Toyama
Apr 6th, 2006, 10:20 AM
#1
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Toyama
We plan to visit Japan in early July. This is our second trip to Japan. The two places we want to visit the most this time are Toyama-Kurobe route and Shirakawago. Is it possible to use Toyama as a base to visit both places. If so, how is the transportation from Toyama to Shirakawago, such as the fare and the bus or train schedules etc..
Apr 6th, 2006, 04:23 PM
#2
Toyama could be used as a base. It is at one end of the "Alpine route". I believe that there are seasonal buses from Toyama to Shirakawago. You would definitely be able to take the train to Takaoka and then a bus from there to Shirakawago. I took that bus in January of last year and I think it took about 2.5 hours and around 2000 to 2500 yen. Toyama might be a bit further.
I recommend that you not go to Shirakawago as a day trip from Toyama. Stay overnight. You can stash the bulk of your luggage at a locker at Toyama station and just take what you need for an overnight.
Are you also going to visit Takayama? The train ride from Toyama to Takayama is (according to the guidebook Japan by Rail) one of the great rail journeys in Japan. Be careful with the schedule, though, because the trip can be as short as 3 hours or as long as 5 hours depending on your departure time. Actually looks to be 20 minutes shorter to go south, from Toyama to Takayama, than it is going north. I think it's about 2 hours from Takayama to Shirakawago by bus. You could make a triangle between the three towns.
Go here: http://www.jnto.go.jp/eng/RTG/PTG/index.html
and get the guide for Tateyama-Kurobe and the guide for Takayama & Shirakawago. They have good practical info. I think the latter guide shows the bus line from Toyama to S-go.
I recommend that you not go to Shirakawago as a day trip from Toyama. Stay overnight. You can stash the bulk of your luggage at a locker at Toyama station and just take what you need for an overnight.
Are you also going to visit Takayama? The train ride from Toyama to Takayama is (according to the guidebook Japan by Rail) one of the great rail journeys in Japan. Be careful with the schedule, though, because the trip can be as short as 3 hours or as long as 5 hours depending on your departure time. Actually looks to be 20 minutes shorter to go south, from Toyama to Takayama, than it is going north. I think it's about 2 hours from Takayama to Shirakawago by bus. You could make a triangle between the three towns.
Go here: http://www.jnto.go.jp/eng/RTG/PTG/index.html
and get the guide for Tateyama-Kurobe and the guide for Takayama & Shirakawago. They have good practical info. I think the latter guide shows the bus line from Toyama to S-go.
Apr 12th, 2006, 04:51 PM
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Thanks! The link is very useful. Yes, we are going to stay one night at Shirakawago. Do you have any suggestion which minshuku to choose? Can I use English if I make reservation through Ogi-machi Tourist Office by phone?
Apr 12th, 2006, 06:09 PM
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Last I knew, the tourist info office didn't have any English speakers...at least not competent enough to converse by telephone. Whenever I phone there, I must use Japanese. If you want them to make your reservation for you it requires at least 2 phone calls...one to request, then you call back again and they tell you where you have a reservation. They seem to have an internal system of some sort they use to make reservations.
This fairly new page is the most comprehensive listing I've found in English. http://www.vill.shirakawa.gifu.jp/e/index.html I would contact places directly.
This fairly new page is the most comprehensive listing I've found in English. http://www.vill.shirakawa.gifu.jp/e/index.html I would contact places directly.
Apr 16th, 2006, 06:42 AM
#5
In Takayama the other day I learned (relearned?) that the JR route between Takayama and Toyama is partly by JR bus. This is a detour around damage caused by a typhoon, I was told. So, maybe the trip is not as good as the JBR book described.
I stayed at Koemon and recommend it. You can call directly. Mr Otani speaks some English and can handle your reservation request. Speak slowly and clearly. Mrs Otani is a very nice lady who does not speak English. Their daughter, if she is there, is fluent. Maybe JTB can handle your booking, if you want.
I stayed at Koemon and recommend it. You can call directly. Mr Otani speaks some English and can handle your reservation request. Speak slowly and clearly. Mrs Otani is a very nice lady who does not speak English. Their daughter, if she is there, is fluent. Maybe JTB can handle your booking, if you want.
