This tour will start at Kanazawa Station at 8:00 A.M., where your guide will meet you in front of the Information Centre near the Shinkansen Ticket Gates. Once you have left the inside of the station building, we will get on the shinkansen and take the short trip to Takaoka Station.

First we will walk to Zuiryuji Temple, the 350 year old temple that was built for the death of the second generation Maeda leader, Maeda Toshinaga. This is one of the aspects that make this temple unique, that in the place of a Buddhist god in the main altar, it is the o-ihai, or mortuary tablet of Maeda Toshinaga. It was built to be a grand tribute so a great amount of wealth was spent to make it in the grand continental style of temple design.

There is also an altar of Buddha in a central location on the temple grounds that used the highest quality Japanese timber, with the highest quality materials imported from China for the statues. The final interesting aspect to mention is the statue of the god of toilets. It is believed that the one in Zuiryuji is the only one in existence because, historically, just the name of the god on a placard is used in bathrooms.

As we head to the next destination we will travel back through Takaoka Station before arriving at the Takaoka Big Buddha. There has been a large Buddha here for centuries but the current metal Buddha is from the 1930’s, after a fire a few decades earlier.

The tour will next head through the old town. Here you can see some culturally important buildings in a Meiji modern style. The dark blues and white create a surreal atmosphere that gives off a classic Japanese-Western mixture type of area.

Next you will get to try making your own drinking cup. In this experience you will be able to design, pour and cool your own metal cup. This is definitely an activity that you will never forget and be able to take home a small souvenir that easily fits in any suitcase or carry-on!

In the afternoon we will hop on the Himi Line train and head towards Toyama Bay. It’s a short ride until we arrive at the closest station to Shokoji, another National Treasure. It was originally built in 1471 before being moved to its current location in 1584.

The last stop of the tour is a quick stop to see one of the famous views of Toyama prefecture. You have about 30 minutes to hop off the train to get a great glimpse of the very small rocky island covered in a handful of trees with the background of the imposing and beautiful Tateyama mountain range.

After a long day we will finally take the train or bus back to Takaoka Station. Along the way you can still see the mountains in the Toyama Bay over the city while remembering all the historical and beautiful places you saw during the tour. From Takaoka Station we will get on our final train back to Kanazawa where we will say our goodbyes.