Getting around: the loop, and why we run it in reverse

The connections that shape this trip — shinkansen, limited express, and a couple of mountain buses — and the small scheduling trick that makes the whole thing easier.

The Hokuriku loop strings together a fast train, a scenic limited express, and two mountain bus legs. None of it is hard, but the order you run it in changes how the long travel day falls — and that is worth thinking about before you book.

The shape of it

• Capital → Takayama — the Hida limited express via Nagoya, following river gorges; a scenic half-day.
• Takayama → Shirakawa-go — reserved bus, about an hour.
• Shirakawa-go → Okuhida onsen — bus up the valley.
• Okuhida → Kanazawa — bus down, then rail across to the coast.
• Kanazawa → Capital — direct shinkansen, about 2.5 hours.

Why reverse

Most write-ups end in the mountains, which forces a long, multi-connection haul back to the capital on the last day. Run the loop the other way — mountains first, ending in Kanazawa — and the return becomes a single direct shinkansen instead of a five-hour relay of buses and transfers. The one genuinely long travel leg then lands on a rested day near the start, not on the day you most want to be fresh.

The trade with running it in reverse: the onsen night sits mid-trip rather than as a grand finale. But you gain a Northern Alps ropeway morning on the way out of the mountains, which more than makes up for it — and you swap a stressful final travel day for an easy one.