Apr 17th, 2006, 07:40 AM
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If I might jump in on Takayama to Kanazawa (via Toyama), I've been searching for the "2 hour+ express train" for this trip mentioned in JNTO printed and on-line materials. But on grace.hyperdia, all I can find is a 3 transfer route - which doesn't indicate that a bus is involved.
Would it be easier and more timely to go from Takayama to Kanazawa via Nagoya? (We did buy the JR 14 day pass, so cost isn't an issue.) I understand the train ride via Toyama is beautiful, but is it worth the multiple changes and buses?
Would it be easier and more timely to go from Takayama to Kanazawa via Nagoya? (We did buy the JR 14 day pass, so cost isn't an issue.) I understand the train ride via Toyama is beautiful, but is it worth the multiple changes and buses?
Apr 17th, 2006, 02:44 PM
#8
And then from Nagoya to Takayama is 2.5 hours on the Hida LEx. So Takayama to Kanazawa via Nagoya is a 5.5 hour trip.
There are two buses a day from Takayama to Kanazawa, departing Takayama at 9:30 and 15:20 with scheduled arrival three hours later. This is a non-JR bus (Nohi Bus). The one-way fare is 3300 yen.
The following is info for Takayama -> Toyama travel on JR that I got at Takayama station last Thursday.
The train goes from Takayama to Tsunogawa where you transfer to a bus. The bus goes to Inotani where you transfer to a train to Toyama. The schedule allows 10 minutes to transfer between bus and train.
The 6:00 train reaches Tsunogawa at 6:30. The 6:40 bus reaches Inotani at 7:45. The 7:55 train reaches Toyama at 8:51.
Here are the the 5 daily trips:
depart Takayama - arrive Toyama
06:00 - 08:51
09:11 - 12:02
13:01 - 15:52
16:07 - 20:07
19:31 - 22:21
There are two buses a day from Takayama to Kanazawa, departing Takayama at 9:30 and 15:20 with scheduled arrival three hours later. This is a non-JR bus (Nohi Bus). The one-way fare is 3300 yen.
The following is info for Takayama -> Toyama travel on JR that I got at Takayama station last Thursday.
The train goes from Takayama to Tsunogawa where you transfer to a bus. The bus goes to Inotani where you transfer to a train to Toyama. The schedule allows 10 minutes to transfer between bus and train.
The 6:00 train reaches Tsunogawa at 6:30. The 6:40 bus reaches Inotani at 7:45. The 7:55 train reaches Toyama at 8:51.
Here are the the 5 daily trips:
depart Takayama - arrive Toyama
06:00 - 08:51
09:11 - 12:02
13:01 - 15:52
16:07 - 20:07
19:31 - 22:21
Apr 18th, 2006, 10:45 AM
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Thanks again KimJapan and mrwunrfl. It sounds as though the bus from Takayama to Kanazawa will be the best bet for us. Is this an express - non-stop? I've read on one of these strings that a change in Ogimachi was involved. I also hope that we will be able to show up in Takayama and be confident that we will be able to get reservations/tickets for two days later. Other than this wrinkle, I think I'm doing okay putting the other legs of the trip together through grace.hyperdia and your advice.
Apr 18th, 2006, 12:09 PM
#10
It's not an express. It stops at bus-stops all along the route if passengers request or are waiting for it. There are three scheduled stops at Shokawa, Hirase Onsen, and Shirakawa-go where the bus might wait a minute or two. The 9:30 bus arrives S-go at 11:15. The later bus to Kanazawa departs at 17:05, arriving K at 18:20.
When you get to Takayama station you will see the visitor info booth on the sidewalk out front. They can give you the schedules and info about Takayama and other places in the region, like Shirakawago. The Nohi Bus center is just a few steps from there. I don't think you'll have any trouble getting seats two days in advance.
When you get to Takayama station you will see the visitor info booth on the sidewalk out front. They can give you the schedules and info about Takayama and other places in the region, like Shirakawago. The Nohi Bus center is just a few steps from there. I don't think you'll have any trouble getting seats two days in advance.
