travel agent
(Before arrival in Japan)
14,260 yen7,130 yen
At the designated station
(After arrival in Japan
15,280 yen7,640 yen
Online15,280 yen7,640 yen

*5 year old or younger child is free. Maximum 2 children per one adult. But one of your adult traveler must share the seat with the child who is 5 years old or younger.

The pass must be used in consecutive days. The validity of a rail pass starts from 12 O’clock at night.

e.g.
If you start to use 5 days pass on May 1, the pass is expired at 23:59 on May 5.

You may book a reserved seat on the train up to 4 times by this pass. This four times booking seat fee is covered. But you cannot book a seat on the limited express Haruka and the Hokuriku Shinkansen. This four times reservation does not include Nohi bus reservation. I will tell you about this restriction later.

Sales location

You can purchase this pass before or after you arrive in Japan. If you purchase an exchange order of this pass, the price is 1,000 yen cheaper than the price in Japan. You can find the sales location list in the official site in the link below:

Takayama-Hokuriku Area Tourist Pass official site

Coverage area and valid transportation

Kentrokuen garden is one of three best Japanese Gardens.  ©JTA/ ©JNTO
Kentrokuen garden is one of three best Japanese Gardens. ©JTA/ ©JNTO

The pass covers Osaka, Kyoto, Kanazawa, Shirakawago, Takayama, Gero, Gifu and Nagoya. Please see the coverage map below:

The coverage area of this pass is blue shaded.

Basically this pass covers JR trains, Nohi Bus and Kaetsuno Bus in the coverage area. I would like to show you the key train and bus services one by one.

The limited express Haruka and Kansai Airport Rapid train

The limited express Haruka connects Kansai airport, Tennoji, Shin-Osaka and Kyoto.

Haruka operation route shown by a bold red line

If you start using this pass right after you arrive in Kansai airport, you may take this train. This train has both reserved seat car and non reserved seat car. But this pass covers only non reserved seat car. This train does not stop at Osaka. Please see the link below to find more information about Haruka:

Kansai Airport Limited Express Haruka

If you cannot take Haruka, you can take Kansai Airport Rapid train too. This is a sort of commute trains. Haruka has nicer interior.

Kansai Airport Rapid Service

Local train services in downtown Osaka

This pass covers a local train in Osaka, such as Osaka Kanjo line (Osaka loop line). You can get many places by this pass in Osaka. Please see the link below to find the information about JR local train service in Osaka:

The limited express Thunderbird (Osaka, Kyoto – Kanazawa)

This train is a primary way to get Kanazawa from Osaka or Kyoto.

The limited express Thunderbird operation route shown by a bold red line

You can book a reserved seat on this train by this pass. But you have to make a reservation after you arrive in Japan.

Nohi Bus (Kanazawa – Shirakawago – Takayama), Kaetsuno Bus (Shin Takaoka – Shirakawago)

Both bus services are shown by a green line in the coverage map above.

Most of you take Nohi Bus to get Shirakawago. You also take this bus when you move between Takayama and Kanazawa. All bus services between Kanazawa and Shirakawago requires an advanced booking. You cannot book online and you have to make a call to book a seat. A few bus services can be taken without reservation between Takayama and Shirakawago. You can find the phone number and timetable in the link below:

Nohi Bus official site

If you want to visit Ainokura, Suganuma and/or Gokayama, you will take Kaetsuno Bus. Reservation is not required.

The Hokuriku Shinkansen (Kanazawa – Toyama)

The Shinkansen train runs very frequently between Kanazawa and Toyama.

The Hokuriku Shinkansen route which is covered by this pass. (shown by a red bold line)

This pass does not allow you to book a seat on the Hokuriku Shinkansen. There are three kinds of trains running on the Hokuriku Shinkansen. Those are Kagayaki, Hakutaka and Tsurugi. But the fastest train “Kagayaki” does not have any non reserved seat cars. You have to take other two trains, Hakutaka or Tsurugi on the Hokuriku Shinkansen. Usually Tsurugi has lots of empty seats and easily can take a seat in non reserved cars.

