Takayama Hokuriku Tourist Pass

SharonSoong

My huband and I will be travelling to Osaka in Dec for 8 days 7 nights holiday. Our tentative itinenary as below :-

D1 Arrive Kansai Airport 8 am and will head directly to Kyoto

D1-D3 (3 nights) Visiting Kyoto and nearby places like Arashiyama, Sagano and Nara

D4-D5 (2 nights) Visit Takayama and plan to go for Shinhotaka Ropeway

D6-D7 (2 nights) Back to Osaka

D8 Morning flight back from Kansai Airport

Is Takayama Hojuriku Pass sufficient to cover all our transportation for our itinenary. Please suggest if there is better and more economy of travelling.

Thank you in advance for your help.

japanexperience

Hello,

In your case, the Takayama Hokuriku is the best pass because you are going to Takayama and back and also traveling in all the other regions the pass covers, which means that you will be saving money using this pass.

I would also recommend a one day stop in Kanazawa on your way back from Takayama, which is also covered by the Takayama Hokuriku if you have the time.

If you have any other questions, please do not hesitate to ask.

Best regards,

Japan Experience

SharonSoong

Thank you so much for the advice. It is really helpful. Since the pass is only valid for 5 days, perhaps we need to change the itinerary a little. Upon arrival, perhaps we should go straight Takayama, then Kyoto and on day 6 to Osaka that we need to buy separate train ticket from Kyoto to osaka and from osaka to Kansai. Train tickets should be much cheaper than from Takayama right ? And further confirmation needed as below
1. The pass cover train from Kansai Airport to Takayama right ? How long the journey. Is it advisable to travel this way ?

2. Does the pass cover Nohi bus and ropeway ticket to Shinhotaka Ropeway ? If not, how do i go about getting it ?

3. The pass also cover most train and bus tickets travelling to tourist spots within Kyoto and to Arashiyama and Nara ?

Thank you in advance for your advice again.

japanexperience

Hi there,

1. The pass does cover travel between Kansai Airport and Takayama, but it takes a while since it doesn't cover the shinkansen between Osaka and Nagoya. You'll have to go from KIX to Kanazawa (taking 3 hours 40 mins) and then take the bus through Shirakawa-go to Takayama (about 2 hours 10 mins). You'll need to go back the way you came too, since you're flying out of Kansai airport. So with this pass, you're forced to take the long way round (see the map of lines covered here: http://touristpass.jp/en/takayama_hokuriku/).

2. It covers the Nohi bus but not the ropeway. Details on the ropeway can be found here: http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e5943.html

3. The pass doesn't cover travel around Kyoto (Arashiyama, Nara etc.) so you won't need the pass to be valid for that part of your trip. So you can bear that in mind when working out when to activate your pass

SharonSoong

Thank you so much for your advise. Is there an alternative to Hokuriku Pass ?

SharonSoong

By the way, is the pass covers
1) Shinkansen from Kanazawa to Toyama
2) JR Takayama line from Toyama to Takayama

Will this way faster than taking bus from Kanazawa to Takayama via Shirakawa-go ?

japanexperience

Yes, it covers the shinkansen from Kanazawa to Toyama, and then the JR Takayama line to Takayama. This route between Kanazawa and Takayama takes about 2 hours. So it takes a little less time than travelling by bus, but not much!

SharonSoong

Thank you so much for your advise. Is Toyama an interesting to visit ? Using this route, we may visit Toyama and Hida before putting up our stay at Takayama. But can we have luggage storage at the train stations, both Toyama and Hida ?

Hope to hear from you again.

Shahed

Hi there, just for your information, I can give you a suggestion to use ‘Tebura’ for storing your luggage in Tokyo. Its available in Roppongi and Kobe also. You can search by ‘tebura ninja’
Thanks.