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. bee says:

    Hi Takeshi-san ~

    I have a complicated Itinerary ^^;; please bare with it…
    I bought 5 Days Takayama – Hokuriku JR Pass and will buy the rest soon (KTP, Daily Pass, etc)

    Question is:
    1. What do you think?
    2. Do you have any suggestion to minimize / simplify the use of the so many pass I’m about to buy?
    3. When using the JR Pass on Osaka Conventional Line, are we ONLY allowed to get off at the designated station on the map? What happen if we get off at … lets say Shin-Imamiya station? I’m still a bit confuse regarding this conventional line > Kyoto = JR Day 1
    Kyoto (Gion & Kiyomizu Dera) = Kyoto Bus Pass (?)
    Stay at Kyoto – Fujitaya BNB (require Bus to reach the BNB & 30min to Golden Temple by Bus)

    Day 2:
    Fushimi Inari & Nara = KTP Day 1

    Day 3:
    Kyoto Golden Temple: Kyoto Bus Pass (?)
    Kanazawa & Takayama: JR Day 3
    Stay at Takayama

    Day 4:
    Shirakawago = JR Day 4
    Back to Osaka = JR (but sadly our Guesthouse is near KIX which closest Station is Izumisano Station on Nankai Line) so we have to buy ticket from Osaka to Izumisano St. (?)
    Stay at Osaka til Home

    Day 5:
    Osaka = Osaka Day Pass / basic train fare (?)
    We plan to go shopping at Umeda the whole day (probably only going to umeda n back to izumisano st.) we still have JR Pass – Day 5 wonder if we can still use it somehow…somewhere?

    Day 6:
    Kobe = KTP Day 2

    Day 7:
    Osaka = Osaka Day Pass (?)
    Probably going around Dotonbori Area

    Day 8:
    Return home

    • Hi Bee san,

      Before I answer your inquiries, I would like to make sure a few things. First, what are you going to do in day 1. Are you arriving in Kansai and go to Kyoto, and visit some places in Kyoto? Second, when are you going?

      Cheers,

      Takeshi / JPRail.com

  2. Ang says:

    Hi Takeshi san,

    I am holding Takayama-Hokuriku Area Pass. As I understand that we cannot reserve seat for Shin-Takaoko to Toyama train (Hokuriku Shinkansen) .
    May I know what is the peak hours for the above route?
    Is it easy to get the seat for 4 pax on 24/12/2018 around 16:23 (and other day same time)? (Shin-Takaoko Station to Toyama Station).

    Thank you
    Ang

  3. Arwen says:

    Dear Takeshi-san,

    I will be travelling to Japan from 1 – 8 March 2019, below is my itinerary
    Day 1 : arrive at Osaka-Kansai airport, transfer to Kyoto
    Day 2 : Kyoto
    Day 3 : Kyoto
    Day 4 : Kyoto – transfer to Kanazawa (overnight Kanazawa)
    Day 5 : Kanazawa – Shirakawa – Takayama (overnight Takayama)
    Day 6 : Takayama – transfer to Osaka
    Day 7 : Osaka
    Day 8 : Osaka – fly out of Japan

    Do you think I should use the Takayama Hokuriku area pass? Or Kintetsu pass instead?
    And would like to ask the suitable transportation pass to cover Kyoto and Osaka, as I am planning to visit major tourist attractions in those two cities.

    Arigatou gozaimasu 🙂

    Regards,

  4. Erinn says:

    Hi Takeshi san,

    Good day. I will be travelling to Osaka on Nov 2018. Would like to seek for your advice. My itinerary as below:

    Day 1: Arrive Kansai Airport, will go to Kyoto directly.
    Day 2: Kyoto
    Day 3: Kyoto
    Day 4: Travel to Nara in the morning, afternoon go Kanazawa
    Day 5: Travel to Shirakawago, then go back to Osaka
    Day 6: Osaka – USJ
    Day 7: Osaka
    Day 8: Osaka – Return to Singapore.

    I have purchased Takayama-Hokuriku Pass.
    Q1: Takayama-Hokuriku Pass cannot be used within Kyoto City?

    Q2: Which day would you suggest to start use the pass?

    Q3: Do I need to purchase other pass like Icoca card? Or if there any additional deal / pass suitable for my itinerary?

    Looking forward of your reply:)

    Thank you.

    Regards
    Erinn

  5. Jen says:

    Hi,
    Is the JR Tokaido Shinkansen from Kyoto to Nagoya not covered by this pass? We plan to go to Takayama from Kyoto and it is recommended to take this route:
    Kyoto-Nagoya-Takayama (via Hida limited express)

    • Hi Jen,

      Unfortunately not. If you use this route, you have to pay for Kyoto to Nagoya. If you want to the route which is covered by the pass, you have to take the following route:
      Kyoto-Kanazawa-(bus)-Takayama or Kyoto-Kanazawa-Toyama-Takayama
      But a part of Toyama-Takayama segment is closed now. It will be open in late November.