Please find more details about the Hokuriku Shinkansen in the following link:

Find your hotels in 400 cities throughout Japan!!!

Hotels in Takayama
Hotels in Kanazawa
Hotels in Shirakawago

The limited express Wide View Hida (Nagoya – Takayama – Toyama)

This is very popular train to get Takayama. The scenery is very nice from this train.

Limited Express Wide View Hida operation route (shown by a bold red line)

This train runs once an hour in daytime between Nagoya and Takayama. But this train runs only a few times between Takayama and Toyama. If you cannot take this train between Toyama and Takayama, you can take a local train. But there is no direct local train between Toyama and Takayama. You have to change trains at Inotani between Takayama and Toyama.

Please see the link below to find more information about Wide View Hida:

You can book a reserved seat on this train by this pass. But you have to make a reservation after you arrive in Japan.

Train which is not covered at all or partially

This pass does not cover any train services between Gifu and Kyoto. This means you cannot make a circle tour by this pass. I would like to show you some trains which are not covered by this pass and how much you have to pay extra.

The Tokaido Shinkansen (Nagoya – Kyoto – Shin Osaka)

It is not covered at all. Even though the Shinkansen runs partially between Kyoto and Shin-Osaka in the coverage area, it is not covered at all. You may consider using Platt Kodama if you want to take the Shinkansen between Nagoya and Kyoto/Shin-Osaka.

Osaka departure of the limited express Wide View Hida (Osaka – Kyoto – Gifu – Takayama)

One round trip of Wide View Hida runs between Osaka and Takayama. However this train runs outside the coverage area partially.

This train runs outside the coverage area between Kyoto and Gifu.

If you take this train, you have to pay for Kyoto – Gifu. The one way extra cost (the base fare and the reserved seat fee) is around 4,500 yen. The reserved seat fee is covered in the coverage area. But you have to use two of four times seat booking for Takayama – Gifu and Osaka – Kyoto. If you take this route, you have to book a seat for both inside coverage area and outside coverage area at same time. You can get a same seat all the way.

The limited express Shirasagi (Kanazawa – Nagoya)

If you move between Nagoya and Kanazawa, the limited express Shirasagi is the fastest way. However this train runs outside the coverage area partially.

The segment between Tsuruga and Gifu is outside the coverage area.

If you take this train, you have to pay for Tsuruga – Gifu. The one way extra cost (the base fare and the reserved seat fee) is around 3,500 yen. Reserved seat fee is covered in the coverage area. But you have to use two of four times seat booking for Nagoya – Gifu and Kanazawa – Tsuruga. If you take this route, you have to book a seat for both inside coverage area and outside coverage area at same time. You can get a same seat all the way.

If you want to avoid this extra cost, you can take one of these following routes:

  • The limited express Wide View Hida (Nagoya – Toyama), the Hokuriku Shinkansen (Toyama – Kanazawa)
  • The limited express Wide View Hida (Nagoya – Takayama), Nohi Bus (Takayama – Kanazawa)

These routes are covered but the trip time is much longer than the limited express Shirasagi. If you take the limited express Shirasagi, the trip time is about 3 hours to get Nagoya from Kanazawa without changing trains. But if you take one of these above routes, the travel time is about 4.5 hours and you have to change trains or train/bus. Please think which choice is better for you, spending 1.5 hours or spending 3,360 yen.

Local train service in downtown Kyoto

You can get Kyoto by this pass. But after you arrive in Kyoto, this pass does not help you at all. You cannot get even some spots in Kyoto by this pass. JR lines connect Arashiyama and Fushimi from Kyoto station. But this pass does not cover these lines.

