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

shirakawago winterRail pass for visitors
2015.05.31
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:

Osaka train route guide. How much can we use JR Pass in Osaka? How to choose the best route by train to get the major spots in Osaka?
There are lots of the train lines and subway lines in Osaka. This post shows you the train network in Osaka. You can learn how to get the major places in Osaka.
jprail.com
2013.10.30

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:

The Hokuriku Shinkansen, direct access to Kanazawa, Nagano and Toyama from Tokyo.
The Hokuriku Shinkansen is the fastest route to get Nagano, Toyama and Kanazawa from Tokyo. Please find the information about this Shinkansen line in this post.
jprail.com
2014.12.28
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:

The limited express Wide View Hida timetable and the train information. The train access to Takayama and Hida
The limited express Wide View Hida connects Nagoya, Gero, Takayama, Hida-Furukawa and Toyama. And one round trip runs between Osaka, Kyoto and Takayama. You can find all information about the limited express Wide View Hida.
jprail.com
2010.01.07

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.

Platt Kodama, one way deal among Tokyo, Nagoya, Kyoto and Shin-Osaka by the Shinkansen
This post explains you about Platt Kodama which is a sort of the Shinkansen deal. It offers one way trip between Tokyo, Nagoya, Kyoto and Shin-Osaka by the Shinkansen Kodama.
jprail.com
2016.11.05

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:

How to choose discount railway ticket and pass for the trip in Kansai area
This post shows you the list of the pass which cover Kansai area. If you are looking for the deal in Kansai area, you can get some idea in this post.
jprail.com
2011.11.27

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:

How to get to Takayama by a train and a bus
Takayama is very attractive small town. It is very closed to another popular spot, Shirakawago. In this post, I show you how to get Takayama by train and bus.
jprail.com
2020.05.17
How to access to Kanazawa and Toyama from Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto, Nagoya and Niigata.
Kanazawa is very popular destination in Hokuriku region. Toyama is also well known as the gateway to Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route and Kurobe gorge. In this post, I will show you the access to these cities from Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, Nagoya and Niigata.
jprail.com
2011.10.27

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. Jamie says:
    January 3, 2016 at 9:39 am

    Hi Takeshi,

    My sister and I will be travelling to Japan in less than a week time.

    I was thinking of buying Takayama Hokuriku Pass for my Takayama – Shirakawago (day trip) – Takayama – Osaka routes.

    In Osaka, I will be using JR Hida, JR Tokaido Line, JR Tokaido-Sanyo Line, JR Osaka Loop Line, JR Touzai Gakkentoshi Line and JR Haruka.

    Hence, are all those JR Lines that I have mentioned included in the Takayama Hokuriku Pass?

    Any advice provided will be greatly appreciated.

    Thank you.

    Jamie

  2. Katie Ellett says:
    January 1, 2016 at 1:04 pm

    Hello Takeshi
    My 85 yr old mother (who is reasonably fit) and I are planning a trip to visit Shirakawago in April this year. Can you please give us some options about how to do this? Here is our plan at the moment:

    Day 1 – Our departure point is Omiya (can travel into Tokyo) then on to Takayama for a night

    Day 2 – Either take a bus to Ogimachi (poss Suganuma and Ainokura – don’t know if you can) Stay overnight at one of these villages

    Day 3 – Either stay another night in Takayama or return to Omiya.

    I noticed that the Takayama spring festival is on and would love to spend one of the festival nights in Takayama although Im not sure how easy it would be to get accommodation at this time.
    I am also thinking about renting a car to get to the Shirakawao and Gokyama villages if the bus service is too difficult.

    Your feedback would be appreciated

  3. JOANNE says:
    December 24, 2015 at 8:45 am

    Hi can I use this pass to ride JR Train inside the city of Osaka?

  4. Mia Metalika says:
    December 21, 2015 at 6:14 pm

    Dear Takeshi San,

    Good Morning from Jakarta

    I have some questions about this pass Hokuriku Takayama
    Please help explanation

    1. Do Nohi Bus must reserve.? Can if on the spot just do not have the reserve.?

    2. Wherever the location for its reserve Nohi Bus.? There is an office that we could go or just via telephone only.?

    3. What is the purpose of “reserve seat up four times”.?

    I’m awaiting your confirmation ASAP
    Thanks You

  5. Hest says:
    December 20, 2015 at 10:51 am

    Hi Takeshi,

    Is this pass also cover takayama to kamikochi roundtrip by Nohi Bus?

    Thanks
    Hest

  6. Phoebe says:
    December 12, 2015 at 10:03 am

    Hi Takeshi,

    I just love your site. It is so informative and makes trip planning so much easier for travellers.

