The Hokuriku Shinkansen

Published on : 26/06/2016
by : Japan Experience

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Kanazawa bullet train

Going across the island of Honshu, the Hokuriksu Shinkansen traverses between the metropolitan capital of Tokyo and the prefectures on the Japan Sea Coast.

From Tokyo to Kanazawa and beyond...

The Hokuriku Shinkansen high-speed train line runs from Tokyo via Nagano to Kanazawa. Since March 2024, the line has been extended out to Tsuruga, along the Sea of Japan in Fukui Prefecture.

The Hokuriku Shinkansen high-speed line has evolved in stages since the early 1980s. In 1982, the Jôetsu Shinkansen opened a first section between Tokyo and Omiya. In 1997, the Shinkansen finally reached Nagano, and this is what interests us, as the Hokuriku Shinkansen was extended to Kanazawa in 2015.

It's the birth certificate of this line, to keep only the name of Hokuriku Shinkansen. The next step was the opening of a new extension to Tsuruga in March 2024. A total of 500km from Tokyo through the Japanese Alps and along the coast of the Sea of Japan.
All that remains is to link Kyoto and Osaka, but this is not planned for several years, after 2040 it seems.

All Shinkansens running on the Hokuriku line are E7 series trains, specially commissioned for the 2015 inauguration.

From Tokyo to Kanazawa in just 2h30!

There are several types of service on the Hokuriku Shinkansen, depending on whether you want to go far fast, or need to stop at a 'small' station along the way.

The Asama Service is the Shinkansen that links Tokyo to Nagano, stopping at all stations along the way, such as Karuizawa or Ueda, for a 1h37min journey.

The Kagayaki and Hakutaka services connect Tokyo to Kanazawa, but the Hakutaka stops at all stations between Nagano and Kanazawa, such as Iiyama, Joetsu-Myoko or Itoigawa. Tokyo-Kanazawa takes 3h00.
The Kagayaki is therefore the faster of the two services, stopping only at the biggest stations on the route: Ueno, Omiya, Nagano, Toyama, Kanazawa, Fukui and Tsuruga. It takes 2h30 from Tokyo, and Tokyo-Tsuruga takes 3h20min.
Please note that the Kagayaki train has reserved seats only, and features both 'Green' first class and a super-first class called GranClass, on a plane's 'Business' level.

And let's not forget the Tsurugi service, which connects Toyama to Tsuruga via all stations in 1h20min.

The new stations on the Hokuriku line from Toyama are :