Mar–MayThe Alpine Route, the Kurobe Gorge, Hida-Takayama, Gokayama, Shirakawa-go and Kanazawa, each a day out from Toyama Station and back for dinner at a sushi counter. It is the plan I give friends, and the one I argue for hardest. Where I book that dinner is on where to eat in Toyama.
Toyama is the best base in Hokuriku for the Alps. From Toyama Station the Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route starts 65 min away, Unazuki Onsen and the Kurobe Gorge about 40 min, Takayama about 1h 30m, Shirakawa-go about 1h 20m by bus and Kanazawa 18–23 min. Station hotels start at about ¥8,000. The mountain routes run only from mid to late April to 30 November.
Toyama sits where the Hokuriku Shinkansen, the JR Hida line to Takayama and the Toyama Chiho Railway into the mountains meet. That makes it the one station in Hokuriku from which the Alps, the Kurobe Gorge, Takayama and the gasshō villages are all day trips, with Kanazawa 18 minutes the other way. It's like branching out from Tokyo, but in the Japan Alps, with much better food.
A single base saves packing every morning. Leave the suitcase at one hotel for four or five nights, take a day bag, and come back each evening to the best food in the region. The hotels are less fancy than Tokyo's, and cheaper; the food more than makes up for it. Most visitors do the reverse, basing in Kanazawa and treating Toyama as a stop; I think that is backwards if the mountains are the point of the trip.
Times and fares are one way, for adults, from Toyama Station or the Dentetsu-Toyama station beside it. The Alpine Route, the Chitetsu line, the Ainokaze line and the Kurobe torokko are not covered by any rail pass.
| Day trip | How | Time | Fare | Season | My verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route 立山黒部アルペンルート | Chitetsu to Tateyama, then cable car and highland bus to Murodō | 65 min to Tateyama; allow 6–7h for Kurobedaira and back | ¥1,420 + ¥4,090 to Murodō; Kurobedaira return ¥14,400 | 15 Apr – 30 Nov 2026; snow walls to 25 Jun | The reason to base here. Take an early train and book timed web tickets |
| Kurobe Gorge Railway 黒部峡谷鉄道 | Hakutaka to Kurobe-Unazukionsen, Chitetsu to Unazuki, then the torokko | 12 min + 26 min, then 1h 16m–1h 22m to Keyakidaira | ¥2,990 + ¥740; torokko ¥2,480 | 20 Apr – 30 Nov 2026; Keyakidaira from 1 Oct | A full day. Best from late October to mid November |
| Unazuki Onsen 宇奈月温泉 | As above, without the torokko | About 40 min | ¥2,990 + ¥740; day baths ¥1,000–¥2,500 | All year | The winter and rainy-day version of the Kurobe trip |
| Hida-Takayama 飛騨高山 (Gifu) | JR Hida limited express, or the reserved Nōhi Bus | About 1h 30m by train | JR Pass covers the train; bus ¥3,800 | All year | Worth it. Few trains a day, so fix the return first |
| Shirakawa-go 白川郷 (Gifu) | Reserved express bus from Toyama Station | About 1h 20m | ¥2,400 | All year; winter light-up by reservation only | Go early or late in the day; pair with Gokayama on the way |
| Gokayama 五箇山 | Shinkansen to Shin-Takaoka, then the World Heritage Bus | About 10 min + 1h 03m to Ainokura | Bus ¥1,100; 2-day pass with Shirakawa-go ¥4,000 | All year; bus leaves 8:25, 9:50, 11:10, 13:35 | The quieter UNESCO village; the one to choose if crowds put you off |
| Kanazawa 金沢 | Hokuriku Shinkansen | 18–23 min | ¥3,390 reserved | All year | An easy day. See the one-day plan |
| Takaoka 高岡 | Ainokaze Toyama Railway to Takaoka Station | About 20 min | ¥370 | All year; Mikurumayama 1 May | Half a day: Zuiryū-ji, the Great Buddha, Kanayamachi |
| Himi and Amaharashi 氷見・雨晴 | Ainokaze to Takaoka, then the JR Himi Line along the bay | About 1h | ¥370 + Himi Line (JR Pass covers it) | Best Dec–Feb for kan-buri and the Alps view | Combine with Takaoka; go on a clear morning |
Spring extra: firefly squid at Namerikawa, 15 min on the Ainokaze line (¥390). The Hotaruika Museum's live show runs 20 March to 31 May; the pre-dawn boat leaves at 2:00, so take a taxi (about ¥4,000) or stay in Namerikawa. See firefly squid. Fares: Shinkansen reserved seats in the standard season; the Takayama-Hokuriku Area Tourist Pass (¥19,800, 5 days) covers the Hida line, the Shinkansen from Toyama to Kanazawa and the Gokayama and Shirakawa-go buses. Checked against the operators and the Toyama pages, September 2026.
