01
Thunderbird from Osakaサンダーバード
Osaka Station, or Shin-Osaka 4–5 minutes later
All seats reserved. Calls at Shin-Osaka and Kyoto, then runs up the Lake Biwa shore to Tsuruga.
To Tsuruga
about 1h 20m
Oct–NovThe Thunderbird runs from Osaka to Tsuruga, where you change to the Hokuriku Shinkansen for Toyama. Fastest 2h 35m, 20 trains on a weekday.
Osaka to Toyama takes from 2h 35m and costs ¥10,290 reserved. 20 trains a day on weekdays and 22 at weekends, the first at 06:30 and the last at 20:54. Board the Thunderbird (about 1h 20m to Tsuruga), change there (8–23 minutes to change), and ride the Shinkansen about 1h 6m on. Both legs are covered by the Kansai-Hokuriku Area Pass (¥19,000, 7 days) and by the Hokuriku Arch Pass; a plain return is ¥20,580.
Osaka Station (Umeda) is the start of the line and the easiest place to find your car. Shin-Osaka is better if you arrive by Shinkansen or the Midōsuji subway: the same Thunderbird calls there 4–5 minutes later. From Namba or Tennōji, allow 20 minutes to reach either. Every time below is from Osaka Station.
Every departure worth taking, with the one change at Tsuruga.
| Leave Osaka | Arrive Toyama | Time | Trains |
|---|---|---|---|
| 06:30 first | 09:12 | 2h 42m | Thunderbird 1 + Tsurugi 2 (12 min to change) |
| 07:00 | 09:52 | 2h 52m | Thunderbird 3 + Tsurugi 4 (8 min to change) |
| 07:40 | 10:16 | 2h 36m | Thunderbird 5 + Tsurugi 6 (8 min to change) |
| 08:10 | 11:07 | 2h 57m | Thunderbird 7 + Tsurugi 8 (9 min to change) |
| 08:42 | 11:26 | 2h 44m | Thunderbird 9 + Tsurugi 10 (15 min to change) |
| 09:12 | 12:21 | 3h 9m | Thunderbird 11 + Hakutaka 562 (23 min to change) |
| 10:09 | 13:00 | 2h 51m | Thunderbird 15 + Tsurugi 16 (9 min to change) |
| 11:12 | 14:04 | 2h 52m | Thunderbird 19 + Tsurugi 20 (9 min to change) |
| 12:12 | 15:04 | 2h 52m | Thunderbird 21 + Tsurugi 22 (8 min to change) |
| 13:12 | 16:04 | 2h 52m | Thunderbird 25 + Tsurugi 26 (8 min to change) |
| 14:12 | 17:03 | 2h 51m | Thunderbird 27 + Tsurugi 28 (8 min to change) |
| 15:09 | 18:01 | 2h 52m | Thunderbird 29 + Tsurugi 30 (8 min to change) |
| 15:40 | 18:16 | 2h 36m | Thunderbird 31 + Kagayaki 514 (13 min to change) |
| 16:09 | 19:00 | 2h 51m | Thunderbird 33 + Tsurugi 34 (8 min to change) |
| 16:40 fastest | 19:15 | 2h 35m | Thunderbird 35 + Tsurugi 36 (9 min to change) |
| 17:40 | 20:17 | 2h 37m | Thunderbird 39 + Tsurugi 40 (9 min to change) |
| 18:10 | 21:01 | 2h 51m | Thunderbird 41 + Tsurugi 42 (8 min to change) |
| 19:10 | 22:05 | 2h 55m | Thunderbird 45 + Tsurugi 46 (10 min to change) |
| 20:07 | 23:04 | 2h 57m | Thunderbird 47 + Tsurugi 48 (9 min to change) |
| 20:54 last | 23:50 | 2h 56m | Thunderbird 49 + Tsurugi 50 (12 min to change) |
First: 06:30, in Toyama at 09:12. Last: 20:54, in Toyama at 23:50. Fastest: 2h 35m, leaving 16:40, in Toyama at 19:15. Weekends and holidays add the 08:40 (Thunderbird 9 + Tsurugi 10), the 08:51 (Thunderbird 95 + Hakutaka 668), the 09:41 (Thunderbird 13 + Tsurugi 14). The 08:42 do not run at weekends.
