Hokuriku, the coast of central Japan that faces the Sea of Japan, is where many seasoned travellers go once Kyoto feels familiar. It has the castle town of Kanazawa, the hot-spring villages of Kaga, the bay and mountains of Toyama, and the Zen temple of Eiheiji in Fukui. Since 16 March 2024 the Hokuriku Shinkansen has continued past Kanazawa to Tsuruga, so the whole coast now lies on one line from Tokyo.

For travellers from Singapore the timing is good. The Japan National Tourism Organization's strategy for Singapore names regional travel, hot springs and historic inns among what it promotes, and Singapore's year-end school holidays begin in late November, two weeks into the crab season. This article sets out how to shape a week in Hokuriku at the top level: where to stay, in what order, and in which season. We read the railways', inns' and prefectures' own pages and contacted none of them; the sources are listed at the end. For Kanazawa itself, its gardens, teahouse districts and crafts, see Kanazawa: The New Golden Route Stop That Rewards Slow Travel →.

Key points

ASK US TO SHAPE YOUR WEEK IN HOKURIKU →

THE SHAPE OF A WEEK

JR West gives the fastest times from Tokyo as 2 hours 8 minutes to Toyama and 2 hours 28 minutes to Kanazawa. The extension opened in March 2024 cut the journey to Tsuruga by up to 50 minutes, to 3 hours 8 minutes at best, with new stations at Komatsu, Kaga Onsen, Awara Onsen, Fukui, Echizen-Takefu and Tsuruga. The line therefore reads like an itinerary from east to west.

A well-paced week begins in Toyama for one or two nights, moves to Kanazawa for two, settles in a Kaga hot-spring inn for two or three, and ends in Fukui with a night at Eiheiji. Travellers who prefer fewer moves can stay three nights in Kaga and visit Kanazawa by car for the day. The order can run the other way when arriving from Kyoto or Osaka.

A row of old wooden houses along a quiet river in Kanazawa

KANAZAWA IN A FOUR-ROOM INN

Kanazawa has grand hotels, but its most particular stay is a ryokan. Asadaya, founded in 1867 and built in the sukiya style, keeps only four rooms, which it describes as the way to serve each guest fully. Its rooms look onto small courtyard gardens, and dinner is Kaga cuisine: local seafood, sweet shrimp and crab in season, served on carefully chosen tableware. It is about ten minutes by taxi from Kanazawa Station. The building has no lift, which matters for some guests.

Kenroku-en is the reason to be in Kanazawa in early winter. From 1 November gardeners fix the snow ropes, beginning with the Karasaki pine, whose branches are held by about 800 ropes from five poles. Some 4,000 kilograms of straw rope are used across the garden, and the work is planned to finish by mid-December.

THE KAGA HOT SPRINGS

South of Kanazawa, around Kaga Onsen Station, lie the hot-spring towns of Yamashiro and Yamanaka. This is where we place the longest stay of the week.

Beniya Mukayu, founded in 1928 in Yamashiro Onsen and a member of Relais & Châteaux, has 16 rooms. All face its Forest Garden, and each has a private open-air hot-spring bath, so guests bathe when they wish. Dinner at Kaiseki Horin follows the omakase tradition and is prepared with each guest's dietary needs in mind, using ingredients from the rivers, forests and sea of Kaga. The owner performs the tea ceremony, and the inn arranges visits to Kutani porcelain and Yamanaka lacquer workshops.

In Yamanaka Onsen, Kayotei is known for its winter tables. Last winter it served a crab kaiseki from 7 November to 20 March and a wild duck hotpot from December to mid-February, with rooms including some with an open-air bath. The crab menus were not served from 30 December to 6 January, which is worth knowing when planning around the year-end holidays.

THE CRAB SEASON

In Ishikawa the snow crab season opens on 6 November. The large male crab, sold as kano-gani, may be caught until 20 March and carries a blue tag naming the port where it was landed. Since 2021 the finest have been graded as Kagayaki, a mark so strict that its fishermen say even the opening day's catch may not include one. Crab is at its best from November to February.

