7-Day Trip from Tokyo to Kyoto: Episode 2 | Japan's New Golden Route | japan-guide.com

In this three-part series we are taking a seven-day, six-night trip from Tokyo to Kyoto, but not by the usual route along the Pacific coast known as the Golden Route, which most tourists take. Instead, we are travelling through Japan's New Golden Route, which delves into the country's rural interior, continues along the beautiful Sea of Japan coast, and finishes at Kyoto. A great way to travel along this New Golden Route is the Hokuriku Arch Pass, a seven-day pass exclusively available to overseas tourists that allows for unlimited use of all the JR lines shown on this map, including the Hokuriku Shinkansen. In Episode 1, which covered the first two days of our adventure, we made our way from Tokyo to the Snow Monkeys in Nagano. Now, in Episode 2, we'll make our way along the Sea of Japan coast and end in the mountain town of Takayama. So join me, Sam Evans, as we travel from Tokyo to Kyoto along Japan's New Golden Route. Day 3. We start the day travelling to Itoigawa City in Niigata Prefecture, where we'll enjoy a scenic bike ride along the coast before having lunch at a local sushi shop. We then head to Toyama Prefecture, where we will take a train into Kurobe Gorge, one of Japan's deepest and most beautiful gorges, and end our day at Kuronagi Onsen. After getting off the Hokuriku Shinkansen at Itoigawa Station, we backtrack a little and take a local train to reach the town of Nō, where we head to the Marine Dream Roadside Station. From there, we'll enjoy a scenic 40-minute bike ride along the coast, all the way to Sushi Katsu, a sushi restaurant not far from Itoigawa Station. So it's the morning of Day 3 of our adventure, and we're here in Nō in Niigata Prefecture. Now, what we're going to do this morning is hire a rental cycle and cycle a few kilometers down that way into central Itoigawa. It's a beautiful day, the birds are singing, so let's get on with this. So we've got the rental bike, let's go. We've just arrived at Sushi Katsu, a traditional local sushi restaurant that's right by the coast, so you can bet the fish is going to be amazingly fresh. Following our delicious sushi lunch, we make our way back by Hokuriku Shinkansen and local train to Unazuki Onsen. There, we transfer to the Kurobe Gorge Railway to Kuronagi Station. Our stop for the night is the remote riverside Kuronagi Ryokan, located a picturesque 20-minute hike from the station. So we've finished our wonderful riverside bath and we've sat down to our third night's meal, and it's a traditional ryokan meal which we've had now three nights in a row, but notice that they're all different, depending a lot on local specialties. Day 4. After an enjoyable ryokan breakfast, we head further up the gorge to Keiakidaira, the final station of the Kurobe Gorge Railway, where we'll take in some of the beautiful landscapes before travelling all the way to Takeyama to enjoy some of the local cuisine. We've just arrived at Keiakidaira, the final stop on the Kurobe Railway. Now this place is known for its stunning natural beauty, so let's go and explore it. It's now time to make a journey towards Takeyama via the Hokuriku Shinkansen from Kurobe-Unazuki Onsen to Toyama, and then take the Takeyama Line to Takeyama, where we'll head to the famous Old Town District to end our day with some local delicacies. After starting out the day at the Kurobe Gorge, we finally arrived in Takeyama, which is famous for its Old Town, and it's one of the most beautiful and well-preserved in all of Japan. When in Takeyama, there are two must-try things, the delicacy of Hida Beef and the local sake. Tonight, we're in a sake brewery's restaurant where I'm about to enjoy both, ahead of our big day tomorrow in which we're going to explore Takeyama's Old Town before heading on to Kanazawa. Itadakimasu! And that concludes Episode 2 of our journey. Make sure to join us in Episode 3 as we explore more beautiful locations, enjoy unique experiences, and finally make our way to Kyoto, where our adventure will come to an end. If you are looking for more information about this itinerary, click the links on the screen now, or head over to japan-guide.com, your comprehensive, up-to-date travel guide first-hand from Japan. Thanks for watching, and be sure to subscribe for more videos about Japan. Happy travels!