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. Eve says:

    Hi Takeshi San,

    Thank you for your web It’s full of useful information and I find it really helpful.
    We are visiting Japan next month with our baby and have been reading about all different passes that could suit our itinerary but find it difficult to select one. I would be really greatful if you have some tips.

    Our itinerary is as follows:
    Day 1: KIX to Namba: I am considering the Nankai basic fare or the Kaiyukan Nankai plan.
    Day 2: Koyasan with an overnight: Koyasan World Heritage Ticket
    Day 3: Koyasan- Kyoto (since we have to change in Osaka, we might spend more time there)
    Day 4-7: Kyoto with a possible day trip to Nara
    Day 8: Kyoto-Takayama: I am considering taking the Wide View Hida 25 train since it is direct and a bit cheaper
    Day 9: Takayama- Shirakawa-go ( spending around 4 hours there) and overnight in Kanazawa (I already reserved our seats for the Nohi bus)
    Day 10: Kanazawa
    Day 11: Kanazawa-Tokyo (Shinjuku)
    Day 12-16: Tokyo (possible day trip to Kamakura if we have time)
    Day 17: Leaving Japan from HND

    I know that in order to use the Takayama Hokuriku Pass we should go from Kyoto to Kanazawa first but I chose it like that because the trip to Tokyo from Kanazawa is much faster (and also a bit cheaper).
    I did the calculations and the 7 day JR Pass doesn’t seem to pay off.
    Is there some other deal or pass that could suit our itinerary better?
    How can I reserve the Wide View Hida train? Is it possible to do it online or only once we are in Japan?

    Thank you.

  2. Regine says:

    Hi Takeshi,

    This is my itinerary ,
    Day 1 Kansai Airport – Kyoto
    Day 2 Kyoto (Fushimi n Arashiyama)
    Day 3 From Kyoto to Takayama
    Day 4 Shirakawago half day , around 2pm go to Osaka
    Day 5 USJ
    Day 6 Osaka
    Day 7 Osaka
    Day 8 Go to KIX Airport

    Here are some question I need to ask
    1. Does Takayama Hokuriku Area Tourist Pass worth me to buy?
    2. Does Takayama Hokuriku Area Tourist Pass include the transport from Kansai Airport to Kyoto Station?
    3. If it is included, what transport should I take?
    4. Where can I reserved seat for Limited Express ”Thunderbird” and ”Wide View Hida”?
    5. What transport would you recommend for me to take from Nipponbashi Station to Kansai Airport?

    Sorry for so many questions><

  3. Ernest says:

    Hi takeshi..
    i had bought the jr central n jr west pass. n plan to travel on 15th april 2017 to takayama for the festival hold once a year.
    i m wondering can i use this jr pass to travel from osaka direct to takayama?
    cos i had check on website saying there’s a direct round trip per day which leave osaka at 8.02am n reach takayama about 13.15pm.( it will bypass nagoya but go through gifu n end at takayama).
    your soonest reply is much appreciated cos i m leaving to osaka on 13th april 2017.

    thanks n regards.

    • Hi Ernest,

      Unfortunately this route is not covered by this pass. You have to get Kanazawa first and then take bus to Takayama via Shirakawago, or take Hokuriku Shinkansen to Toyama and then need to take another train to Takayama.

      Cheers,

      Takeshi / JPRail.com

      • Ernest says:

        Hi takeshi, thanks for your replied.
        Just to check if i still decide to travel from osaka direct to takayama through gifu but bypass nagoya. May i know how much i have to pay for the JR train ticket.
        Will it be shorter time to reach takayama?

        thanks…

        • Hi Ernest,

          It costs around 4500 yen. (reserved seat fee + base fare for Kyoto-Gifu)
          The extra fare is varied by season and type of seats.

          The trip is faster than Kanazawa route.

          Cheers,

          Takeshi / JPRail.com

          • Ernest says:

            Thanks takeshi…
            May I know can I get this jr pass in Osaka station? And the actual name for the pass is call?

            Or can I book online?

            Thanks.

            • Hi Ernest,

              Are you talking about the ticket for Kyoto to Gifu? If so, it’s not a pass. It’s a regular ticket. You can buy when you exchange Takayama Hokuriku Area Pass. When you exchange Takayama Hokuriku Area Pass, you can book a seat for Wide View Hida to Takayama. When you book this train, you can add single fare and seat fee tickets for outside coverage area which is Kyoto to Gifu.

              You cannot purchase it online. You need to purchase at the window.

              Cheers,

              Takeshi / JPRail.com

  4. May says:

    Hi Takeshi San,

    I’m planning to go directly to Ena at the Gifu Prefecture from Shirakawago /Takayama. Does the same bus company from Takayama Hokuriku Area Pass cover this route with this pass? Else, which bus goes there & trip fare?

    Thanks!

