The Yuwaku bus both ways (about ¥1,260), the public bathhouse (about ¥490), the 21st Century Museum (about ¥450), the local train to Takaoka (about ¥870), a Manyosen 1-day pass (about ¥900), the Fujiko F. Fujio gallery (about ¥500) and the Toyama glass museum (about ¥200). The trains back from Toyama are extra, as is the Bonbori Festival ticket, whose price we could not read.
Best time to go
Mid-October for the Bonbori Festival, held on October 17, 2026. Otherwise spring and autumn: Hokuriku winters bring heavy snow.
Closing days
The Fujiko F. Fujio gallery closes on Mondays, the Toyama glass museum on the first and third Wednesdays, and the Doraemon Tram does not run at all on Wednesdays. The Yuwaku bathhouse closes on the third Thursday of the month.
Walking (our estimate)
Moderate: roughly 5–8 km a day. Yuwaku is one short hot-spring street; Takaoka is spread out, so use the tram and a taxi to the park.
Check before you go. One of the official pages we used has changed or gone since we last checked (2026-10-26), so some details here may be out of date. Please confirm opening hours and access on the official site under Sources.
Hokuriku has two anime stories that the local governments themselves tell. In the hills above Kanazawa, Yuwaku Onsen is the model town for Hanasaku Iroha, and when the series invented a lantern festival the residents went out and held it for real, every October, though in some years typhoons and the like have kept it from going ahead as intended. An hour east, Takaoka is where Fujiko F. Fujio grew up, and the city has put Doraemon in its station plaza, its postbox, its trams and a park. Two days is enough for both, on the Hokuriku Shinkansen and a couple of local trains.
Not anime, but the best thing in Kanazawa between trains, and the Loop Bus goes straight there. The exhibition zone runs 10:00–18:00, to 20:00 on Fridays and Saturdays, closed Mondays; the collection exhibition is about ¥450 for adults, free under 18, and the Kanazawa 1-Day Bus Pass gets you the group rate. Note that the museum has announced a long closure from May 2027.
Early afternoon
Kanazawa Station → Yuwaku Onsen
The Hokutetsu bus leaves from bay 6 at the station's east exit (¥630 one way; see the timetable on the Yuwaku access page). A taxi is about ¥7,500 from the station, or about ¥4,000 and 20 min from Kenrokuen. There is no visitor parking in Yuwaku, and on the festival day cars without a permit cannot enter at all.
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Afternoon
Yuwaku Onsen
The town is published as the model for Hanasaku Iroha. Official sources name the town rather than individual inns, so enjoy the hot-spring street as itself rather than hunting for a particular building. The public bathhouse, Soyu Shirasagi-no-Yu, runs 7:00–22:00 and costs about ¥490 for adults and ¥130 for elementary children, with a foot bath next door open 9:00–21:00; both close on the third Thursday of the month.
The small shrine the Bonbori Festival is built around: the lanterns light the road so its god can set off for Izumo in the tenth month. The 14th festival's main day is Saturday, October 17, 2026. On the festival day, people without an entry pass are asked to leave the onsen street from 16:00, unless they are staying the night at a member inn on a qualifying plan or live there. Passes are sold through the tourism association's own web shop; we could not read the price.
Evening
Back down to Kanazawa
Kanazawa's Omicho Market and the Higashi Chaya district are the evening back in town.
Doraemon in the station plaza, the tram, the gallery and the park, then the glass museum in Toyama.
Morning
Kanazawa → Takaoka
Take the IR Ishikawa Railway from Kanazawa, continuing on the Ainokaze Toyama Railway to Takaoka (fare about ¥870).
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Morning
Doraemon Sanpomichi and the Doraemon Post
Both are at the station. Twelve bronze characters stand in the plaza in front of Wing Wing Takaoka, two minutes from the gates, with words from Fujiko F. Fujio on a board at Doraemon's feet. The postbox is inside the free north-south passage opposite the ticket gates, cast in Takaoka copperware: personal mail (to family and friends) gets an original Doraemon postmark, except New Year cards. The current postmark design runs to November 30, 2026.
Manyosen runs a single blue tram painted as Doraemon, with the doors done as the Anywhere Door and 34 of his gadgets scattered inside. It has run since 2012 and does about eight round trips a day within the normal timetable, but it is out of service every Wednesday for inspection, so check the timetable PDF on the operator's site. Fares start at about ¥200; a 1-day pass is about ¥900 for adults and ¥450 for children, sold on board. Ride it out to Shikino-chugakko-mae for the gallery.
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Midday
Fujiko F. Fujio Hometown Art Gallery
On the 2nd floor of the Takaoka Art Museum, 10 min on foot from the Shikino-chugakko-mae tram stop or 2 min from Etchu-Nakagawa on the JR Himi Line. Open 9:30–17:00 with last entry at 16:30, closed Mondays; about ¥500 for adults, ¥300 for school students, ¥200 for children.
