Oct–NovA crab plan is a ryokan night with the crab dinner included. From 6 November the coast from Echizen to Toyama Bay sells them, from about ¥29,000 to over ¥200,000 a person. Here is how to choose the area, the crab and the plan.
A crab plan (かにプラン) is one night at a ryokan with a crab kaiseki dinner and breakfast. For 2026–27 it costs about ¥29,000–¥61,000 a person with one untagged zuwai crab, ¥49,000–¥78,000 with a tagged Kanō crab (Ishikawa) and ¥71,500–¥102,300 with a tagged Echizen crab (Fukui), two sharing. Males are in season from 6 November to 20 March; the small female (seiko in Fukui, kōbako in Ishikawa) only until about 31 December. Choose Kaga Onsen for the easiest trip from Kanazawa, Awara or Mikuni for Echizen crab, and Himi for red snow crab.
The Japanese name is kani-zukushi kaiseki (蟹づくし会席), a dinner built around crab. It usually runs in this order: crab sashimi, boiled crab straight from the pot, grilled crab, a hot pot and then zōsui, rice porridge cooked in the broth. Some inns move the hot pot and porridge to the next morning's breakfast. Dinner is at a fixed time, around 18:00 to 19:00, so arrive by 15:00 to 18:00.
The crab is the same species everywhere, male snow crab, but the brand changes with the port: Echizen-gani in Fukui (yellow tag) and Kanō-gani in Ishikawa (blue tag). The tags, grades and season dates are explained on the snow crab season guide; this page is about where to sleep and what it costs.
A live snow crab is brown and turns orange in the pot, as in the photo at the top of the page. The male is the large crab and carries the port tag on a leg: yellow for Echizen, blue for Kanō. The female is small and full of roe, and is landed for only about two months. Ask to see the tag at dinner.
| Plan type | Per person | Listings checked | What you get |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buffet or kaiseki, one zuwai crab | ¥29,000–¥61,000 | Grandia Hōsen buffet ¥30,800–¥53,100; Tokigasane ¥29,370–¥60,900; Kaga Hyakumangoku ¥29,700–¥50,700 | One crab, type usually not named. The entry price to a crab night. |
| Tagged Kanō crab kaiseki | ¥48,950–¥78,300 | Kisshō Yamanaka ¥55,000–¥78,300; Kagari Kisshōtei ¥48,950–¥77,700 | Ishikawa male crab with the blue tag, 7 Nov to 20 Mar. Matching zuwai plans at the same inns cost ¥28,050–¥55,500. |
| Tagged Echizen crab, one whole | ¥71,500–¥102,300 | Seifūsō (12 plans); Grandia Hōsen Echizen crab kaiseki with an open-air bath ¥96,800–¥117,800 | Fukui male crab with the yellow tag, from 10 Nov to 20 Mar. |
| Ryotei ryokan, tagged crab | ¥86,900–¥209,700 | Kinjohro, Kanazawa: one Kanō crab for two, 8 Nov to 20 Mar | A restaurant-inn where dinner is the point. The same rooms without crab list from ¥59,400. |
Prices are per adult, dinner and breakfast included, as listed by Kinki Nippon Tourist (yado.knt.co.jp) on 14 October 2026 for stays from 7 November 2026 to 31 March 2027. Each range is the spread across dates and room types, from a weekday to a peak night. Compare the same room on Rakuten Travel before you pay.
Crab plans are named in Japanese, and Rakuten Travel has the widest range of them: search Rakuten Travel ↗ for the ryokan or the town, open its plan list and match the words below. Agoda shows the same ryokan in English, so use the cards further down to check a room and a price, then look for dinner-included rates.
