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ISHIKAWA & TOYAMA 石川・富山

The Kanazawa & Hokuriku Ticket Guide, Step by Step

金沢・北陸のお得なきっぷガイド、選び方から使い方まで

Kenrokuen under snow: the Kotoji stone lantern beside Kasumigaike pond, with rope-cone yukitsuri over the pines behind — 雪の兼六園。霞ヶ池のほとりに立つ徽軫灯籠と、背後の松にかけられた雪吊り。
公開日2026年8月25日
読了目安18 min
おすすめ時期Year-round — Kenrokuen snow-lantern season (Feb) and cherry blossoms (early Apr) are the most photogenic, but every ticket below runs all year
きっぷ情報
最寄り駅Kanazawa Station 金沢駅
予算目安¥650/day (city trams) – ¥35,000 (7-day Kansai↔Kanto pass)

Kanazawa doesn’t have one single “magic pass” the way some tourist towns do — the right ticket depends entirely on where you’re starting from, and Hokuriku’s ticket landscape changed a lot after the Hokuriku Shinkansen extended from Kanazawa to Tsuruga in March 2024. This guide walks through the three questions almost every visitor actually has: how to get here cheaply from Kansai, how to get here cheaply from Kanto, and which local pass actually stretches from Kanazawa out to Toyama once you’ve arrived.

Which ticket fits your trip?

If you only read one table, read this one. Full details, current prices, and official purchase links for every ticket named here follow in the sections below.

Your situation 状況Best pick おすすめ
One simple round trip from Osaka/Kyoto 大阪・京都から単純往復Web-only advance fares (WEB早特14 / eきっぷ) — from ¥7,980 each way (WEB早特14 has limited seats per train — book the moment your 1-month window opens)
A week of unlimited Kansai↔Hokuriku travel, foreign passport 訪日外国人で関西〜北陸を1週間乗り放題Kansai-Hokuriku Area Pass 関西・北陸エリアパス — ¥19,000 / 7 days
One simple round trip from Tokyo 東京から単純往復えきねっと トクだ値14 — ¥9,920 each way (about 30% off) (scheduled to stop selling for travel after Sept 30, 2026 — check えきねっと for the current lineup)
You’re a Japan resident, 50+, and want 4 days of unlimited Tokyo↔Hokuriku travel 日本在住・50歳以上で東京〜北陸を4日間乗り放題大人の休日倶楽部限定「北陸フリーきっぷ」 — ¥25,000 (Tokyo) round trip + free area (Japan residency required — not for short-term foreign tourists)
Just exploring Kanazawa city for a day 金沢市内だけを1日観光金沢市内1日フリー乗車券 — ¥800 (loop bus + regular routes, e.g. to the library)
Kanazawa + a day trip toward Toyama 金沢+富山方面への日帰りあいの風・IR 1日フリーきっぷ — ¥2,000 (Kanazawa → Etchu-Miyazaki)
Touring Ishikawa, Toyama and Fukui over 2 days 石川・富山・福井を2日間で周遊北陸3県2Dayパス — ¥2,800
Foreign passport, one big Kansai↔Kanto loop through Hokuriku 訪日外国人で関西〜北陸〜関東を一周北陸アーチパス — ¥35,000 / 7 days

Coming from Kansai (Osaka / Kyoto)

Since the Shinkansen extension, the trip from Osaka is a two-legged journey: the limited express Thunderbird (サンダーバード) from Osaka to Tsuruga, then a cross-platform transfer to the Hokuriku Shinkansen for Tsuruga → Kanazawa. It sounds more complicated than it is — the transfer at Tsuruga is timed and well signposted, and the whole trip still runs a little over 2.5 hours.

The regular fare, and the web-only discounts that beat it

The full-price reserved-seat fare Osaka → Kanazawa is ¥9,410 one way. Below that, every worthwhile discount is sold online only — through JR-ODEKAKE.NET or the e5489 reservation system — and none of them can be bought at a station window.

Ticket きっぷPrice 料金Discount 割引率Notes
Regular fare 通常運賃¥9,410Buyable anywhere, anytime
eきっぷ¥8,740~7%Online only, flexible on which train
北陸・関西チケットレス(早特7)¥8,460~10%Book 7+ days ahead
学割 (student)¥8,440~10%Needs a student discount certificate from your school
WEB早特14¥7,980~15%Book 14+ days ahead — cheapest fixed-train fare, but limited seats per train and prone to selling out

The catch with every “早特” (early-bird) fare is that it locks you to one specific train — no changes, and refunds are limited — so only book once your Kanazawa dates are firm. Prices above are for regular-season (通常期) travel; like most JR tokutoku fares, they shift a little higher during peak periods (New Year, Golden Week, Obon) and a little lower in off-peak season, so treat these as a baseline and confirm the exact figure for your travel dates on the booking site.

