[Trip] Japan- Half day to Shin Takaoka from Kanazawa City

A day where we did not plan anything, I search on the web on where should we go. I chanced upon Takaoka, i do not know much about this place except that this is a hometown for the famous robot cat, Doraemon, which I believe that most of us will know about it.

This will be a compilation of the transportation which you can take to Takaoka and what are the places you can visit if you have extra time to spare.

Takaoka

A short distance from Kanazawa the second largest city of Toyama Prefecture, the hometown of famous robot cat Doraemon creator, if you are a fan of this manga you should head over here and visit some of the interesting places that you might have seen in the Manga. However, this place is not only limited to that but also some of the beautiful tourist attraction, for instance, the great big Buddha of Takaoka and Zuiruji Shrine, etc.

Duration:

14 Minutes

Cost?

1530 JPY (Non-Reserved seat)

**JR Pass Holder, No cost**

Make use of your JR pass if you are holding onto one.

It can be one of the passes below:

JR Rail pass

5 Days Takayama-Hokuriku Area Tourist Pass

How to get there?

Take the JR Hokuriku Shinkansen “HAKUTAKA”, alight at next stop.

Getting around on Doraemon tram

Takaoka city is the hometown of Fujiko F. Fujio, the creator of “Doraemon”. He spent his youth here before moving to Tokyo to become professional Manga writer and illustrator. The Doraemon Tram runs on the Manyo Line between Takaoka and Koshinokata in Imizu City.

To note:

Doraemon Tram will operate until August 2018 only.

Schedule

How to get on board?

Once alight at Shin Takaoka Station, need to transfer to Takaoka station or take a bus.

One stop from Shin Takaoka to Takaoka station:

Cost:

140JPY

Duration:

3 Minutes

Walk to Manyo Line

Cost?

Pay accordingly to the fare chart or

One day PASS (Manyo Line)

Adult:

800 JPY

Child:

400 JPY

Where to buy?

On the Manyo Tram from the driver.

To note:

tram do not accept smartcard (ICOCA, MANACA etc). Only Cash is accepted.
Get smaller change at the changer at the side
When alight show the tram driver your one day pass

The Doraemon tram

Suggestion:

Do not buy the one day pass if you are only visiting 1 or 2 places. One way trip on tram will cost from 150JPY ~350 JPY according to the distance. Most of the tourist site will be around 150 or 200JPY. Would suggest having a stay in Takaoka if you are interested if not can be like us take the shinkansen from Kanazawa which is a stop away.

Fujiko · F · Fujio Hometown Art Gallery

Situated on the second floor of Takaoka Art Museum, Fujiko・F・Fujio Hometown Art Gallery in Takaoka city, this museum was built in 2015, as a place to inspire fellow manga artist to chase their dream. This art gallery showcases, Fujiko F Fujio, the creator of the world-famous manga Doraemon, his biography and original drawing.

Where?

How to get there?

Alight at Shikinochugakko-Mae Station Manyo Line and 10 minutes on foot

JR Himi Line: Disembark at Ecchu-Nakagawa Station and 2 min on foot

Operating Hours:

09:30 to 17:00 (visitors can enter until 16:30), Closed on Mondays

(The Hometown Gallery will be open on any Monday that falls on a statutory or another publicly observed holiday; in such a case, the Hometown Gallery will be closed the following weekday.)
*The Hometown Gallery will also be closed between December 29 and January 3 for the year-end, New Year holiday period.

Cost:

Please proceed to the second floor to purchase the entrance ticket

	Individual (Yen)	Coupon / Group more than 20 Pax (Yen)
Senior (Age 65 and Above)	400	-
Adult	500	400
High School/ Junior High School Student	300	240
Middle School Student/ Children over age 4	200	160
Age 3 and below	Free	Free

Tips:

Visit the Tourist Visitor centre at Shin Takaoka station Or Takaoka Station, they will have some coupon available where visitors can have some special deals.

Language available:

Japanese, English

If you wish to know more information visit their official page.

What is there to see?

Inside the museum, no photograph is allowed.

At the start of the tour, we are to pass through the Big Pink “Anywhere Door”.

Once you exit the gallery you will see this big Doraemon status at the souvenir store.

What other places to visit for Doraemon fans?

Takaoka Otoginomori Park (高岡おとぎの森公園)

Doraemon Walking road(ドラえもんの散歩道)

Send out a postcard with the special Doraemon postmark, at Takaoka Station.

Overall:

We had a great time in Takaoka, however, we are unable to visit more places due to time constraint and we met with a sudden snow shower with strong wind on that day. We even thought of heading back as it is a little difficult to walk and finding the museum. because the snow that has piled up quite tall and we cannot find the museum. We went into a cafe along the street to ask for direction and the staff was friendly and nice to help us with it and we braved through the snow and strong wind in order to get to the museum. The gallery is interesting and fun for me, I like how they start off with Mr Fujiko’s Biography and his work before Doraemon and how he wanted to inspire the fellow artist, it is a great place for children too.