    It will be my first time to travel to Nagoya and Takayama in the coming January (7-12), but I couldn’t decide my itinerary for my 3D2N stay at Takayama. I want to visit Shirakawago, Kanazawa and maybe Toyama, and will buy the Takayama Hokuriku Area Pass.

    Below is what I have in mind. Grateful if you can give me some advice. I am not a morning person, so I don’t plan on taking any 7/8 am buses.

    Day 1 (8 Jan, Fri) – Arrive Takayama (by Hida 9) in the afternoon and will tour around the city

    Day 2 (9 Jan, Sat) – taking reference from http://www.japan-guide.com/bus/shirakawago.html about the bus schedule

    0950 – Takayama to Shirakawa
    1225 – Shirakawa to Kanazawa*
    1600 – Kanazawa to Takayama*

    With this option, I will use 2 reserved seats (marked with *), and the other 2 times will be used for the round trip between Takayama/Toyama and Nagoya. However, I don’t know if it is sufficient to spend just less than 2 hours in Shirakawago.

    Also, how do I make reservation for bus apart from calling them? Can I make the reservation a day before at Takayama station? Do I have to exchange tickets with the Takayama Hokuriku Area Pass?

    Day 3 (10 Jan, Sun) – Takayama to Toyama (JR), then Toyama back to Nagoya (Hida 20)

    How long would you recommend me to stay in Toyama? Would 3 hours be sufficient? I plan to visit the Takayama morning market before heading over to Toyama.

    Alternatively, I can ditch my plan to Toyama, and just visit Shirakawa on Day 2 and Kanazawa on Day 3. As I don’t want my trip to be too rushy nor spent too much time on travelling.

    What do you think of my itinerary? I would love to hear your suggestions. I also worry if heavy snow will be a problem for travelling by bus and wonder if taking JR will be a better choice for my travel period.

    BTW – where can I find the full schedule of Wide View Hida Limited Express trains? I was only be able to search schedule on google map’s schedule explorer function / West JR site with a given time. But I would like to see the whole day train schedule for a better time management.

    Finally, for long travelling, will meals be offered on trains? Or do I have to grab bento before hopping on the train? Apologies if you find my question stupid.

    Thank you!

    Cheers,
    Phoebe

    • Takeshi / JPRail.com says:
      December 12, 2015 at 4:20 pm

      Hi Phoebe,

      I think it’s very tight in both Kanazawa and Shirakawago. I understand you want to stay in one place, Takayama and make day trip. You don’t need to worry about luggage. But I recommend you to stay in Kanazawa after visiting Shirakawago. You can take later bus to get Kanazawa. You will see Kanazawa in the night and next morning. You may take Kanazawa-Toyama-Nagoya route and you can drop by Toyama. But honestly, Kanazawa is much more attractive than Toyama. If I were you, I cut Toyama and stay in Kanazawa as much as I can. But you have to take this route anyway. Because only this route or bus route to Takayama is covered by this pass.

      You can find the timetable at Hyperdia.
      https://jprail.com/travel-informations/basic-informations/timetable-and-reservation/hyperdia-perfect-guide-train-timetable-and-route-search-engine.html

      Especially this function is very helpful.
      https://jprail.com/travel-informations/basic-informations/timetable-and-reservation/hyperdia-perfect-guide-train-timetable-and-route-search-engine.html#Interval_timetable

      Meal is not served in the train. You cannot purchase it on board either. Don’t forget to grab something to eat and drink.

      Cheers,’

      Takeshi / JPRail.com

      • Phoebe says:
        December 13, 2015 at 2:19 am

        Hi Takeshi,

        Thank you so much for your recommendation. I just changed my second night to Kanazawa. This will give me much more flexibility.

        A few follow up questions:

        1. Is it easy to store luggage in Shirakawago? It will be just a carry on small luggage.

        2. Is the Takayama morning marketing worth going? I heard the no. of stalls will drop to 10 in winter.

        3. For travelling within Nagoya, is it sufficient to get the 1-day subway pass? Can I get the pass at any subway station?
        I am staying at Sakae and plan on travelling to Nagoya Castle, Atsuta Shrine, Toyota Museum, and Sky Promenade by subway. While I can walk to Oasis 21, TV Tower and Osu from my hotel.

        Thank you for your help!

        Cheers,
        Phoebe

        • Takeshi / JPRail.com says:
          December 13, 2015 at 10:26 am

          Hi Phoebe,

          1. Yes. There are lockers. If it’s full, information center can take care of it at same price, about 300-400 yen.

          2. I like it. But actually I have no idea in winter time because I have never been there in winter.

          3. I agree. Please find more info at the link below:
          http://www.kotsu.city.nagoya.jp/english/english_tickets.html

          Cheers,

          Takeshi / JPRail.com

          • Phoebe says:
            December 30, 2015 at 6:33 pm

            Hi Takeshi,

            The reserved bus is so full during my period of travel, luckily I was finally able to make reservations for bus from Takayama to Kanazawa and Kanazawa to Shirakawago, but have to cut down my time spent in Shirakawago.