A word of warning on WEB早特14 specifically: it’s genuinely hard to get. JR West sells a limited quota of seats per train at this price — the product page itself warns “ご予約いただける席数には限りがありますので、お早めにお買い求めください” (seats are limited, buy early), and once that quota is gone for a given train, the discount simply isn’t offered on it anymore, even a month out. Popular departures (weekend mornings, connections that line up well at Tsuruga) can sell out within days of the 1-month-ahead booking window opening. If WEB早特14 shows as unavailable for your preferred train, try an adjacent departure time, or fall back to eきっぷ or 北陸・関西チケットレス(早特7), which have more availability.

Kansai-Hokuriku Area Pass — for a week of unlimited stops

If you’re bouncing between Kyoto, Osaka, and multiple Hokuriku towns — not just a there-and-back to Kanazawa — the Kansai-Hokuriku Area Pass covers 7 consecutive days of unlimited non-reserved travel on the Hokuriku and Sanyo Shinkansen, limited expresses, and JR West local trains across the whole zone, plus the connecting third-sector lines (あいの風とやま鉄道・IRいしかわ鉄道・ハピラインふくい・のと鉄道). Current price is ¥19,000 for adults (as of the March 2024 fare revision — always confirm the live price before buying, since JR West revises these periodically).

This pass is sold only to short-term foreign visitors holding a passport with “Temporary Visitor” status — Japanese nationals and residents of Japan cannot buy it, even with a foreign passport.

Higher-coverage alternative: Takayama-Hokuriku Area Tourist Pass

If your route also swings through Nagoya or up to Takayama/Shirakawa-go, the Takayama-Hokuriku Area Tourist Pass is worth comparing: ¥19,800 adult / ¥9,900 child for 5 consecutive days, covering Nagoya↔Toyama, Tsuruga↔Kyoto↔Osaka, and the Toyama↔Tsuruga Shinkansen segment, plus connecting highway buses. Same foreign-tourist-only eligibility as above.

The rock-bottom option: highway bus

If time matters less than money, a highway/overnight bus from Osaka to Kanazawa runs from around ¥3,580 one way — roughly a third of the train fare, for a trip of about 4–4.5 hours by day bus or overnight on the slower services. Search current departures on Bus Kaku.

Coming from Kanto (Tokyo)

Tokyo to Kanazawa is a single, direct Hokuriku Shinkansen ride — no transfer — taking around 2 hours 30 minutes to 2 hours 40 minutes on the fastest かがやき services.

Regular fare vs. トクだ値14

The full reserved-seat fare is ¥14,380 one way. Booking through JR East’s えきねっと at least 14 days ahead unlocks トクだ値14, which drops that to ¥9,920 — about 30% off. As with the Kansai-side 早特 fares, トクだ値 locks you to a specific train and date, and change/refund terms are stricter than a regular ticket, so book once your dates are fixed. A small further ¥200 discount applies when you use the ticketless “新幹線eチケット” format instead of a paper ticket.

Important — this discount is being discontinued soon. JR East has announced that 新幹線eチケット(トクだ値14)and(トクだ値1)will stop being sold for travel from September 30, 2026 onward. If you’re reading this after that date, トクだ値14 will no longer be bookable at all — check えきねっと for whatever replaces it (as of this writing, a period-limited “トクだ値スペシャル28,” discounting up to 50% for bookings 28+ days out, is the closest current alternative, alongside a wider revamp of JR East’s discount lineup). Since our other Tokyo↔Hokuriku recommendation below (北陸フリーきっぷ) is a separate product, it’s unaffected by this change.

北陸フリーきっぷ (大人の休日倶楽部会員限定) — only if you’re a Japan resident aged 50+

This is the single best value on this list if you qualify, but the eligibility bar is real — and it’s not just about age. It’s sold exclusively to members of JR East’s 大人の休日倶楽部 (Otona no Kyujitsu Club), and membership itself requires residency in Japan (ミドル会員: age 50–64, ¥2,624/year, first year free; ジパング会員: 65+, ¥4,364/year), confirmed via a Japan mailing address and a contactable Japan phone number. A short-term foreign tourist visiting on a temporary visitor visa — even if 50 or older — cannot join, since they don’t meet the residency requirement. This one is realistically for Japan residents (any nationality) who happen to be 50+, not for overseas visitors passing through.

