Hey everyone!
Wanted to post about my solo trip around Gifu prefecture using the JR Takayama-Hokuriku Area Tourist Pass. I couldn’t find much information online or on this subreddit and there has been several changes to this JR Takayama-Hokuriku Area Tourist Pass such as a price increase and the addition to the Hokuriku Shinkansen that opened up in March 2024, so decided to post something to give an practical overview of the logistics of getting around this region and using this regional JR pass.
I hope this trip report can also serve as a guide for those hoping to explore this beautiful area of Japan!
# General Information
I traveled from April 8-13, 2024. I stayed 1 night in Toyama, 3 nights in Takayama, and 1 night in Osaka.
My main goal of this trip was to explore lesser known areas of Japan and enjoy cherry blossoms away from all the big cities. I knew cities such as Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto, etc. would be crowded, so decided to go off and enjoy cherry blossoms elsewhere. It was quite perfect, I got to enjoy peak bloom in Toyama with not a single tourist in sight. Although I got to Takayama and the surrounding cities a bit early for peak bloom, I still got to explore the area with few tourists and saw sparsely bloomed cherry blossoms.
I had to do a lot of planning for transportation as I was using the JR Takayama-Hokuriku Area Tourist Pass, especially since I couldn’t find much information online. In terms of activities, I knew what cities I wanted to visit and some of the more popular attractions to these cities, but overall I was very spontaneous and spent a lot of time walking and exploring on my own time.
# Logistics
**Getting to Toyama:** I flew into HND airport in Tokyo then took a domestic flight TOY airport.
I landed at HND around 15:45pm at terminal 3. Breezed through immigration/customs and took the free shuttle to terminal 2. Bummed at the airport for awhile, then took the 19:40pm ANA flight to TOY airport.
The flight bound for Toyama is supposed to land at 20:40pm and my plan was to wait to grab my checked-in luggage then head to the city by Toyama-Airport Limousine Bus ([link](https://www.toyama-airport.jp/en/access.html)). I got a bit worried since online states that the last bus departs at 20:45pm, and I knew 5min was definitely not enough time to deplane and grab luggage at baggage claim to make the last bus. Luckily, since this was such a small airport and I flew in with the last flight arriving at the airport for the day, the bus waited until everyone picked up their luggage from baggage claim and left around 21:15pm. It costs 420¥ and takes 25min from TOY airport to Toyama Station, I was quite relieved that I didn’t have to shell out and be forced to splurge on a taxi to the city.
**JR Takayama-Hokuriku Area Tourist Pass:** I arrived to my accommodation late at night, then bought the JR Takayama-Hokuriku Area Tourist Pass online ([link](https://touristpass.jp/en/takayama_hokuriku/)). I was able to purchase it online for 19,800¥ the night before I was going to pick it up and start using it, which was very convenient. With the pass, I was also able to reserve up to 6 train seats online ([link](https://e5489.jr-odekake.net/e5489/ibpc/CBRsvSearchExternalPC?LANG=en&_gl=1*1rmrmhp*_ga*MjEyMzM4NTY1NS4xNzEyNDY4MzI2*_ga_YH07BXV65X*MTcxMzU5NzIxOS4zLjEuMTcxMzU5NzMxMS40Ny4wLjA.&_ga=2.188698529.888251825.1713546075-2123385655.1712468326)) before picking up the pass. I reserved the following seats:
|Route by Station Name|Train/Duration|Cost if Purchased Individually|
|:-|:-|:-|
|Toyama -> Takayama|Hida Limited Express, 1h 30min|3,420¥|
|Takayama -> Hida Furukawa|Hida Limited Express, 14min|1,530¥|
|Hida Furukawa -> Takayama|Hida Limited Express, 17min|1,530¥|
|Takayama -> Toyama|Hida Limited Express, 1h 30min|3,420¥|
|Toyama -> Tsuruga|Hokuriku Shinkansen, 1h 10min|6,580¥|
|Tsuruga -> Osaka|Thunderbird, 1h 22min|4,700¥|
|||**Total: 21,180¥**|
**Hida Limited Express delay:** Japan’s public transportation system, especially when it comes to trains, are known for being very punctual and on-time. Unfortunately, when I was taking the Hida Limited Express from Toyama to Takayama, the weather was awful. It was cloudy, raining all day, and the winds were incredibly strong. The entire train was shaking back and forth on the way to Takayama due to strong winds. Although it departed from Toyama Station on time, the train arrived at Takayama Station around 20min late. I’m not saying that the Hida Limited Express is unreliable, but just keep in mind if there are unforeseen and uncontrollable circumstances (when it comes to anywhere in Japan), things might take slightly longer than expected. Props to the train conductors for getting us to Takayama safely! It was still a beautiful train ride through the mountains despite the weather.