            I wonder what to do, if I couldn’t make it to those “no reservation” buses from Shirakawago to Takayama. Are there trains or even taxi/uber? How much would that be?

            I am super worried that I will miss the non-reserved bus……… coz I won’t have anywhere to stay in Shirakawago.

            Thank you!

            Cheers,
            Phoebe

            • Takeshi / JPRail.com says:
              December 30, 2015 at 9:46 pm

              Hi Phoebe,

              Unfortunately there is no options other than Nohi bus. I don’t think you can catch any other taxi service from Shirakawago. You MUST take a bus. In the worst case, you have to call up taxi from either Takayama or Kanazawa. I have no idea about cost but it’s super expensive.

              Cheers,

              Takeshi / JPRail.com

  7. EK Yeoh says:
    December 8, 2015 at 12:29 am

    Hi Takeshi,

    Does Takayama Hokuriku Area Pass cover unlimited unreserved seat for:
    -LTD. EXP HARUKA
    -LTD. EXP THUNDERBIRD

  8. Jas says:
    December 4, 2015 at 6:52 am

    Dear Takeshi-san,

    I am so glad to chance upon this website after trying hard to figure out how to travel within a few places in Japan.

    I need your advice on the travel plan and the type of pass that a family of 4 can buy.

    Day 1: Arrive at Kansai Airport and stay near JR Namba (Motomachi,Naniwa-ku)
    Day 2: Travel to Kyoto and stay near Kiyomizu-Gojo station
    Day 3 – 4: Stay near Kyoto Station (Kyoyumoto Hatoya Zuihokaku)
    Kindly advise which day should we visit Kiyomizu Temple, Golden Pavilion, Gion District, Fushimi Inari Shrine and Arashimaya.
    Do you think we have the time to visit Nara or we should do that another time?
    Day 5: Kyoto to Shiragawa-go and stay at Hirase Onsen
    Day 6: Hirase Onsen to Takayama and stay at Takayamaouan
    Kindly advise if it is better for us if Day 5 we travel from Kyoto to Hirase Osen, then Day 6 we travel to Shiragawa-go then Takayama?
    Day 7: Takayama to Osaka JR Namba (Motomachi,Naniwa-ku)
    Day 8: Tour Osaka
    Day 9: Depart from Kansai airport in the evening

    Look forward to your advice as we will be in Japan next weekend!

  9. Janice says:
    December 3, 2015 at 2:30 am

    Hi Takeshi-san,

    My sister is planning to purchase the Takayama Horikuru pass.
    She arrives in KIX on 11th Dec. Taking the train to Kanazawa from KIX airport.
    Spend 2 nights at Kanazawa and then take the train to Takayama on 13th Dec.
    Day trip to Shirakawago via NohiBus on 14th Dec.
    On 15th Dec, move from Takayama to Kyoto.

    Looking at the route, this pass does not cover a direct Nagoya to Kyoto.

    What is the best route to travel from Takayama to Kyoto using this pass?

    Thanks for your great assistance as always.

    Thanks
    Janice

  10. Jonathan says:
    December 2, 2015 at 11:59 pm

    Hello Takeshi,

    First of all, like many others, I would like to say what a great website! Secondly, I would like to ask for some advice about my itinerary and what kind of rail pass to buy:

    I have booked our flights, but am yet to book any accommodation.
    Arrive in Osaka on 15 Feb at 09:35
    Day 1 to 3 : Osaka, Kyoto and Nara
    Day 4: Kyoto to Kanazawa with a side trip to Shirakawago
    Day 5: Kanazawa to Shibu Onsen at Yamanouchi
    Day 6: Shibu Onsen to Tadami (or any other town along the Tadami River)
    Day 7: Tadami River Line (stay at Mishima possibly)
    Day 8: Continue down to Nikko
    Day 9: Nikko to Tokyo
    Day 10: Tokyo
    Day 11: Day trip Tokyo to Hakone (possibly stay the night)
    Day 12: Tokyo
    Day 13: Depart from Tokyo on Sat 27 Feb at 11:30

    Would the JR Pass make sense? Should I try to squeeze Takayama and Nyuto Onsen or any other place in? I could omit either Kanazawa and Nikko or Shibu Onsen from the itinerary, but would really like to see Shirakawago and views of Mt. Fuji as well as the Tadami River which is is a must.

    Any input would be much appreciated. Kind regards

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