Members get a round trip on the Hokuriku Shinkansen between Tokyo/Ueno/Omiya and any Hokuriku station (including Toyama, Kanazawa, Komatsu, and as far as Tsuruga), plus 4 consecutive days of unlimited local travel across the free area. Price is ¥25,000 from central Tokyo or ¥24,000 from Omiya. For a member planning multiple rides around Hokuriku, this comfortably beats buying トクだ値14 twice.

The rock-bottom option: overnight bus

An overnight highway bus from Tokyo (Busta Shinjuku) to Kanazawa runs from around ¥5,400–5,500 at the cheapest, typically ¥5,500–8,000 depending on seat class, for an 8- to 9-hour overnight ride departing around 22:00–24:00 and arriving 6:00–8:30. It roughly halves the money for a trip that costs you a night’s sleep instead — check current departures on Bus Kaku.

Getting around Kanazawa ↔ Toyama once you’re there

This is the part most guides skip: once you’ve arrived, which pass actually lets you range from Kanazawa out toward Toyama without buying single tickets every time? Since the old JR Hokuriku Main Line was handed off to third-sector operators in 2015 and 2024, the relevant lines are now IRいしかわ鉄道 (Kanazawa–Tsubata) and あいの風とやま鉄道 (Tsubata–Toyama–beyond), so the passes below are sold by those companies rather than JR.

Just Kanazawa city: 金沢市内1日フリー乗車券 (城下まち周遊バス 1日券)

If you’re staying inside Kanazawa city — Kenrokuen, the castle, Higashi Chaya, the 21st Century Museum, Omicho Market — the day pass sold for the loop bus is ¥800 adult / ¥400 child, covering both the clockwise and counter-clockwise loop routes that stop at every major sight. Buy it in advance at a ticket counter or hotel — it isn’t sold on board the bus itself. Full coverage map, sales points and terms are on Hokutetsu’s 金沢市内1日フリー乗車券 official page.

Higashi Chaya District after dark: lantern-lit wooden teahouses and stone paving — 夜のひがし茶屋街。灯りのともる格子戸の茶屋建築と石畳。

From Higashi Chaya District. The loop bus stops right at the entrance, and the lanterns come on around dusk — the crowds thin out noticeably after the shops close.

This same ¥800/¥400 ticket is officially the “金沢市内1日フリー乗車券,” and it covers more than just the two loop routes. It’s also valid on regular North Tetsudo (Hokutetsu) route buses within the central 250-yen fare zone, on Nishinihon JR Bus routes within the 230-yen zone, and (since a 2023 renewal) on part of the Asanogawa and Ishikawa railway lines — plus it gets you a small discount on admission at some attractions, including the 21st Century Museum. That regular-route coverage matters for a spot like 石川県立図書館 (Ishikawa Prefectural Library) — the striking 2022-built library that’s popular for photos — which sits up in the 小立野 (Kodatsuno) area and isn’t on the sightseeing loop bus route. A regular route bus from Kanazawa Station bound for 小立野 gets you there in around 25 minutes, followed by a roughly 5-minute uphill walk; 兼六園 (Kenrokuen), by contrast, is directly on the loop bus route (get off at 兼六園下・金沢城). Confirm the current route number for 小立野-bound buses at the station’s bus terminal information desk or on Hokutetsu’s route finder, since numbering can change.

The domed atrium of Ishikawa Prefectural Library, with tiered bookshelves ringing the central hall under a wooden lattice skylight — 石川県立図書館の吹き抜け。木格子のドーム天井の下に、円形に配置された書架が段状に並ぶ。

The bus ride is worth it: the library’s central hall is a single circular room ringed with tiered shelves under a wooden-lattice dome. Admission is free, and it’s open to anyone — you don’t need a library card just to look.

Kanazawa reaching into Toyama: あいの風・IR 1日フリーきっぷ

This is the ticket that actually does what its name promises: unlimited local trains from Kanazawa all the way to Etchu-Miyazaki Station — well past central Toyama and almost to the Niigata border — for a single day. Adult ¥2,000 / child ¥1,000, with the current sales period and terms listed on Ainokaze Toyama Railway’s ticket page. It’s sold at IR Ishikawa Railway staffed windows (Tsubata, Kanazawa, Matto, Komatsu, Kaga-Onsen) and あいの風とやま鉄道 windows, or same-day through the “my route” app. It only covers local trains — not the Shinkansen and not JR lines — so it’s built for a slower, station-hopping day rather than a fast point-to-point trip.