**Nohi Bus w/JR Takayama-Hokuriku Area Tourist Pass:** Reserving those 6 train tickets alone already paid for the cost of the regional JR pass, but I knew I also wanted to take the bus from Takayama <-> Shirakawago. Unfortunately with the JR Takayama-Hokuriku Area Tourist Pass I was unable to reserve a seat on the bus online for this route. Online states you can call Nohi Bus ([link](https://touristpass.jp/assets/pdf/points/takayama_hokuriku_en.pdf)) and reserve the seats, but I did not have a Japanese phone number I was readily able to use. Additionally, when I picked up my tickets at the Toyama station, the person at the counter was not able to help me reserve a seat for this bus either and told me to take the non-reserved buses.
I decided to ask in-person at the Nohi bus station, which is right next to Takayama station, to see if there were any available reserved bus seats. I’ve read that reserved seating gets booked out very quickly online, and I felt the burn a bit when I went in-person. I was trying to reserve round trip tickets 2 days in advance and I was able to get a one-way from Takayama to Shirakawago, but I was not able to get a reserved seat coming back. There are non-reserved buses I can take, but I wanted to peace of mind knowing that I had a seat back to Takayama.
The next day, I went to the Nohi bus station again, and luckily I was able to get a reserved seat back! If you are trying to get reserved seating in-person, I would recommend planning your trip to Shirakawago several days in advance, and if you are not able to get reserved seating the first time, try again the next day to see if any spots opened up.
|Route by Station Name|Bus/Duration|Cost if Purchased Individually|
|:-|:-|:-|
|Takayama -> Shirakawago|Nohi Bus, \~50min|2,600¥|
|Shirakawago -> Takayama|Nohi Bus, \~50min|2,600¥|
|||**Total: 26,380¥**|
For those who want to go the non-reserved seating route or was unable to get a reserved seat, from my experience, the last non-reserved bus was scheduled to leave Shirakawago to Takayama was at 17:30pm, but at around 17:00pm another non-reserved bus that was not on the schedule was available. Not sure if that happens all the time, so please do what you will with my experience and take it with a grain of salt. The schedule for both reserved and non-reserved buses are available at the counter at the Nohi bus station.
**Hokuriku Shinkansen:** At the time of writing this, this is the newest section of Japan’s Shinkansen network. It finished construction and started running in March 2024. The ride was pleasant and clean with very few riders when I took it from Toyama to Tsuruga Station.
**Tsuruga Station Transfer Time:** When reserving seats for the train online, I had selected the itinerary to transfer from Hokuriku Shinkansen to the Thunderbird at Tsuruga Station with a 12min transfer time, and honestly it was more than enough time. With how efficient and punctual Japanese trains are, transferring was a breeze. It was a very simple process of following the signs to the correct track, and fortunately the tracks are not far from each other in my experience. If you are a bit worried for this tight connection (could be due to a lot of luggage or traveling with kids/elderly), the next Thunderbird was scheduled to depart with I believe around a 35-40min transfer time.
**Metro in Osaka:** With the JR Takayama-Hokuriku Area Tourist Pass, you’re able to get around Osaka only using the Osaka Loop Line ([link](https://touristpass.jp/en/takayama_hokuriku/)) which may sometimes be inconvenient. I would use a combo of the JR pass and Pasmo card to get around. I would use the JR pass during legs of the route where I am on the Osaka Loop Line, the rest I would use Pasmo.