  5. Randy says:

    Hi Takeshi,
    Sorry I don’t understand this part “If you want to make circle tour, Osaka / Kyoto – Kanazawa – Shirakawago – Takayama – Nagoya – Osaka, Kintetsu Rail Pass may be considerable”, as I tried to read your post regarding Kintetsu Rail Pass and it does not cover Takayama – Shirkawago – Kanazawa. And to add single ticket seems it will be more expensive. Could you help to explain that cheaper one? Thanks

  6. Siti says:

    Hi. Which pass suits our itinerary below as it is our first time in Japan. Our base is in Namba area.

    1st day: KIX to Namba station
    4th day: Osaka to Gion
    6th day: Osaka to Nara
    7th day: Osaka to Kyoto
    8th day: Osaka to Takayama
    10th day: Takayama to Shirakawago
    11th day: Takayama to KIX

  7. Elizabeth Maloy says:

    Dear Takeshi,

    I am so happy I found this website with such useful information, but am finding I very much need help! There is just so much to consider. Could you please assist in the most inexpensive way for my family of five to travel for the first time to Japan in April? Any help will be so appreciated as we are not very experienced travels.

    Our itinerary:
    (Five of us together)
    4/6 – 4/8 – Kyoto
    4/8, Transfer Kyoto -> Mount Fuji Area
    4/8-4/10, Mount Fuji area
    4/10, Transfer Mount Fuji -> Tokyo
    4/10-4/14, Tokyo

    (Three of us together)
    4/14, Transfer Tokyo -> Takayama
    4/14-4/16, Takayama
    4/16, Transfer: Takayama -> Shikagoya
    4/16-4/17, Shirakawa-go
    4/17, Transfer: Shirakawa-go -> Kanazawa
    4/17-4/18, Kanazawa
    4/18, Transfer: Kanazawa -> Nikko
    4/18-4/20, Nikko
    4/20, Transfer Nikko-Narita

  8. Jan says:

    I need to know which pass can suit my itinerary below:
    1) 3.4.17 from Osaka to Nagoya
    2) 5.4.17 from Nagoya to Takayama
    3) 6.4.17 from Takayama to Shirawago & back to Takayama
    4) 7.4.17 Takayama to Nagoya

  9. cerise says:

    Noted. Thanks so much for the info.

    Have a nice day, Takeshi..

  10. cerise says:

    Hi Takeshi,

    I need of some suggest for my 1st trip to japan.
    This is my itinerary

    26/02 9.30 am reach kix then direct to kyoto
    27/02 from kyoto go to kanazawa-shirakawago-takayama-nagoya
    28/02 nagoya-takayama
    01/03 takayama-kyoto (via kanazawa)
    02-03/03 kyoto-osaka
    04/03 osaka-kobe
    05/03 to airport kix

    i bought takayama hokuriku area and osaka amazing pass 2 days already.
    my questions is
    1. from kix to kyoto what train should i take n cover by this takayama pass?
    2. from kyoto to kanazawa is it correct if i take thunderbird n cover by this takayama pass too?
    3. is it correct from takayama take a hida train to nagoya and cover by this takayama pass also?
    4. from takayama back to kanazawa via shirakawago, need get out from the bus( after bus reach shirakawago) then move to another bus for back to kanazawa?
    5. from kyoto to osaka what train should i take and cover by this takayama pass?
    6. from osaka to kix, is it take a nankai line train? my hotel will be nearby shin imamiya station.
    7. how to reserved seat for train not in the same day travel to another place and at where can do it?

    really sorry for my long long questions… i google a lot but still can not get a clear info. I hope u can give me some info or suggest that i need one. Really appreciate of it. Thanks in advance

    7.

    • Hi Cerise,

      1. You can take limited express Haruka.
      https://jprail.com/trains/sort-by-type/limited-express/kansai-airport-limited-express-haruka.html

      2. Yes

      3. Yes

      4. No. You can stay in the bus and it’s same bus. Of course you can step out from the bus to get fresh air or go to the washroom if you want.

      5. Most common choice is special rapid.
      https://jprail.com/trains/sort-by-type/rapid-service/special-rapid-service.html

      You also can take limited express Thunderbird or Haruka. If you want to go to Shin-Imamiya from Kyoto, Haruka is the best way. It takes you to Tennoji and it’s just one station away from Shin-Imamiya by local train.

      6. Nankai is the best way. Single fare is 920 yen.

      7. You can book anytime and at any major stations. If you want, you can book all seats when you exchange your pass in KIX. But you cannot book a seat on Haruka. You have to take non reserved seat car.

      Cheers,

      Takeshi / JPRail.com

      • cerise says:

        Hi Takeshi,

        Thanks so much for your useful information.

        I still want to double confirm with you
        So if i take haruka from kyoto to osaka, the fare will cover by the pass also?

        The last 2 question that i just remember to ask

        1. Is it ok if call nohi bus after i reach to kyoto for reserve the next day seat?
        2. What train do you suggest from osaka to kobe?
        (special rapid?)

        Thanks a lot.

        • Hi Cerise,

          You can take Haruka and it’s covered, Only reserved seat on Haruka is not covered.

          You should call Nohi bus as soon as possible. This bus is always busy in these days.

          You can take Osaka loop line from Shin-Imamiya to Osaka and then take Special rapid from Osaka to Kobe.

          Cheers,

          Takeshi / JPRail.com

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