Fukui's Echizen crab, the Matsuba crab of San'in, their tags and prices, and the order of a crab dinner are explained in Snow Crab in Japan: Echizen, Matsuba and Where It Is Landed →.

TOYAMA, THE BAY AND THE ALPS

Toyama City was one of The New York Times' 52 Places to Go in 2025. It sits between a deep bay and the Tateyama range, and its table is built on that bay. River Retreat Garaku has 23 rooms, no two alike, some with tatami and a private hot-spring bath, and pairs contemporary art and tea with Toyama ingredients cooked in the French manner. In spring and autumn, Toyama is also the gateway to the mountain crossing described in Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route and Toyama: The Crossing, the Dam and the Gorge →.

FUKUI AND EIHEIJI

West of Kaga, the new line runs through Awara Onsen and Fukui. Eiheiji, the head temple of Soto Zen, receives guests who stay at Hakujukan by its gate and join the monks' morning service. The visit, the lodge and the Echizen coast are set out in Fukui by Shinkansen: Eiheiji, Hakujukan and the Echizen Coast →.

THE NOTO PENINSULA TODAY

North of Kanazawa, the Noto Peninsula is still recovering from the 2024 earthquake. Kagaya, the best-known inn at Wakura Onsen, states on its own site that it has suspended operations. We do not include Noto in a week until we have checked what is open, and we tell guests plainly what has changed.

HOW WE ARRANGE HOKURIKU

Within Signature, our planning for journeys of 7 to 21 days, we fix the inns first, because in Hokuriku the best of them have very few rooms. We then set the trains, cars and tables around them: the crab dinner on the right night, the garden early in the morning, the temple at the hour its service begins. Settlement is made with each house in the simplest way available, usually on the day or on your room bill.

SOURCES AND HOW WE CHECKED

We read the pages below on November 5, 2026. We did not contact any inn, railway, prefecture or other body.

QUESTIONS TRAVELLERS ASK

How many days do I need for Hokuriku?

Five to seven nights let you see Toyama, Kanazawa, a Kaga hot-spring inn and Fukui without hurrying. With three or four, choose Kanazawa and Kaga.

When is the crab season in Hokuriku?

In Ishikawa it opens on 6 November, and the male crab may be caught until 20 March. It is at its best from November to February.

How long is the train from Tokyo to Kanazawa?

The fastest Hokuriku Shinkansen takes 2 hours 28 minutes. Toyama is 2 hours 8 minutes from Tokyo, and the line continues to Tsuruga.

Should I stay in Kanazawa or in a Kaga hot-spring inn?

Both, if time allows: two nights in Kanazawa for the garden and the city, then two or three in Yamashiro or Yamanaka for the bath and the table. Kanazawa can also be visited for the day by car from Kaga.

Can I visit the Noto Peninsula?

Parts of Noto are still recovering from the 2024 earthquake, and some inns, including Kagaya at Wakura Onsen, are not operating. We check what is open before suggesting it.

ASK US TO SHAPE YOUR WEEK IN HOKURIKU

Send us your dates and how you like to travel. We will propose the inns and the order of the week, with the reasons, and arrange the trains, cars and tables around them.

Begin planning →

We reply within 24 hours, in writing

Some of the restaurants and bars we arrange seat guests only by introduction or membership. We ask on your behalf; the table and the evening are the house's decision. We do not publish their names.

Also from STAYGO
Kanazawa: The New Golden Route Stop That Rewards Slow Travel → Snow Crab in Japan: Echizen, Matsuba and Where It Is Landed → Fukui by Shinkansen: Eiheiji, Hakujukan and the Echizen Coast → Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route and Toyama: The Crossing, the Dam and the Gorge → Japan for the Fifth Visit: Regions and Inns Still Ahead → Eastern Hokkaido: Akan and Shiretoko in Summer and Winter →