| Search or look for | Reads | Means |
|---|---|---|
| カニプラン · かに会席 | kani puran · kani kaiseki | A crab plan, a crab course dinner. The search to start with. |
| 越前がに | Echizen-gani | Fukui male crab, yellow tag. Add タグ付き for the tagged crab. |
| 加能ガニ | Kanō-gani | Ishikawa male crab, blue tag. |
| 香箱ガニ · せいこ | kōbako · seiko | The female crab, Nov to about 31 Dec. |
| 1杯付き | ippai-tsuki | One whole crab included. おふたりで1杯 means one for two. |
| 夕朝食付 · 2食付 | yū-chōshoku-tsuki · nishoku-tsuki | Dinner and breakfast included. Filter for this first. |
| Area | Crab | Station | Price band | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Echizen coast | Echizen-gani, yellow tag | Takefu, then bus 40–60 min | No crab-plan price found; ask the inn | The crab as the only plan, small inns |
| Awara and Mikuni | Echizen-gani, tagged | Awara-Onsen (Shinkansen) | ¥30,800–¥117,800 | A first crab trip with a big onsen ryokan |
| Kaga Onsen | Kanō-gani, blue tag; kōbako to 29 Dec | Kaga-Onsen (Shinkansen) | ¥28,050–¥78,300 | The easiest trip from Kanazawa or Tokyo |
| Kanazawa | Kanō-gani | Kanazawa (Shinkansen) | Market plates ¥4,000–¥8,000; Kinjohro ¥86,900–¥209,700 | A city stay with one crab dinner |
| Wakasa and Obama | Fukui crab with fugu | Tsuruga, then Obama Line 1h 4m–1h 9m | No crab-plan price found | A quiet inn where dinner is the point |
| Toyama Bay | Beni-zuwai (Sep–May); zuwai at Umiakari | Takaoka, then JR Himi Line | Not published for crab; base from ¥15,000–¥25,000 | Red snow crab with winter yellowtail |
| Noto | Kanō-gani landed at Noto ports | Wakura-Onsen, about 1h from Kanazawa | No crab plan confirmed | Salt-water onsen while the town rebuilds |
Small inns on the Echizen-misaki coast sell the crab as the whole plan.
Echizen-gani takes its name from this coast, and small inns here sell the crab as the whole plan. The two inns below are listed for the 2026–27 season on Jalan: Echizen Onsen Heisei (越前温泉 平成, Takasa) with one-, two- and three-crab plans, and Hidetake (秀竹, Tamagawa), whose Jalan name is 漁師直送の宿, "fisherman-direct inn", with an Echizen crab full course and private-bath options.
The cost of the area is the travel time. Take the Shinkansen to Echizen-Takefu or Hapi-Line Fukui to Takefu; the bus times are from JR Takefu, about 40 minutes to Tamagawa and about 60 to Takasa, and a taxi to Takasa is about 30 minutes. Heisei lists no shuttle, though its Jalan Q&A mentions one winter run a day around the two Takefu stations, so ask before you book. Rail passes do not cover the bus.
Crab-plan prices were not published on the listings checked, so ask the inn for the season's plan and price.
A hot-spring inn on the Echizen coast listed with one-, two- and three-crab plans for the season. Bus from Takefu is about 60 minutes; no shuttle is listed.
A small coast inn on Jalan as 漁師直送の宿, with an Echizen crab full-course plan and private-bath plans. Bus from Takefu is about 40 minutes.
One has the Shinkansen station and the big ryokan, the other the port that lands the crab.
Awara has about 74 spring sources and ryokan that switch to Echizen crab kaiseki from 6 November. It is the simplest crab base on the Shinkansen. Seifūsō lists twelve tagged Echizen crab plans at ¥71,500–¥102,300 a person, each with one whole crab. Grandia Hōsen sells a buffet with one zuwai crab for ¥30,800–¥53,100 and, for a bigger night, an Echizen crab kaiseki in a room with an open-air bath for ¥96,800–¥117,800. Awara Onsen guide.
Mikuni is the Echizen-gani port, and its crab has been presented to the Imperial household every year since 1922. Stay here for the old port town rather than the onsen. Auberge Homachi cooks Echizen crab into a French menu (from ¥38,000 a person with two meals, before crab season) and sends a free shuttle from Awara-Onsen; crab season is its most expensive time. Mikuni-minato · Auberge Homachi.