The Arch Pass covers the Shinkansen in and out of Toyama and the Kanazawa and Kurobe day trips. A snow-wall tour saves booking the Alpine Route's timed tickets yourself. (How the timed tickets work.)
Tokyo to Osaka via Toyama on one pass, Shinkansen reserved seats included. It does not cover Chitetsu, Ainokaze or the Alpine Route. Is it worth it?
See on Klook ↗The Yuki-no-Ōtani snow corridor with a stop at Takaoka's National Treasure temple, with transport handled. Spring only.
See on Klook ↗The full Tateyama Kurobe crossing with transport and tickets handled, for a day when you would rather not juggle the timed ropeway slots.
See on Klook ↗Worth it only if you cross the Alps to Matsumoto and finish in Nagoya, taking in Takayama on the way. Sales end 6 November 2026. Worked fares
See on Klook ↗Toyama is the better base for the mountains; Kanazawa is the better base for a city trip. They are 18 to 23 minutes apart, so the choice is about which journeys you want to be short.
| To | From Toyama | From Kanazawa |
|---|---|---|
| Alpine Route (Tateyama) | Chitetsu, 65 min | Add 18–23 min by Shinkansen first |
| Kurobe-Unazukionsen | 12 min, ¥2,990 | 35 min, ¥4,090 |
| Takayama | JR Hida, about 1h 30m | Bus via Shirakawa-go, 2h 15m, ¥4,200 |
| Shirakawa-go | Bus, about 1h 20m, ¥2,400 | Bus, 1h 15m, ¥2,800 |
| Sights on foot | A day's worth: Glass Art Museum, Kansui Park, Iwase, the castle | Two or three days: Kenrokuen, the chaya districts, Nagamachi, the museums |
| Station hotels | From about ¥8,000 | More choice, higher prices in peak weeks |
Coming from Kyoto or Osaka, Kanazawa is the first stop and Toyama the natural second base; from Tokyo, the reverse. Day-by-day plans with both bases: the itineraries.
Five nights at one Toyama Station hotel. Swap days 2 and 3 for the weather: do the Alpine Route on the clearest day.
| Day | Plan | Evening |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arrive from Tokyo (2h 4m). Glass Art Museum, Kansui Park, tram to Iwase for a sake tasting at Masuda Shuzō | Counter sushi: ask for the Toyama Bay Sushi set |
| 2 | Alpine Route: early Chitetsu to Tateyama, Murodō for the snow walls or the plateau, the ropeway to Kurobedaira and back | Izakaya near the station |
| 3 | Kurobe Gorge: Hakutaka to Kurobe-Unazukionsen, the torokko, a day bath in Unazuki | Toyama Black Ramen, or stay the night in Unazuki |
| 4 | Gokayama and Shirakawa-go by the World Heritage Bus from Shin-Takaoka, or Takayama on the Hida | Back in Toyama: a yakitori counter, or a booked table in Iwase |
| 5 | Takaoka in the morning (Zuiryū-ji, the Great Buddha), then on to Kanazawa, 18–23 min west, or home | Kanazawa, or the Shinkansen back to Tokyo |
In winter (December to mid-April) the Alpine Route and the torokko are closed: swap days 2 and 3 for Himi and Amaharashi (kan-buri, and the Alps across the bay on a clear morning) and an Unazuki onsen day. In April, add the firefly squid and the Asahi Spring Quartet.
Toyama Prefecture has more fine dining than its size suggests. The MICHELIN Guide Hokuriku 2021 Special Edition gave Toyama Prefecture 20 starred restaurants (4 with two stars, 16 with one), double the previous edition. One short street in Iwase 東岩瀬, the old Kitamae-ship port at the end of the tram line, holds Oryōri Fujii 御料理ふじ居 (two stars), Cave Yunoki (one star), sushi GEJO (Michelin Plate) and Piatto Suzuki Cinque (Bib Gourmand), next to the Masuizumi brewery, Masuda Shuzō. Up in the mountains at Toga, chef Eiji Taniguchi's L'évo is a destination auberge in its own right (see Toyama hotels).
Toyama Bay is known as a natural fish tank (天然の生け簀). It drops past 1,000 m within a few kilometres of the coast and holds 500+ species, and Toyama City spent more on sushi per household than any other Japanese city in 2024 (¥23,185). Deep-water fish that are rare in Tokyo, like shiroebi glass shrimp and nodoguro, are ordinary here. See Toyama sushi.
My rule: almost any random place in Toyama is a 10 out of 10, and Tokyo food is a 5 next to it. I mean all of it: the yakitori counter, the izakaya, the sushi bar and the two-star kaiseki, usually at lower prices than Tokyo. Guests who arrive thinking they already know Japanese food usually recalibrate on the first night. Order what's in season: firefly squid from March to May, shiroebi from April, red snow crab from autumn, and Himi kan-buri from November to February. More in Toyama food.
