Itoigawa

The nearest airport is Toyama, which is a little over an hour away by car. By public transport, take the bus to Toyama Station and change there to the train (see below). The main way into Itoigawa is the Hakutaka service on the Hokuriku Shinkansen. Times and prices are as follows: Trains connect at Kanazawa to Limited Express trains (Thunderbird towards Osaka, Shirasagi towards Maibara and Nagoya): From Nagoya, a better route is to take the Shinano Limited Express to Nagano and change there; this takes about 4 hours and costs ¥10,100. When the Shinkansen opened in 2015, the Hokuriku Main Line through Itoigawa was transferred to the new non-JR Echigo Tokimeki Railway and became its Nihonkai-Hisui Line. While it offers a few direct trains to Toyama and Kanazawa, most services require a change at Tomari. Taking this line, Toyama is 2 hours and ¥1520 away, and Kanazawa is 3 hr 20 min and ¥2830 away....