Three prefectures, two days: 北陸3県2Dayパス

For a slightly bigger loop, the あいの風・IR・ハピライン連携 北陸3県2Dayパス covers Etchu-Miyazaki (Toyama) all the way down to Tsuruga (Fukui) — the full stretch of former JR Hokuriku Main Line now run by third-sector companies — for 2 consecutive days. Adult ¥2,800 / child ¥1,400, digital-only through the RYDE PASS app (or four other MaaS apps — the operator lists them all on Ainokaze’s ticket page), buyable same-day, and open to anyone — no passport or residency restriction. This is the pick if you want Toyama, Kanazawa, and a Fukui detour (Tojinbo, Eiheiji) inside one ticket.

Note that this pass only reaches into Fukui, not across the whole prefecture. The Fukui-side coverage is the ハピラインふくい line specifically — Tsuruga up to Daishoji (which is actually just across the border in Ishikawa) — so you get Tsuruga, Echizen-Takefu, Fukui city, and Awara-Onsen along that single corridor. Other JR lines still running within Fukui (like the Obama Line down the coast) aren’t included, so this is coverage of “the old Hokuriku Main Line through Fukui,” not the prefecture’s full rail network.

Once you’re in Toyama city: 市内電車・バス1日ふりーきっぷ

For getting around Toyama city itself — the Toyama Chihou Railway trams plus local buses within the 280-yen fare zone — a day pass is just ¥650 adult / ¥330 child. Buy it at ticket counters, aboard the trams, or digitally via the “my route,” “Norikae Annai,” or “tabiwa by WESTER” apps. Note this doesn’t cover the railway line out toward Tateyama — only the city network.

The pairs-well-with-青春18きっぷ option: 北陸おでかけtabiwaパス

Worth knowing about if you’re a 青春18きっぷ user: the digital-only 北陸おでかけtabiwaパス, sold through the tabiwa by WESTER app, covers JR West local trains plus the third-sector lines between Kanazawa and Tsuruga for one day at ¥2,450 adult / ¥980 child — about ¥130 cheaper than the paper equivalent, and open to any traveler. Because the third-sector Naoetsu–Kanazawa stretch isn’t included in 青春18きっぷ’s coverage, pairing 18きっぷ for the JR sections with this pass for the gap saves roughly ¥1,200 versus buying a separate ticket for that stretch on weekends/holidays.

Foreign-tourist-only options that also reach Toyama

If you’d rather have one pass instead of stacking several: JR West’s 北陸エリアパス (foreign passport, “Temporary Visitor” status only) covers 4 consecutive days of unrestricted-seat Shinkansen, limited express and local trains plus Echizen Railway, Toyama Chihou Railway, and connecting buses across the whole Hokuriku zone, for ¥7,000 — a cheaper, narrower cousin of the Kansai-Hokuriku pass described above. And if your trip spans both Kansai and Kanto, see the 北陸アーチパス below.

The big one: 北陸アーチパス, for a Kansai↔Kanto loop

If your trip genuinely spans both ends — say, flying into Kansai and out of Tokyo, or the reverse — the Hokuriku Arch Pass is a joint JR East/JR West product built exactly for that loop. It covers 7 consecutive days of unlimited JR East and JR West travel connecting Kansai and Kanto via the Hokuriku Shinkansen — plus, after the January 2026 area expansion, extended reach into the Shin’etsu region and connecting third-sector lines (IRいしかわ鉄道, あいの風とやま鉄道, のと鉄道, ハピラインふくい). Note it does not include the Tokaido Shinkansen, so you can’t use it for a direct Tokyo–Osaka leg.

Price is ¥35,000 adult / ¥17,500 child as of the March 2026 revision (it was ¥30,000 before that, so budget for this to move again). Same eligibility as the other tourist-only passes: foreign passport, “Temporary Visitor” status, exchanged for the physical pass within 3 months of purchase and started within 1 month of that exchange.