Trip to Nara, Trip to Kobe

These cities are a step away from Kyoto or Osaka. But these cities are not in the coverage area. Please do not think using this pass even partially. Just pay as you go or think about using other deal:

Compare cost between pass and single fare

First of all, please see the fare table for major segments below. These fares are approximate and may be varied by the seasonality:

One way fare

Kansai airport – Shin-Osaka by Limited Express NON reserved seat2,500 yen
Kansai airport – Kyoto by Limited Express NON reserved seat3,000 yen
Osaka – Kanazawa by Limited Express reserved seat7,800 yen
Kyoto – Kanazawa by Limited Express reserved seat7,000 yen
Nagoya – Takayama by Limited Express reserved seat6,000 yen
Toyama – Takayama by Limited Express reserved seat3,500 yen
Toyama – Kanazawa by Hokuriku Shinkansen NON reserved seat2,900 yen
Kanazawa – Shirakawago by Nohi bus2,000 yen
Takayama – Shirakawago by Nohi bus2,600 yen
Kanazawa – Takayama by Nohi bus3,600 yen
Shirakawago – Shin-Takaoka by Kaetsuno bus1,800 yen

You may find more information about the access to Takayama and Kanazawa at the links below:

You can find the timetable of the limited express Wide View Hida, Thunderbird, and Shirasagi in the link below:

Due to COVID-19, it may be operated on a schedule different from the normal timetable. Check the train schedule on Hyperdia.
Hyperdia perfect guide, train timetable and route search engine

Assessment

This deal is highly recommended if you visit Takayama, Shirakawago and/or Kanazawa from Osaka, Kyoto or Nagoya. Especially the coverage of Nohi Bus and Kaetsuno Bus offers a big deal.

I hope this post helps you to build your trip plan.

Comments

  1. Winnie says:

    Hi Takeshi,

    Sorry forgot to ask you earlier, does this pass cover the LTD. EXP SHIRASAGI from Gifu to Kanazawa? Or do I have to go through Takayama and take Nohi bus to Kanazawa?

    Thanks once again

    • Hi Winnie,

      A part of the trip by Shirasagi is not covered. If you take this train, you have to pay extra for Gifu to Tsuruga which is around 3500 yen extra. If you don’t want to pay any extra, you have to take go through Takayama. You don’t need to take Nohi bus. Some of limited express Wide View Hida goes through Toyama via Takayama. After Toyama, you can take Hokuriku Shinkansen to Kanazawa. Trip time is not much different between Nohi bus route and Toyama route. You can choose whichever you like.

      Cheers,

      Takeshi / JPRail.com

      • Winnie says:

        Hi Takeshi,

        If I decide to take the LTD. EXP SHIRASAGI from Gifu to Kanazawa, how to I pay the extra for the trip? Do I still show my pass when I board the train at Gifu? Or do I buy a ticket at Gifu for Gifu to Tsuruga? Thank you.

  2. Winnie says:

    Hi Takeshi,

    If I’m not travelling to Osaka or Kyoto, is this still the best pass to use for travelling around Nagoya – Gifu – Takayama – Shirakawago – Kanazawa?

    Thanks.

  3. Kong Hon Nyen says:

    Dear Takeshi,

    We are from Malaysia. We will start my holiday to Japan from 17th Nov 2016 to 26th Nov 2016. We will be staying in Kyoto 4 for days, Kanazawa 1 day, stop over Shirakawago before stay another day in Takayama & head back to Osaka for another 3 days. We will stop by Ringku Town before going to KIX for our flight back home.

    I would like to seek your opinion if we should buy this Takayama Hokuriku 5 day area pass?

    If yes, should we buy for starting from 22nd Nov till 26th Nov or 21st Nov till 25th Nov?

    Hope to hear from you soon.

  4. Simon says:

    Hi Takeshi-san,

    For LTD. EXP (WIDE VIEW) HIDA train, any website for advance reservation from JR Nagoya Station to JR Takayama Station? (Using Japan Rail Pass).
    If the train is full, is standing on board allow?

    Best regards
    Simon

  5. Celest says:

    Hi Takeshi,
    We are planning to visit Japan this end year 10 days which include Nagoya, Gero, Takayama, Toyama, Shirakawa-go, Kanazawa, Fukiu and Osaka. Kindly please advise the pass to use and suggested itinerary. We will be landed in KIX airport, from there will travel directly to Nagoya and start our trip.

