Hokuriku Arch Pass in 2026: the Price Jumped — Recheck Your Math
Last verified: 2026-08-28 · Sources: JR East official, Travel Voice
The Hokuriku Arch Pass connects Tokyo and Osaka the scenic way — an arc through Nagano, Toyama, Kanazawa and Fukui — for 7 consecutive days. It's a lovely route. It's also had two price rises that most older articles missed: it now costs ¥35,000 (it was ¥30,000 before March 14, 2026, and ¥24,500 in 2023).
What it covers
- Hokuriku Shinkansen: Tokyo ⇄ Nagano ⇄ Toyama ⇄ Kanazawa ⇄ Tsuruga (Kagayaki included)
- Thunderbird limited express: Tsuruga ⇄ Kyoto ⇄ Osaka
- The 2026 renewal added extras: the Azusa toward Matsumoto/Hakuba, and Obama/San'in-line side routes
Not covered: the Tokaido Shinkansen. You cannot use this pass to go Tokyo→Osaka the fast, direct way — that's the whole point of the "arch".
The honest break-even
A one-way Tokyo→Kanazawa (Kagayaki, reserved) is ¥14,600. So:
- One-way arch Tokyo→Kanazawa→Osaka: individual tickets cost roughly the pass price — it's close, and the pass adds unlimited hop-on/hop-off for stops like Nagano and Toyama along the way.
- Arch plus side trips (Matsumoto, Kenrokuen day loops, Fukui's dinosaurs): the pass pulls ahead.
- Tokyo→Osaka with no Hokuriku stops: just take the Tokaido Shinkansen (¥14,720) — the arch makes no sense as pure transport.
Who should buy it
Travelers doing an open-jaw Japan trip — fly into Tokyo, out of Osaka (or reverse) — who want Kanazawa and the Japan-Sea side as destinations, not just scenery from a window. If that's you, the ¥35,000 still buys a genuinely good week. If you just need to get between the two cities, it doesn't.
Price the arch against every alternative →