Hi,
My friend and I will be travelling with the very convenient Hokuriku area pass from 20-23rd October. It has unlimited 4-day shinkansen/other rail travel around the region. The cities covered along the main shinkansen line are Kurobe Unazaki Onsen, Toyama, Shin-Takaoka, Kanazawa, Komatsu, Kaga Onsen, Fukui, Tsuruga.
The current schedule is as follows:
20/10 Toyama, Kurobe Gorge
- Arrive 05:30 off nightbus (hopefully after a good snooze). Konbini breakfast, find internet cafe to sit/nap for couple hours?
- 07:40/08:40 Shinkansen to Kurobe Unazaki Onsen, train to Unazaki Onsen, walk to Kurobe Gorge railway. (about an hour's travel total)
- 09:42 gorge train round trip (about two hours). The scenic railway is only open between Unazuki-Nekomata due to last year's earthquake but still it feels worth it.
- Hour travel back for lunch and wander around in Toyama (13:30 or 14:00)
- Bus to visit folk craft village and temple (last admission 16:30)
- Back into town for dinner and wander around
- Stay overnight Toyama
21/10 Kanazawa, ShirakawaGo
- 09:09 Toyama shinkansen to Shin-Takaoka, then bus to ShirakawaGo. Arrives 11:45.
- Wander around and lunch in ShirakawaGo, bus back at 13:50
- Bus arrives in Kanazawa at 15:00, wander round (Kenrokuen, Higashichaya?) and dinner in Kanazawa
- Stay overnight Kanazawa
22/10 Kanazawa, Kaga Onsen
- Explore Kanazawa some more (Kenrokuen, Kanazawa Castle, Omicho?)
- 13:04 Kanazawa shinkansen to Kaga Onsen, then 14:00 shuttle bus to ryokan.
- Chill out at ryokan (dango rolling, sake tasting, tea and sweets, onsen)
- stay overnight at ryokan.
23/10 Fukui
- Shuttle from ryokan to station at 11:00, then 11:32 shinkansen to Fukui
- Not sure what to do this day. Fukui attractions are really spaced out, most appealing/closest is Eiheiji Buddhist Temple.
- Maybe slightly silly but could be worth it going to Obama just to say "I went to Obama". It's also well-known for seafood which is another plus.
- 17:49 Train from Tsuruga station to Shin-Osaka station to meet with other friends and end the journey.
I don't know the area very well at all, so would really appreciate any suggestions or recommendations. Some info is that we both enjoy seafood, we are interested in both pop-culture (manga, anime, games) and traditional/historical culture, we speak some Japanese, we are mobile and enjoy walking round cities/parks, but won't have the appropriate gear for hiking/long walks.
by phcneys