There is a way to get to KIX airport using the JR Takayama-Hokuriku Area Tourist Pass, but would need to allocate around 1h 15min – 1h 45min total to get from Osaka Station to KIX airport. To get from KIX airport from Osaka Station with the JR pass, you would go via Osaka Loop Line to Tennoji Station, transfer to JR Hanwa Line, take Hanwa Line to Hineno Station, then transfer to JR Kansai-Airport Line all the way to KIX airport.
# Trip Summary
**Day 1:**
Flew to Toyama Airport, arrived very late at night.
**Day 2:**
Walked along the **Matsukawa River** and enjoyed the row of cherry blossoms without any tourist in sight. I continued to walk along the river until I reached **Toyama Castle Ruin Park**. There are several museums you can pay to go into, as well as the Toyama Castle and garden areas to enjoy. Afterwards, I picked up my JR pass (this was day 1 of 5 of the pass) at Toyama Station, grabbed lunch, then took the Hida Limited Express to Takayama Station. I was quite jetlagged so I didn’t do much the rest of the evening.
**Day 3:**
Spent the early morning at **Miyagawa Morning Market**. I spent the morning walking along the different streets and enjoying the architecture and all the little shops. I eventually found myself walking through the **Nakabashi bridge** to **Takayama Jinya**. Right outside was the **Jinya-mae Morning Market**. There wasn’t much at this morning market compared to Miyagawa. Continued walking around and reached the **Miyamae Bridge** with a huge torii.
Grabbed lunch, then took the Hida Limited Express to Hida Furukawa station. There was literally not a single soul in sight, both tourist and locals, in Hida city. I decided to go just to explore another city in the area and saw that this was a stop on the Hida Limited Express. Went to **Setogawa** to see the famous koi fish swimming in the canal. Found out that this town was the inspiration for the famous Japanese animated film ***Kimi No Na Wa (Your Name)****.* Went to all the photo spots for the film, such as the train tracks, taxi stand, library, and the train ticketing booth. I also walked along the **Miyagawa River** and enjoyed some cherry blossoms there before taking the Hida Limited Express back to Takayama.
**Day 4:**
Had a late morning and went back to the streets of Takayama to walk around. Ate lunch, then took the Nohi bus to Shirakawago early afternoon. Did a little hike to the **Ogimachi Castle Observation Deck** and got panoramic views of the UNESCO World Heritage site. Then walked a little bit higher to the **Shiroyama Tenshukaku Observation Deck** where you can get ice cream and small treats.
Walked back down to the city and went into **Wada House**. Passed by **Kanda House** and **Nagase House**. Went to enjoy pudding at **Shirakawago Purin no le**, and it was amazing. Thankfully there wasn’t a long line when I went, but I heard sometimes the line can get pretty gnarly.
Continued walking through the city and went to **Shirakawago Three Houses**. Walked back into the city and crossed the **Ogimachi Suspension Bridge**. Unfortunately the **Gassho-Zukuri Minka-en** is closed on Thursdays and I was not able to go.
I was able to walk through the entire town in around 2.5-3h which is on the quicker end. Most people can spend upwards of 4-5h in Shirakawago.
Took the Nohi bus back to Takayama and ate dinner there.
**Day 5:**
This was a long travel day. Took Hida Limited Express from Takayama to Toyama Station, Ate lunch, then took Hokuriku Shinkansen from Toyama to Tsuruga Station. Transferred at Tsuruga Station to the Thunderbird to Osaka Station. I would recommend trying to get the window seat on the left side of both trains. On the Hokuriku Shinkansen you can see this huge snow capped mountain range overlooking these aesthetic looking cities. On the Thunderbird, you can see **Lake Biwa** on the way to Osaka.
Shopped around Osaka Station, ate dinner around **Dotonbori** street, then went to sleep.
**Day 6:**
Did some last minute shopping then used my last day of the JR Takayama-Hokuriku Area Tourist Pass to get to KIX airport.
by ETsai01