    Thank you.

  6. Cheoi Ying says:

    Hi Takeshi,

    Me and my husband are planning to visit Japan this end of Nov. Our tour will start from Osaka. We are planning to have a one day trip to shirakawago but not sure whether from nagoya or kyoto. Can advise on this?

    Thanks

  7. Lay says:

    Dear Takeshi,
    Thank you for your reply on my itinerary. Like you said earlier buying a JR pass would be easier but much more expensive.
    Thank you for the links to all the deals for my trip!!

    Best regards,
    Lay See

    • No problem, Lay.

      Cheers,

      Takeshi / JPRail.com

      • Steven says:

        Dear Sir,

        Can you kindly advice if Nohi bus from Takayama to shirakawago ogimachi AND from shirakawago to Kanazawa tickets can be bought at the bus stops or where can it be purchased?

        The Nohi reservation website is in Japanese. Any way to reserve a ticket in advance?

        Reading from the websites it seems Nohi is the most efficient bus transport to shirakawago n en route to Kanazawa. Is that correct?

        Appreciate your kind help as have been frantically looking for this info from websites but to no avail.

        Thanks

        Steven

        • Hi Steven,

          Unfortunately online is Japanese only as you saw. You can purchase a ticket on the spot but in these days, Shirakawago is very popular and bus is full very often. If you want to book it in advance, you have to make a call. You might see the phone number in Nohi bus website. That is a number that you need to contact.

          Cheers,

          Takeshi / JPRail.com

  8. C K Loo says:

    Hi Mr Takashi
    I plan to take a small circle trip listed as follows
    Day 1 – From Nagoya Airport to Takayama
    Day 2 – From Takayama to Shirakawago
    Day 3 – From Shirakawago to Kanazawa (stay Kanazawa for 2 nights)
    Day 5 – From Kanazawa back to Nagoya.
    May i know if the ticket for Hokuriku Area Tourist Pass good enough to cover them.
    Also from Kanazawa back to Nagoya is there a direct route?

    Thanks & Regards
    loo

    • Hi Loo,

      Your choice is right and it covers whole part of your trip. But direct route from Kanazawa to Nagoya is not covered by this pass. You need to take either route, Kanazawa-(Shirakawago)-Takayama-Nagoya or Kanazawa-Toyama-Nagoya. Trip time is not much different.

      Cheers,

      Takeshi / JPRail.com

  9. SanSan says:

    Hi Takeshi,
    Would like to travel to Japan for about 9 days and will arrive at Narita Airport Tokyo.
    I would like to cover places as Tokyo, Mount fuji, Shirakawa-go, Kobe, Osaka, Kyoto and Nara. Is that enough time for me to cover all the places and which JR Pass is recommended .
    Thank you.
    Best regards
    SanSan

  10. Suci says:

    Hi Takeshi,
    We’re planning to visit Japan this December. And we’re kinda overwhelmed with so many options to choose. Can you please help us with this following itinerary,
    Day 1: Arrive in KIX around 8am, drop our baggage in Namba area, Kaiyukan
    Day 2: Kyoto daytrip
    Day 3: Nara daytrip
    Day 4: Universal Studio
    Day 5: Shirakawago (stay for a night)
    Day 6: Leave for Tokyo
    Day 7: Odaiba
    Day 8: Gala Yuzawa
    Day 9: Disney Sea
    Day 10-11: Tokyo
    Day 12: Depart from HND
    Should we buy Osaka Kaiyu ticket for Day 1 & activate JR pass from Day 2-8, and SUICA for the rest?
    Or maybe Osaka Kaiyu Ticket for Day 1, Takayama Hokuriku Pass for Day 2-6, purchase single shinkansen from Nagoya to Tokyo, and Tokyo Wide Pass for the rest?
    Or perhaps you could give us better suggestion?
    Thanks in advance

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