Kanazawa

Very value for money for traveling back and forth around Hokuriku region, Osaka, Kyoto, Tokyo metropolitan JR lines and trains to Haneda and Narita airport for 7 consecutive days. Frequent trains from Nagano to Tsuruga so it is very convenient if we only want to satisfy food and drinks cravings from the next city and return after a couple of hours! Quick and easy seat reservation process, otherwise if one is in a rush it is also easy to just hop on the non-reserved seat cars. Will deffo get again if I am back in the area.

This train is really convenient, especially on the Shinkansen from Tsuruga to Toyama. However, when transfer in Tsuruga, it is really short time and we only catch the train in time by the kindly help of a staff in the station. In general, this trip is really good and we highly recommend this.

If you're traveling in the Hokuriku region and prefer not to drive, a JR PASS is a great option for independent travel. You can choose to stay in one city for several nights, or use your JR PASS to take the Shinkansen for day trips to various cities in the Hokuriku area, which is very cost-effective. I visited Kanazawa, Shin-Takaoka, Takaoka, Amaharashi, Himi, Toyama, Unazuki Onsen, and Komatsu over four days, and it was very convenient.

We flew into Nagoya Airport. We used the Pass to take the Hida Wide View to Takayama, stopping at Shirakawago before taking a bus to Kanazawa. Then we took the Shinkanzen + Thunderbirds to Osaka. On the last day, we chose to visit Kyoto on a 1-day trip using the Haruka non-reserved seat. The only precaution is not to lose the pass throughout the 5 days of use. Overall, during the fall foliage season, we were very impressed with this route.

Claiming of ticket was easy. Just scan the qr code at ticket machine at the station. was able to use the ticket anytime all throughout my 7 days super worth it. thank you!

it was a beautiful day and the mountain was great. very confusing that we had to leave the bus at one point take a cab and rejoin the same bus later. it was never explained why. but it all worked out. it was a very long day.

My wife and I just got married and wanted to experience the country side of Shirakawago and the heritage of Hida-Takayama. We’re fortunate enough to get seats in the front row of the bus. The incredible scenery and changing leaves in the fall by themselves would have easily been enough, but what took this over the top was the exceptional hospitality of our guides. They provided the perfect balance of historical education on the bus while allowing us to experience each destination in a unique way. The restaurant in Shirakawago was extremely unnexpected and delicious. I highly recommend skipping the observatory and experiencing the city. I also highly recommend trying the world famous pudding in Shirakawago and the famous Hida beef in Takayama! Can’t thank our amazing host/guides enough! Truly life changing! Btw, we took these photos ourselves on our phones, enjoy!

We had the most amazing guide for this tour, Yasushi, who made the day so enjoyable and relaxing. He gave us great and valuable information on the bus so we could have as much time to ourselves in Shirakawa-go once we arrived. His local food recommendations were spot on, some of the best food we have had. The gardens were beautiful and the craft sessions were a lot of fun and something a bit different and special to add to our trip. Highly recommend this tour.

Here’s a polished version you could post as a review: --- ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ We had a wonderful private walking tour in Kanazawa with our guide, Akari. The experience felt truly personalised and we loved being able to shape the tour around our interests. Akari was knowledgeable, enthusiastic, and such a delight to spend time with; her eagerness to share insights and answer our questions really deepened our understanding of the culture and sights. Having that context made everything so much more meaningful. We highly recommend this tour to anyone visiting Kanazawa!