Prices are per person with dinner and breakfast, two sharing. The crab-plan figures are the October 2026 Kinki Nippon Tourist listings.
Classic big ryokan with one of Hokuriku's largest garden open-air baths. Twelve crab kaiseki plans, each with a tagged Echizen crab, one whole.
Large upscale ryokan where many rooms have their own open-air bath. A buffet with one zuwai crab at the low end, an Echizen crab kaiseki at the top.
Awara's grand old inn, rebuilt in 2021, with a private half-open-air bath of free-flowing spring water in every room. Crab kaiseki from 6 November.
Sixteen suites in restored townhouses at the port that lands Echizen-gani. Dinner is French cooking with Echizen crab in season.
Three hot-spring towns and Hashitate, the port best known for Kanō-gani.
Ishikawa's crab is Kanō-gani (blue tag) from 6 November to 20 March, and the small female kōbako to 29 December. Hashitate is Kaga's crab port, but its auction is not open to visitors, so eat it at an inn. Kisshō Yamanaka lists Kanō crab kaiseki at ¥55,000–¥78,300 and zuwai kaiseki at ¥34,100–¥55,500 in the same rooms, a useful measure of what the tag costs. Check New Year dates: at least one listing excludes 29 December to 7 January.
Yamashiro (10–15 minutes by bus) is the easy first town, Yamanaka (30–40 minutes) the gorge town and Katayamazu the lake. See Katayamazu. Many inns send a free shuttle if you book it. Kaga Onsen guide · Yamashiro · Yamanaka.
The crab type is named only where the listing names it.
Eight crab plans for rooms that take two to five. Kanō crab kaiseki ¥55,000–¥78,300, zuwai kaiseki ¥34,100–¥55,500, Kanō plans run to 20 Mar, zuwai plans to 31 Mar.
A large Yamashiro inn with a kani-zukushi kaiseki plan from ¥29,700. The crab type is not stated in the listing, so ask.
A quiet inn on Lake Shibayama with 13 crab plans, each with one whole crab in the kaiseki. The crab type is not stated.
A food-led inn known for abalone and crab, with rooms that have open-air tubs fed with undiluted 66°C spring water, free-flowing.
The city's crab is mostly a market meal, a counter dinner or one splurge night.
From 7 November the Omicho fish stalls carry tagged Kanō crab and trays of kōbako; single-crab plates run ¥4,000–¥8,000, and an oden counter serves kani-men, the shell packed with meat and roe. A crab kaiseki at a ryotei is ¥20,000–¥40,000+ for dinner alone. What to eat in Kanazawa.
For a ryokan night in the city, Kinjohro (料亭旅館 金城樓), a short walk from Higashi Chaya, lists crab plans of one Kanō crab for two at ¥86,900–¥209,700 a person, against ¥59,400 and up for its plain Kaga kaiseki. Only one Kanazawa ryokan has a published crab plan in the listings checked, so it is the only card here. Yuwaku Onsen, 20 minutes by taxi, has ryokan on the official list; ask them about crab when you book. Kanazawa hotels.
The ¥45,500 figure on the hotel guide is Kinjohro's non-crab rate; crab plans cost more.
A restaurant-inn where the kaiseki dinner is the reason to stay, a short walk from Higashi Chaya. Crab plans serve a Kanō crab for two, 8 Nov to 20 Mar.
Fukui's western coast lands crab at Tsuruga and eats it with tiger fugu and winter mackerel.
Winter dinner is the point of the small inns here: Wakasa fugu and Fukui crab in one course. Tsuruga is one of the Echizen-gani ports. Sekumiya in Obama town is the practical choice within reach of the station; Sea-Auberge Shitsumi is a fishing family's auberge in a hamlet on the Uchitomi peninsula and needs a car. No crab-plan price was published for either: their "from" rates are for rooms, and winter dinner plans run well above them. Wakasa hotels · Obama · Wakasa food.
