Takayama Hokuriku Pass

Hi, I will be travelling to Japan late Jan next year and planning to get the Takayama-Hokuriku 5-Day Pass. However my trip is takes about 08 days and I'm not too sure when should I activate the Takayama-Hokuriku Pass to fully maximise it, and on the other days what other passes should I get at the lowest cost?

Here's my proposed itinerary:
Day 01 Arrive KIX - Travel to Kyoto
Day 02 Kyoto City Tour
Day 03 Kyoto - Kanazawa
Day 04 Kanazawa + ShirakawaGo - Osaka
Day 05 Osaka City Tour
Day 06 Osaka + Nara
Day 07 Osaka Universal Studio
Day 08 Osaka - KIX to home

Please advice when is the best day to activate the 5-day Takayama-Hokuriku Pass and what other passes should I use on other days? Maybe Icoca & Haruka Pass from Day 05 to Day 08 - does the pass covers Nara too?

Thank you in advance!

Icoca & Haruka is not a pass.

Hi Firas, thanks for correcting that. This is my first time to Japan, hence I'm hoping to get some great tips and advices on moving around Japan via public transport.

I would validate the Takayama Hokuriku Area Tourist Pass on Day 1 and do the trip as follows.

Day 01 Arrive KIX - Travel to Kyoto
Day 02 Kyoto City Tour (you won't be able to use the pass on this day)
Day 03 Kyoto - Takayama (via Kanazawa and Toyama)
Day 04 Takayama (bus) ShirakawaGo (bus) Kanazawa
Day 05 Kanazawa to Osaka.

As Firas noted, Icoca-Haruka is not the pass. Pass means unlimited rides in the valid area, but Icoca is an chargeable IC card while Haruka part of this promotion is a single ride ticket valid for Haruka limited express to KIX (non-reserved seats).

Hi Frog1954,

Appreciate that! A couple of questions in mind, does Takayama Hokuriku Pass cover the route from Kyoto to Kanazawa? If yes, what kind of trains should I take? We might not have time to visit Takayama, so most probably will give this a pass.

From Osaka to Nara, what sort of cards/tickets/passes should I purchase? Does Icoca cover this route? Can I also use Icoca within Kyoto while im doing my city tour?

Thanks in advance.

Kyoto to Kanazawa = Thunderbird Limited Express.

Nara/Kyoto travels = yes you can use the Icoca card.

does Takayama Hokuriku Pass cover the route from Kyoto to Kanazawa? If yes, what kind of trains should I take?

Yes it covers from Kyoto to Kanazawa via Kosei line going through the west coast of Biwako. You can take Thunderbird limited express train. You can take reserved seat (reservation is free but you need to go to the ticket booth - Midori no Madoguchi). Note that this pass does not cover Shinkansen to Maibara and then limited express to Kanazawa.

From Osaka to Nara, what sort of cards/tickets/passes should I purchase? Does Icoca cover this route? Can I also use Icoca within Kyoto while im doing my city tour?

If you stay in Namba area, you don't need to take Haruka to KIX but you can access by Nankai railway. So ICOCA is sufficient. If you stay in Shin-Osaka or Tennoji then ICOCA & Haruka will be valuable.

https://www.westjr.co.jp/global/en/ticket/icoca-haruka/

It covers almost all transportations in Kansai area including Osaka to Nara and in Kyoto.

https://www.westjr.co.jp/global/en/ticket/icoca-haruka/pdf/icoca_area....

Day 4, I would probably recommend staying overnight in Kanazawa again and getting up early for Osaka the next morning. It's at least 5 hours from Shirakawa-go to Osaka. It is 2.25 hours on the bus to Kanazawa and then 2.5-3 hours on the Express to Osaka + transfer time. Including the 2.25 hours to get into Shirakawa in the morning, that's close to 8 hours of travel in one day if you go back to Osaka that night.

I would agree with the above reply that said to activate it right away. You'll have to pay out of pocket for the last 3 days, but that's still the best deal.