Where to check for deals we haven’t listed

Ticket lineups in Japan change every spring, and both major operators run their own deal pages that are worth a look before you commit to anything above. For the JR West side (Kansai and Hokuriku), the place to look is tabiwa by WESTER — the Hokuriku section of its digital ticket list, where regional passes like the 北陸おでかけtabiwaパス and seasonal 周遊パス products appear first, usually app-only and often a little cheaper than their paper equivalents. For the JR East side (Kanto and the Hokuriku Shinkansen), it’s えきねっと and JR East’s おトクなきっぷ index, which is where any successor to トクだ値14 will show up. Both are Japanese-language sites, but the ticket names and prices are easy enough to match against this article.

Which pass actually saves you money

Your trip 旅のタイプPick this パス
Just the Kanazawa city sights 金沢市内観光のみ金沢市内1日フリー乗車券 — ¥800. Cheapest option, and covers regular route buses too (e.g. out to the Prefectural Library), not just the loop. 最安の選択肢。周遊バスだけでなく一般路線バス(県立図書館方面など)も対象。
Kanazawa + a Toyama day trip 金沢+富山日帰りあいの風・IR 1日フリーきっぷ — ¥2,000. Covers Kanazawa clear through to Etchu-Miyazaki on local trains. 普通列車で金沢〜越中宮崎まで1日カバー。
Ishikawa + Toyama + Fukui over 2 days 石川・富山・福井を2日間北陸3県2Dayパス — ¥2,800. The former Hokuriku Main Line corridor (incl. into Fukui as far as the ハピラインふくい line reaches), digital ticket, no eligibility restrictions. 旧北陸本線の区間(福井県内はハピラインふくい線の範囲まで)を電子チケットで、購入条件の制限なし。
Simple round trip from Kansai 関西から単純往復WEB早特14 — ¥7,980 each way. Beats every pass if you’re not making extra stops — but book as soon as your window opens, since seats per train are limited. 途中下車しないならパスより安いが、座席数限定なので予約開始直後に押さえるのが安全。
A week of Kansai↔Hokuriku hopping, foreign passport 訪日外国人で関西〜北陸を1週間関西・北陸エリアパス — ¥19,000 / 7 days. Pays for itself once you’re making 3+ separate trips. 別々の移動を3回以上するなら元が取れる。
Simple round trip from Kanto 関東から単純往復えきねっと トクだ値14 — ¥9,920 each way. Book 14+ days ahead for the ~30% discount — but this product ends Sept 30, 2026, so check えきねっと for its replacement if you’re reading this later. 14日前予約で約3割引。ただし2026年9月30日で発売終了予定のため、それ以降は後継商品をえきねっとで確認を。
Japan resident, 50+, unlimited Tokyo↔Hokuriku for 4 days 日本在住・50歳以上で東京〜北陸を4日間乗り放題大人の休日倶楽部限定 北陸フリーきっぷ — ¥25,000 (Tokyo). The best value on this whole list, if you qualify — but it requires Japan residency, not just age. 条件を満たせば最もお得だが、年齢だけでなく日本在住であることが必須。
Flying into one region, out the other, foreign passport 訪日外国人で関西⇔関東を横断北陸アーチパス — ¥35,000 / 7 days. The only single ticket that spans both ends. 両端をまたげる唯一のきっぷ。

PRACTICAL NOTES 実用メモ

⚠ Passes bought overseas are exchange vouchers, not the ticket itself — you still need to exchange them at a designated counter in Japan (typically within 3 months of purchase) before your travel dates start. 海外で購入したパスは引換証であり、きっぷそのものではありません。日本国内の指定窓口で(購入から概ね3ヶ月以内に)実際のきっぷに交換する必要があります。

⚠ Every price in this article was checked against official sources in August 2026. JR West and JR East revise these fares periodically (often each spring), so confirm the live price on the linked official page before you buy. 本記事の価格は2026年8月時点で公式情報を確認したものです。JR西日本・JR東日本はこれらの運賃を随時(多くは春に)改定するため、購入前に必ずリンク先の公式ページで最新価格を確認してください。


Sources 参考リンク


Before you go 最後に

Everything above is written with the independent traveler in mind — one person, a couple, a family booking their own seats. Group bookings and package tours run on different fare arrangements, so the discounts here may not apply in the same way; if you’re travelling as a group, it’s worth asking your travel agent what they can do instead.

Now go and enjoy Kanazawa. Have a wonderful trip.


A hand-written bilingual field guide to Japan, one region at a time. Fares, schedules, reservation windows, and pass prices above were checked against official sources in August 2026 — but JR West and JR East revise these periodically, so double-check the linked official pages before you travel.