Obama's long-established ryokan, known for winter Wakasa fugu and crab dinners. Within reach of the station.
A fishing family's auberge in a tiny hamlet, serving the day's Wakasa Bay catch, with fugu and crab in season. Car needed.
A different crab on a different calendar, and the town where it shares the table with buri.
Toyama's beni-zuwai (red snow crab) is in season from September to May and is boiled soon after it is landed, which keeps the meat soft and sweet. In Himi it shares the table with winter yellowtail. Umiakari, on the Himi coast, lists a winter plan from 15 November 2026 to 31 March 2027 with charcoal-grilled and boiled zuwai crab, for two guests or more; its plan pages also list red-crab dishes and a free shuttle from Himi Station, which you should confirm when booking. No crab-plan price was published, and its ordinary rate is from ¥25,000 a person.
Unazuki Onsen sells crab plans too, but it is inland: use it for the Kurobe Gorge, not for the crab. Shinminato auctions red crab at 12:30 (market closed Wednesdays and Sundays). Himi and Amaharashi · Toyama hotels.
Hot-spring ryokan whose open-air baths look across Toyama Bay to the Tateyama range. Winter crab plan from 15 Nov 2026, two guests or more.
Fish-focused Himi ryokan where every room looks over Toyama Bay. No crab plan is confirmed: ask for the seasonal course.
Noto is open and rebuilding. It is not yet a crab-plan area.
Noto was hit by a magnitude 7.6 earthquake on 1 January 2024. By 16 July 2026, 11 of Wakura Onsen's 19 inns had reopened, and Kagaya, the best known, is still closed. The seawall works continue to March 2027. Kanō crab is landed at Noto ports, but no crab plan was published at the reopened inns checked, so none is sold here as one. Go for the salt-water spring and ask the inn at booking whether a crab dinner is available. The cards below are open inns, not confirmed crab plans. Noto and Wakura: what is open.
Seafood-focused inn with baths open through the night. No crab plan confirmed: ask when booking.
Traditional ryokan in the middle of the hot-spring town, the first Wakura inn back after the quake. No crab plan confirmed.
For 2026–27, about ¥29,000–¥61,000 a person for a buffet or kaiseki with one untagged zuwai crab, ¥49,000–¥78,000 for a tagged Kanō crab (Ishikawa) and ¥71,500–¥102,300 for a tagged Echizen crab (Fukui), with dinner and breakfast, two sharing. Ryotei-level inns reach ¥86,900–¥209,700. Prices are Kinki Nippon Tourist listings checked on 14 October 2026 and move by date and room.
Weekends and 29 December to 3 January sell out first: book 1–2 months ahead for weekends, earlier for New Year. Crab opens on Friday 6 November, and most plans start from 7 November (Seifūsō's tagged Echizen plans from 10–11 November). January and February weekdays are the value.
Yes, if you want the roe and a lower bill. Kōbako (Ishikawa) and seiko (Fukui) are the small female snow crab, eaten with the roe and the shell packed with meat. They are only landed until about 29–31 December, so book November or December. If you want a big claw to crack, choose a male Echizen or Kanō crab.
You can eat it, but not as a full crab dinner. Mikuni port (47 minutes from Fukui on the Echizen Railway) and the Tōjinbō shopping street sell crab in season, and Kanazawa's Omicho Market sells boiled crab. The multi-course kaiseki is a dinner at a ryokan, so it needs a night.
Mostly not. In the listings checked, plans are priced per adult for two to five in a room, Umiakari's winter crab plan needs two or more guests, and Kinjohro's crab plan is for two. Search the booking site for one adult and expect a surcharge or no result. Alone, stay in a city hotel and eat crab at a market or counter.
One night with a crab kaiseki dinner and breakfast. Dinner usually runs through crab sashimi, boiled crab, grilled crab, a hot pot and zōsui (rice porridge cooked in the broth); some inns move the hot pot and porridge to breakfast. Check whether the plan serves one whole crab per person (1杯付き) or one between two.
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