Is Hokuriku Arch Pass worth it for the itinerary?
Fellow travellers, I have an itinerary almost planned out that nicely lines up with the Hokuriku arch pass, but I don't fully understand about how convenient JR lines would be. Thought someone would share a perspective here!
We arrive in KIX, with 2 nights in Namba and 2 nights near Osaka station planned out. We will take a train to Namba when arriving, and a day trip to Nara and multiple round trips to Kyoto (at least 2); all are seem to be covered on the pass.
We then plan to do two nights in Kanazawa. Arrive using Hokuriku line, a trip to Tateyama and trip back from Nagano on the same line to do the Alpine route. Then head to Tokyo the next day.
We depart from NRT, but that is outside the 7 day window for the pass.
Considering there are some back and forth involved, the Pass seemed to worth it based on my crude math. But I am having trouble understanding whether the routes included in the pass are the ones I should take in a) arriving at Namba from KIX with a couple of carry-on and b) to day trips to Kyoto and Nara.
I also saw in multiple comments in this sub mentioning that the pass is designed for round trips, so any thoughts on whether its actually worth it for my itinerary (I don't fully trust my math) are also appreciated.
Hope someone can help! TIA!
Posted May 12, 2026, 6:06 AM UTC