Oct–NovThe only pass that includes the Shirakawa-go buses. Built for one loop: Kansai or Nagoya, Kanazawa, Shirakawa-go, Takayama and back, in five days.
Buy it if your trip is Kansai or Nagoya → Kanazawa → Shirakawa-go → Takayama, in either direction, inside five days. It does not go to Tokyo. On the straight line it roughly breaks even; it wins as soon as you add Toyama, Gokayama or the airport train.
Trains between Nagoya, Takayama, Toyama, Tsuruga, Kyoto, Osaka and Kansai Airport, plus the highway buses through Shirakawa-go.
Add the rides you plan. We count your free seat reservations as you go.
| Trip | Tickets | With the pass | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| Osaka → Kanazawa → Shirakawa-go → Takayama → Nagoya | ¥9,410 + ¥4,200 + about ¥6,340 = about ¥19,950 | ¥19,800 | Level. Buy it for the flexibility. |
| Same, plus a day trip Kanazawa ⇄ Toyama | add ¥6,780 | ¥19,800 | Pass wins by about ¥6,700 |
| Same, plus the Haruka from Kansai Airport | add about ¥2,400 | ¥19,800 | Pass wins by about ¥2,300 |
| Kanazawa → Shirakawa-go → Takayama only | ¥4,200 | ¥19,800 | No. Just buy the bus ticket. |
Fares are one way, reserved where the train has reserved cars. Osaka–Kanazawa and the Kanazawa–Shirakawa-go–Takayama bus are the figures from our route pages; the Takayama–Nagoya Hida and the Haruka are rounded.
One direction, no doubling back. Reverse it if you fly into Nagoya. Start the pass on the morning of day 1: days are calendar days. Reservation counts include the Toyama day.
Thunderbird to Tsuruga, Shinkansen to Kanazawa, from 2h 10m. Two nights for Kenrokuen, the Higashi Chaya teahouses and Omicho Market. Kanazawa in 1, 2 or 3 days, where to stay.
No rides needed.
18–23 minutes each way. The counter below reserves both rides (2 reservations); ride unreserved to save them. A sushi lunch in Toyama, or go on to Takaoka for the Great Buddha. This is the leg that puts the pass ahead: it saves ¥6,780.
Kanazawa to Shirakawa-go 1h 15m, then Takayama 50m. Morning bus, four hours in the village, afternoon bus on. Reserve both seats when booking opens, a month ahead. Full route guide, Shirakawa-go from Kanazawa and quieter alternatives.
Morning markets and the old town, then the Hida down the gorge to Nagoya, about 2h 30m. Where to stay in Takayama.
The Shirakawa-go buses fill before the trains do. Seats open one month ahead, and pass holders still need a reservation.
Five calendar days. Do not burn day one on a late airport arrival.
There is no fast way back to your starting point. Fly into one of Kansai or Nagoya and out of the other.
The World Heritage Bus to Shin-Takaoka stops at Suganuma and Ainokura, the quieter villages.
It is a short train and the unreserved cars fill at weekends. Keep two reservations for the Thunderbird if you ride to and from Kansai.
You skip Shirakawa-go and want a week based in Kansai with runs to Kanazawa and Toyama.
See the pass →Your trip starts or ends in Tokyo. Covers the Shinkansen all the way to Tokyo, plus the Narita Express.
See the pass →A straight Osaka ⇄ Kanazawa return with no buses. Tickets come in ¥980 cheaper.
Buying tickets →¥19,800 wherever you buy it. Pick by refund terms and how early you want it sorted. A temporary-visitor stamp is required.
Pay in your own currency, get a voucher by email, exchange it at a major JR station in Japan.
Buy on Klook ↗Reserve on the JR West online reservation site up to a month before your first ride. Collect the pass at a station machine with an IC-chip passport.
JR West tickets and passes ↗Buy after you land at a JR Central or JR West ticket office, such as Kansai Airport, Osaka, Kyoto, Nagoya or Kanazawa. Queues are long in Golden Week and Obon.
Station guide →Bonus: from 1 October to 30 November 2026, show the pass at the Unazuki window for 10% off a same-day Kurobe Gorge Railway return to Keyakidaira (not advance bookings). The Toyama–Unazuki train is not included. Kurobe guide.
¥19,800 for adults and half for children aged 6 to 11, valid for 5 consecutive days.
Yes. It covers the highway buses between Takayama, Shirakawa-go and Kanazawa or Toyama, and the World Heritage Bus to Shin-Takaoka. You must reserve a seat in advance.
Yes. The fare is covered, but you still need a reserved seat. Seats open one month ahead and sell out before the trains do. The 6 free reservations are for trains only.
No. It stops at Toyama in the east. From Tokyo use single tickets or the Hokuriku Arch Pass.
Only the Hokuriku Shinkansen between Toyama and Tsuruga, in unreserved cars or with one of the six free seat reservations. The Tōkaidō Shinkansen is excluded, including Kyoto–Shin-Osaka.
You can still ride unreserved cars on the Shinkansen and the Hida. The Thunderbird is all-reserved, so keep two reservations for it if you are riding to and from Kansai.
Yes, between Tsuruga, Kyoto and Osaka. The Thunderbird is all-reserved, so reserve a seat (free, counted against the pass's six reservations) before you board.
No. That is the Tōkaidō Shinkansen. Take the JR Kyoto Line or the Thunderbird instead, both covered.
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