      Cheers,

      Takeshi / JPRail.com

  6. Lin says:

    Hello, Takeshi
    I am planning my Japan trip in early December.
    Please kindly guide me with my 7~8 days itinerary as I wish to use the Takayama-Hokuriku area pass or which best pass for my trip?
    Day 1 Arrival at Chubu/Nagoya airport – Takayama (Okuhida onsen)
    Day 2 Takayama – Kanazawa (day trip)
    Day 3 Takayama – Shirakawago (day trip)
    Day 4 Takayama – Kyoto
    Day 5 Kyoto – Osaka (day trip)
    Day 6 ~ 7 – Kyoto
    Day 8 – Kyoto – Kansai airport (departure)
    Q1. Can I use the Takayama-Hokuriku area pass if I select to arrive at Komatsu airport?
    Q2. Which pass to use during my 3~4 days visit in Kyoto?
    Q3. Which pass is best departure Kyoto – Kansai airport?
    Q4. Which pass is best departure Osaka – Kansai airport if I stay in Osaka on day 7/8?
    Thank you so much for your advice.
    Best,
    Lin

  7. Cass says:

    Hi Takeshi san,

    Good day.

    I am making my 1st trip to japan from 23/Dec 2018 to 01/01 2019, and finally have confirmed our itinerary (except day 7 & day 8 still haven’t decide stay in Kanazawa or Takayama) as below:

    Day 01 : Arrive in Osaka KIX airport-0845am (stay Osaka-Yodoyabashi area)
    Day 02 : Osaka day trip (stay Osaka)
    Day 03 : Osaka day trip (stay Osaka)
    Day 04: Kyoto day tour (stay Kyoto)
    Day 05: Kyoto day tour -Arashiyama (stay Kyoto)
    Day 06: Kyoto day tour (stay Kyoto)
    Day 07: Kyoto to Kanazawa or Takayama (stay Kanazawa/ Takayama)
    Day 08: Shiragawa Go (stay Kanazawa/Takayama)
    Day 09: Kanazawa to Nagoya (stay Nagoya)
    Day 10: Depart rom Nagoya (morning flight: 1030am)

    1) Which pass is recommend for day in Osaka & Kyoto, ICOCA and Haruka or Kansai one pass ?
    2) Which pass is most saving to visit Shiragawa go ? Kansai Hokuriku Area Pass 7 days or Takayama Hokuriku area 5 days pass ?

    Thank you.

    Cheers,

    Cass

  8. Faith says:

    Hi Takeshi,
    I am hoping you are able to help me some advice on my itinerary and which is the best pass to use for our trip.
    Day 1-9 Kyoto/Nara arriving Osaka airport
    Day 10-14 Hiroshima from Kyoto
    Day 14-20 Osaka from Hiroshima
    Day 21 Osaka Airport
    Thank you so much for your help!
    Best regards,
    Faith

  9. Dean says:

    Hi Takeshi ,

    I will travel to japan on 13th to 21st October, so i plan to use takayama hokuriku area pass, my hotel at kanazawa, so i want to ask:

    1) if i book this pass from my country (Malaysia), and they will send exchange order (MCO) via mail, how to i want to reserve a seat for nohi bus (for shiragawago/takayama) and ordinary JR train (from osaka-shin to kanazawa & return) using this exchange order (MCO) if i don’t have a pass yet (need to exchange MCO for the pass at KIX after arriving in Japan) ?

    2) this pass will worth if i use this pass from KIX – Osaka – Kanazawa – Shiragawago – Takayama – (*Maybe go to Nagoya if still have some free time) – Toyama – Kanazawa – Osaka ? I stay nearby Kanazawa Station from 13th to 16th October before go back to Osaka.

    3) last question, can you suggest attraction place nearest main Station from Fukui, Kanazawa, Toyama, Takayama, Shiragawago, Gokayama, Gifu and Nagoya that i can reach just with walk, maybe around 1km from station, thanks for your time.

    *Sorry for my broken English

  10. Kelly says:

    We are planning to use this Takayama-Hokuriku area pass to travel from Kansai Airport to Takayama.

    Can I clarify if this pass covers the below 3 routes?

    1. From Kansai Airport to Osaka using the Kansai Airport Rapid Service
    (JR Hanwa Line – Hanwa-Kansaikuko Line Kanku-Rapid train)

    2. From Osaka to Kanazawa using the Limited Express Thunderbird

    3. From Kanazawa to Takayama using the Nohi bus

    I am confused for the route from Kansai Airport to Osaka as I understood that the pass also covers Limited Express Haruka which travels from Kansai Airport to Shin-Osaka but not on reserved seats. So can this pass be used on the Limited Express Haruka or can it be used only on the Kansai Airport Rapid Service?

    Thank you.

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