Nagoya to Hokuriku名古屋から北陸へ

The Meitetsu μSKY (ミュースカイ) takes about 28–30 minutes to Meitetsu Nagoya Station and costs ¥1,430: a ¥980 fare plus a ¥450 μ-Ticket, because every seat is reserved. Buy at the airport station or on Meitetsu's website. The ordinary express takes about 48 minutes for ¥980 with no seat ticket.

Meitetsu Nagoya is a short walk from JR Nagoya, where the Hida and Shirasagi leave: allow 15 minutes for the walk and the JR ticket gates, 20 with luggage. If you land after about 18:00, sleep in Nagoya and start fresh: the last Hida to Takayama leaves at 20:17, the last Shirasagi at 19:48. Stays near the station.

Send the big suitcase ahead. The forwarding counters in the terminal (takkyubin) usually deliver to a hotel in Takayama or Kanazawa the next day, so you ride with a day bag.

The Hida runs up the Hida River gorge in 2h 15m to 2h 42m, mostly about 2h 30m. A reserved seat costs ¥6,140 in the regular season (¥6,340 at busy times); an unreserved seat is ¥5,610. Seats go on sale one month ahead at 10:00. The new hybrid trains have big windows. Sit on either side: the river swaps sides on the way.

Takayama works as a day trip: out at 07:43, back on the 18:48 (Nagoya 21:03) leaves about eight and a half hours in town. It is better with one night. The highway bus is about 2h 45m and ¥3,600. Full Nagoya to Takayama guide, then Takayama.

Meitetsu Bus, Gifu Bus and Hokutetsu run it jointly on the Tōkai-Hokuriku Expressway: 2h 40m to 2h 46m, ¥3,600 to ¥4,700 depending on the date. Every seat is reserved, and weekends, autumn colour and the January light-up sell out first. Book early.

The village is worth three to four hours, and the bus terminal has lockers (¥500 small or medium, ¥1,000 large, 8:00–17:00). To go on to Kanazawa, the bus is 1h 15m and ¥2,800; to Takayama, 50 minutes and ¥2,800. In winter the buses run with chains and can be delayed or cancelled in heavy snow, so do not plan a tight connection from December to February. Light-up nights on 11, 17, 24 and 31 January 2027 close the village to anyone without an event reservation after 17:00: see the light-up guide. Full Nagoya to Shirakawa-go guide, Shirakawa-go and the quieter Gokayama.

The Shirasagi (しらさぎ) runs from Nagoya to Tsuruga in 1h 36m, eight times a day, and since March 2024 it stops there. At Tsuruga you go up to the Hokuriku Shinkansen platforms and take the next Tsurugi (つるぎ) or Hakutaka to Kanazawa, about 50 to 58 minutes. The whole trip is 2h 47m to 2h 52m, about ¥9,100 to ¥9,450 with reserved seats on both. The Shirasagi has no unreserved cars, so book both legs as one ticket. How the change works: Tsuruga transfer.

The Shirasagi passes Maibara about an hour after leaving Nagoya (07:51 at Nagoya, 08:57 at Maibara). To leave later, ride the Tōkaidō Shinkansen to Maibara and board the same train there. The highway bus takes about 4 hours (¥3,600 to ¥5,800 by date), and the JR Bus overnight Hokuriku Dream leaves Nagoya at 23:30 for Kanazawa about 06:05 (¥4,990 to ¥5,810). Full Nagoya to Kanazawa guide, Kanazawa access.

Hida: four trains a day run from Nagoya to Toyama with no change, in 3h 49m to 4h 10m, about ¥7,800 reserved. Shirasagi and Shinkansen: use the Kanazawa table above and stay on the Tsurugi past Kanazawa: Toyama in 3h 12m to 3h 30m, for example 09:48 from Nagoya reaches Toyama at 13:00. The fare is about ¥1,000 more than Kanazawa. Full Nagoya to Toyama guide, Toyama to Takayama.

Alpine Route. The Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route runs to 30 November 2026, then closes for winter; the 2027 date is not announced (it opened on 15 April in 2025 and 2026). From Toyama, the Toyama Chihō Railway starts the crossing. From the Nagano side, take the Shinano to Matsumoto (about 2h 5m, hourly from 07:00), the Ōito Line to Shinano-Ōmachi and a bus to Ōgizawa, and cross to Toyama. Only two vehicles need a booked time. Alpine Route ticket set from Nagoya.

Kurobe and Unazuki. Take the Shirasagi, then a Hakutaka from Tsuruga to Kurobe-Unazukionsen: about 3h 40m (for example the 07:51 Shirasagi, then the 09:58 Hakutaka, arrives about 11:33). A local line takes 26 minutes on to Unazuki Onsen. The Kurobe Gorge Railway runs to 30 November 2026; Unazuki stays open all winter. Kurobe Gorge guide, Unazuki Onsen.

Tsuruga is the end of the Shirasagi: 1h 36m, ¥4,700, no change. Fukui is one Shinkansen stop on, 2h 11m to 2h 16m from Nagoya, about ¥7,000, with Eiheiji, the dinosaur museum and Tōjinbō from the station by Echizen Railway and bus (not on JR passes). Fukui access.

Wakasa: the JR Obama Line leaves Tsuruga for Obama in 1h 4m to 1h 9m (¥990), about 12 trains a day. On weekdays no train runs between 07:48 and 11:18, so the 07:51 Shirasagi from Nagoya (Tsuruga 09:27) meets the 11:18. Wakasa access, Tsuruga transfer.