Book dinner by phone. The best counters don't take walk-ins and many don't book online; ask your hotel to call a day ahead, two for a Friday or Saturday. The seasonal Toyama Bay Sushi set (about ¥3,500–¥5,500) is the easy way in.
Toyama and Fukui do not fit in a single day trip: give each at least a full day. Fukui is under an hour from Toyama on a through Shinkansen, but it has too much for a quick visit. I reckon Fukui could fill a week.
Eiheiji and the Dinosaur Museum take one day on their own; Tōjinbō and Mikuni-minato another; Ōno and its castle in the clouds a third; and the Wakasa coast beyond Tsuruga is a trip of its own. Move your base to Fukui for two nights rather than doing it from Toyama. See the Fukui guide.
Toyama is the best base in Hokuriku for the Alps: the Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route, the Kurobe Gorge, Hida-Takayama, Gokayama, Shirakawa-go and Kanazawa are all day trips from Toyama Station, and station hotels start at about ¥8,000 a night. The Alpine Route (15 April to 30 November in 2026) and the Kurobe Gorge Railway (20 April to 30 November) close for winter, when the case for Toyama is the fish and the onsen.
The Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route is an easy day trip from Toyama, open from 15 April to 30 November in 2026. Take the Toyama Chiho Railway from Dentetsu-Toyama to Tateyama (about 65 min, ¥1,420), then the cable car and highland bus to Murodō (¥4,090 one way). A return to Kurobedaira costs ¥14,400 from Tateyama; allow 6 to 7 hours from Toyama. Book timed web tickets ahead. See the Alpine Route guide.
Toyama to Takayama takes about 1h 30m on the JR Hida limited express through the Hida mountains, covered by the JR Pass and the Takayama-Hokuriku Area Tourist Pass (¥19,800, 5 days). Only a few Hida trains a day run through to Toyama, so check the return before you set out. The reserved Nōhi Bus via Shirakawa-go costs ¥3,800. Takayama is in Gifu Prefecture, not Hokuriku.
Toyama to Shirakawa-go takes about 1h 20m on the reserved express bus from Toyama Station (¥2,400 one way, run by Nōhi Bus and Chitetsu, a few trips a day). The alternative is the Shinkansen to Shin-Takaoka and the World Heritage Bus through Gokayama (about 1h 55m from Shin-Takaoka, ¥2,000), which lets you stop at Ainokura or Suganuma on the way. Book the express bus ahead in peak seasons.
Toyama and Fukui do not fit in one day trip, and I would not try: give each at least a full day. Fukui is under an hour from Toyama on a through Shinkansen, but Eiheiji and the Dinosaur Museum take a day on their own, and Tōjinbō, Ōno and the Wakasa coast more; Fukui could fill a week. Toyama needs its own day for the city and a sushi dinner before any day trips.
I would stay in Toyama if the Alpine Route, the Kurobe Gorge or Takayama are on your list, and in Kanazawa for a city trip of gardens, museums and geisha districts on foot. The two cities are 18 to 23 minutes apart by Shinkansen (¥3,390 reserved), so either works as a base for the other. Toyama is closer to the mountains and cheaper to sleep in; Kanazawa has more to see within walking distance.
Toyama deserves four or five nights as a base from mid-April to November, in my view: one day for the city and its sushi, one for the Alpine Route, one for the Kurobe Gorge, and one for Gokayama and Shirakawa-go or Takayama, with Kanazawa on the way west. From December to mid-April the Alpine Route and the Kurobe Gorge Railway are closed, so two or three nights with Takaoka and Himi is enough.
Stay by Toyama Station: the Shinkansen, the Chitetsu line to Tateyama and Unazuki, the Ainokaze line to Takaoka and the city trams all start within a few minutes' walk. My picks are Hotel Grand Terrace Toyama (5 min on foot, from ¥8,000), Toyama Excel Hotel Tokyu (opposite the south exit, from ¥11,000) and Hotel Vischio Toyama by GRANVIA (in the JR station building, from ¥11,500).
For a day-trip base, stay within five minutes of Toyama Station and Dentetsu-Toyama: every train and bus in the table above leaves from there.
5 min on foot from Toyama Station on the tram line, with a breakfast buffet of 50+ dishes. A sensible base for day trips to Takaoka, Himi, Unazuki and the Alps.
1 min across the road from the south exit and two from Dentetsu-Toyama, where the Chitetsu line to Tateyama starts. The pick for early trains.
Opened in 2022 and run by JR West Hotels, with a public bath and sauna for after a mountain day, and a breakfast built round Toyama Bay sushi.
Tell us your dates and we will tell you which day trips are running, in what order to do them for the weather, and where to eat each night. We plan Hokuriku trips and guide small groups on weekends and national holidays.
Booking links are affiliate links: we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. How we choose