Apr 18th, 2006, 02:56 PM
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I did both the bus and the JR train/bus routes last year at this time.
Although the bus is not an express, it travels quite quickly--it doesn't seem slow. It is very comfortable and smooth and warm--very relaxing. I took the morning bus to S-go and the afternoon bus onward to Kanazawa and that worked well, but you can go straight through without stopping at S-go if desired. (I think the morning bus goes all the way, but you have to change at S-go for the afternoon route, or maybe it was vice versa.)
The part from Takayama to S-go is fairly scenic, but from S-go to Kanazawa is a lot of l-o-n-g tunnels. The morning and afternoon buses were different bus companies, with different colors, logos, and designs on the buses, and the afternoon bus was not marked for the destination, but it was the only one in the S-go parking lot after 5 pm.
If your goal is the quickest and easiest way, taking this bus all the way through is probably what you want.
I returned from Toyama to Takayama by the JR route. (You would need to leave an hour earlier if coming from Kanazawa, and change trains at Toyama, I believe.) I caught the train to Inotani about 8 am, I think, and it was a VERY local train with school children and workers getting off and on all along the route--quite fun, I thought.
At Inotani, the JR bus is waiting right outside the door of the little, unstaffed station, so that is an easy transfer. There were actually 2 buses, one for local stops, one express, but they held the express back so that it didn't get there before the local, which was annoying since it missed the train connection by a few minutes when it could easily have gotten there--strangely inefficient . . .
The JR bus lets you off right at the door of the station, so again, it's an easy connection. It was about an hour until the next connection. Tsunogawa, where you get back on the train is interesting to look around, however. It's only a couple more stops to Takayama, arriving about noon or a bit later, I think. I thought this train-bus-train arrangement was the more scenic and interesting of the two routes, being in the mountains alot, passing through resort towns, seeing where the train tracks used to run (no sign of repairs going on--maybe they are giving up on that track?). It isn't as hard to follow as it seems when you look at the schedule, although it's a bit pokey. Of course, this would all be in reverse order for Takayama to Kanazawa.
Although the bus is not an express, it travels quite quickly--it doesn't seem slow. It is very comfortable and smooth and warm--very relaxing. I took the morning bus to S-go and the afternoon bus onward to Kanazawa and that worked well, but you can go straight through without stopping at S-go if desired. (I think the morning bus goes all the way, but you have to change at S-go for the afternoon route, or maybe it was vice versa.)
The part from Takayama to S-go is fairly scenic, but from S-go to Kanazawa is a lot of l-o-n-g tunnels. The morning and afternoon buses were different bus companies, with different colors, logos, and designs on the buses, and the afternoon bus was not marked for the destination, but it was the only one in the S-go parking lot after 5 pm.
If your goal is the quickest and easiest way, taking this bus all the way through is probably what you want.
I returned from Toyama to Takayama by the JR route. (You would need to leave an hour earlier if coming from Kanazawa, and change trains at Toyama, I believe.) I caught the train to Inotani about 8 am, I think, and it was a VERY local train with school children and workers getting off and on all along the route--quite fun, I thought.
At Inotani, the JR bus is waiting right outside the door of the little, unstaffed station, so that is an easy transfer. There were actually 2 buses, one for local stops, one express, but they held the express back so that it didn't get there before the local, which was annoying since it missed the train connection by a few minutes when it could easily have gotten there--strangely inefficient . . .
The JR bus lets you off right at the door of the station, so again, it's an easy connection. It was about an hour until the next connection. Tsunogawa, where you get back on the train is interesting to look around, however. It's only a couple more stops to Takayama, arriving about noon or a bit later, I think. I thought this train-bus-train arrangement was the more scenic and interesting of the two routes, being in the mountains alot, passing through resort towns, seeing where the train tracks used to run (no sign of repairs going on--maybe they are giving up on that track?). It isn't as hard to follow as it seems when you look at the schedule, although it's a bit pokey. Of course, this would all be in reverse order for Takayama to Kanazawa.
