Hokuriku (??), literally ?Northern landmass?, is the name given to the three prefectures of Fukui, Ishikawa and Toyama than encompass the central section of the Japan Sea coast. Historically cut off from the centres of power by the mountains, things have always been done a little differently here. Indeed, the city of Kanazawa was an independent state for several centuries in the middle ages!
For a small area, these three prefectures pack in a lot of sights, and as they are not yet besieged by tourists you may well have parts of them to yourself.
The World Heritage Site of Shirakawa
This itinerary is seven to eight days long, and there’s no better time to explore this region with the March 2015 opening of the new Shinkansen link to Hokuriku, and the release of the Takayama-Hokuriku Area Tourist Pass, which you can use for most of this itinerary.
Itinerary Map 

Day 1: Tokyo (??) ? Kanazawa (??)
First, take the shiny new Hokuriku Shinkansen (?????) to Kanazawa in the evening. The 18:24 and 19:24 departures from Tokyo arrive in Kanazawa at 20:58 and 21:56 respectively. This lets you get in a day?s sightseeing in Tokyo but still take advantage of Kanazawa?s cheaper hotel rates, and get the full day?s sightseeing that you?ll need to do it justice.
Stay in Kanazawa
 
Day 2: Kanazawa
Kanazawa has been blessed with great quantities of gold (the name means ?golden marsh?), which made the town rich and allowed it to develop into a culture, wealthy city with the finest bu...