| Leave Osaka | Arrive Toyama | Time | Trains |
|---|---|---|---|
| 06:30 first | 09:12 | 2h 42m | Thunderbird 1 + Tsurugi 2 (12 min to change) |
| 07:00 | 09:52 | 2h 52m | Thunderbird 3 + Tsurugi 4 (8 min to change) |
| 07:40 | 10:16 | 2h 36m | Thunderbird 5 + Tsurugi 6 (8 min to change) |
| 08:10 | 11:07 | 2h 57m | Thunderbird 7 + Tsurugi 8 (9 min to change) |
| 08:40 | 11:26 | 2h 46m | Thunderbird 9 + Tsurugi 10 (15 min to change) |
| 08:51 | 11:37 | 2h 46m | Thunderbird 95 + Hakutaka 668 (10 min to change) |
| 09:12 | 12:21 | 3h 9m | Thunderbird 11 + Hakutaka 562 (23 min to change) |
| 09:41 | 12:26 | 2h 45m | Thunderbird 13 + Tsurugi 14 (15 min to change) |
| 10:09 | 13:00 | 2h 51m | Thunderbird 15 + Tsurugi 16 (9 min to change) |
| 11:12 | 14:04 | 2h 52m | Thunderbird 19 + Tsurugi 20 (9 min to change) |
| 12:12 | 15:04 | 2h 52m | Thunderbird 21 + Tsurugi 22 (8 min to change) |
| 13:12 | 16:04 | 2h 52m | Thunderbird 25 + Tsurugi 26 (8 min to change) |
| 14:12 | 17:03 | 2h 51m | Thunderbird 27 + Tsurugi 28 (8 min to change) |
| 15:09 | 18:01 | 2h 52m | Thunderbird 29 + Tsurugi 30 (8 min to change) |
| 15:40 | 18:16 | 2h 36m | Thunderbird 31 + Kagayaki 514 (13 min to change) |
| 16:09 | 19:00 | 2h 51m | Thunderbird 33 + Tsurugi 34 (8 min to change) |
| 16:40 fastest | 19:15 | 2h 35m | Thunderbird 35 + Tsurugi 36 (9 min to change) |
| 17:40 | 20:17 | 2h 37m | Thunderbird 39 + Tsurugi 40 (9 min to change) |
| 18:10 | 21:01 | 2h 51m | Thunderbird 41 + Tsurugi 42 (8 min to change) |
| 19:10 | 22:05 | 2h 55m | Thunderbird 45 + Tsurugi 46 (10 min to change) |
| 20:07 | 23:04 | 2h 57m | Thunderbird 47 + Tsurugi 48 (9 min to change) |
| 20:54 last | 23:50 | 2h 56m | Thunderbird 49 + Tsurugi 50 (12 min to change) |
Times are from Osaka Station. Fare ¥10,290 for the whole journey, reserved seats, regular season. A departure is left out when a later one arrives no later. Timetable of March 2026, checked 27 October 2026; timetables change each March.
One change, upstairs from one platform to the next.
All seats reserved. Calls at Shin-Osaka and Kyoto, then runs up the Lake Biwa shore to Tsuruga.
The connection is timetabled at 8 minutes or more (8–23 minutes in this timetable) and the trains are made for it. Tsuruga transfer guide.
Tsurugi, Hakutaka or Kagayaki, depending on the hour. Most journeys use the Tsurugi, which stops everywhere.
Buy the two legs as one ticket for ¥10,290, or cover them with a pass.
¥19,000 against ¥20,580 for a plain return, and a stop at Fukui or Kanazawa on the way costs nothing extra.
See the pass ↗Covers this whole journey (Thunderbird and Shinkansen), but at ¥35,000 it only pays on a bigger loop such as Tokyo to Osaka via Kanazawa. One way is ¥10,290.
Arch Pass guide →The ticket set for the Alpine Route, the big day out from Toyama. Book the ropeway slots ahead. Route guide.
See the tickets ↗The Shinkansen stops at every town below, so a few hours (or a night) cost one change of plan, not a detour. Times use the weekday morning departure.
Leave Osaka at 08:42 (Thunderbird 9 + Tsurugi 10) and you are in Kanazawa at 11:03. Get off, stay 3h 38m, then take the Tsurugi 22 at 14:41 to reach Toyama at 15:04. The break adds 3h 38m to the trip.
Kenrokuen: One of Japan's Three Great Gardens; ¥320, free before opening hours, light-ups and snow ropes.
Higashi Chaya: Geisha district: the Shima and Kaikaro teahouses, gold-leaf ice cream, geiko shows from ¥1,500.
Nagamachi samurai district (1–2 h): Samurai district: Nomura family house and garden (¥550), earthen walls and canals behind Korinbo.
Or stay the night: the first train on leaves at 06:02 and reaches Toyama at 06:21.
Leave Osaka at 08:42 (Thunderbird 9 + Tsurugi 10) and you are in Fukui at 10:35. Get off, stay 5h 27m, then take the Tsurugi 28 at 16:02 to reach Toyama at 17:03. The break adds 5h 37m to the trip.
Tōjinbō (1 h): 25 m columnar cliffs, free at all hours; boat tour ¥2,000, sunset views over the Sea of Japan.
Eiheiji (1–1.5 h): Sōtō Zen head temple: ¥700, 8:30–16:30; Eiheiji Liner 30 min from Fukui Station (¥1,000).
Awara Onsen: Onsen town one Shinkansen stop from Fukui: crab-dinner ryokan, a free footbath and day baths.
Or stay the night: the first train on leaves at 06:33 and reaches Toyama at 07:22.
Take the first train on at 06:02 and be in Toyama by 06:21.
Kanazawa's newest luxury hotel, opened in December 2022, with a garden lobby. Walk to Omicho for breakfast and to Higashi Chaya for the dusk visit.
Opened in 2022 on the upper floors of the JR Toyama Station building, run by JR West Hotels.
BBH group city hotel 5 min on foot from Toyama Station, on the Sakurabashi-dōri tram line.
Hot-spring ryokan on the Himi coast whose open-air baths look across Toyama Bay to the Tateyama range.
From 2h 35m on the fastest train, and about 2h 52m on a typical one. The Thunderbird to Tsuruga takes about 1h 20m, you change there, then the Shinkansen takes about 1h 6m.
¥10,290 one way with reserved seats at regular-season fares, or ¥20,580 return.
No. Since March 2024 the Thunderbird ends at Tsuruga and you change to the Hokuriku Shinkansen there. The connection is timetabled at 8 minutes or more.
On weekdays the first train leaves Osaka at 06:30 and reaches Toyama at 09:12. The last leaves at 20:54 and arrives at 23:50.
Yes, the Thunderbird and the Shinkansen are both covered. The pass costs ¥35,000 for 7 days, so it pays on a bigger trip such as Tokyo to Osaka via Kanazawa, not on this journey alone. From a Kansai base the Kansai-Hokuriku Area Pass at ¥19,000 beats a ¥20,580 return.
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