The empty lot from the manga is recreated in the park with the characters standing in it, and you can look down on the scene from the observation tower in the Otogi no Mori-kan. The park is open all day; the indoor buildings run 9:00–17:00 and close on Tuesdays. Takaoka Kojo Park, back in town, has a brush-shaped bronze monument ringed by kappa drawn by 154 manga artists, including one by Fujiko F. Fujio and one by Osamu Tezuka.
The Toyama Glass Art Museum is a 1-minute walk from the Nishicho tram stop. It has no anime connection at all. It runs 9:30–18:00 with last entry 30 min before closing, closes on the first and third Wednesdays, and the collection exhibition is about ¥200.
Evening
Back to Kanazawa
Return to Kanazawa from Toyama Station by Shinkansen or the local line you came on.
Terminus
Where to stay
Hotel links go straight to the booking site. We get nothing from them.
Terminus · stay in
Kanazawa
Night 1. The station is the hub for the Yuwaku bus, the Loop Bus and the trains east, and the food and the old districts are here.
Stay up in the hills instead if you are coming for the Bonbori Festival: guests staying overnight at member inns on a qualifying plan can be on the onsen street after 16:00 without an entry pass.
One day on Hokutetsu route buses in the central zone, the Loop Bus, the Flat Bus and the Shopping Bus, with discounts at the 21st Century Museum and the Yuwaku facilities. It is not sold on board the Loop Bus: buy it at the ticket centre by the station's west exit or the information office at the east exit. Note it does not cover sightseeing or highway coaches.
About ¥7,000 (adult, 4 days), about ¥3,500 (child)
Four consecutive days across Toyama, Ishikawa and Fukui, including non-reserved Hokuriku Shinkansen seats between Tsuruga and Kurobe-Unazukionsen, IR Ishikawa between Kanazawa and Tsubata, and Ainokaze local trains between Toyama and Takaoka. For foreign passport holders on temporary visitor status. This is the pass that fits this route; the Hokuriku Arch Pass is for a longer Tokyo-to-Kansai trip.
About ¥900 (adult), ¥450 (child), ¥1,100 (one adult and one child)
The line the Doraemon Tram runs on, between Takaoka Station and Koshinokata. Single fares are about ¥200–400, so the day pass pays off from about five rides; a parent-and-child version and a combined ticket with the sail training ship Kaiwomaru are also sold on board.
Some links here are partner links: we get a commission if you book through them, at no extra cost to you.
Please note
Visiting with respect
Yuwaku is a small working hot-spring town, not a set. Keep your voice down on the street, don't photograph into the inns, and buy something while you are there.
Official sources name Yuwaku as the model town, not particular buildings. Don't knock on a ryokan door because a fan blog identified it.
On Bonbori Festival day the onsen street is closed to ticketless visitors from 16:00 and to unpermitted cars all day. Plan the bus back before you go up.
The Doraemon statues in Takaoka are in a public plaza and a city park. Let children have their turn at the photo spot, and don't climb on anything.
The Doraemon Tram is an ordinary service carrying ordinary passengers. Photograph the inside when the car is quiet, and give up the seat.
Good to know
FAQ
When is the Bonbori Festival?
The 14th edition's main day is Saturday, October 17, 2026, on the Yuwaku onsen street. On that day people without an entry pass are asked to leave the onsen street from 16:00; passes are sold through the tourism association's own web shop, and overnight guests of member inns on a qualifying plan and residents are exceptions. The lighting ceremony was held in July.
Does P.A.Works, the studio behind Hanasaku Iroha, take part in the festival?
It supports the Bonbori Festival: its annual Kissuiso Museum project collects fan artwork and donates the resulting book to the festival committee, and the little god character is free for anyone to draw.
Is there more Fujiko Fujio in Toyama?
Yes. Himi, north of Takaoka on the JR Himi Line, is where Fujiko Fujio A was born, and Himi City runs the Shiokaze Gallery as the hub of its Fujiko Fujio A Manga World, with a recreation of room 14 of the Tokiwa-so apartments. It is open 10:00–17:00, closed only over New Year, and costs about ¥200 for adults, free for high school students and under. On Saturdays, Sundays and holidays between September 5 and December 27, 2026 there is also a direct coach from Kanazawa Station to Himi Banya-gai, about 70 min for about ¥1,000, booked ahead.
Is the Ninja Hattori-kun train still running?
We could not confirm it. The wrapped train on the Himi and Johana lines is described by Takaoka's tourism association, but we found no 2026 operating notice, so ask at Takaoka Station rather than planning around it.
How do I get here from Tokyo?
Take the Hokuriku Shinkansen. For Takaoka, the Takaoka gallery page gives Tokyo to Shin-Takaoka by the Hakutaka as about 2 hr 41 min.
Transfer
Combine with nearby routes
Have more days? These routes start or end close to this one.
