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Hokuriku Shinkansen: landmarks and which side of the train
Last updated: 16 Oct 2026
This is a list of which side of the train each of the 5 landmarks we cover on the Hokuriku Shinkansen (Tokyo – Tsuruga, 24 stations, 579.6 km of track) is calculated to appear on, for each direction of travel. For an answer that matches your own section, date and time, use the tool on the top page.
Side by landmark
Seen = 2+ independent reports from the train + line of sight by calculation / Line of sight only = line of sight by calculation, fewer than 2 reports / Needs checking = reported but no calculated line of sight, cannot be judged by calculation alone, or neither reported nor in calculated line of sight (lakes and seas labelled Seen are shown as "Seen (hidden by noise barriers in places)")
| Landmark | Type | toward Tsuruga | toward Tokyo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mount Myogi | Mountain | Line of sight only on your LEFT (facing forward) Omiya – Annaka-Haruna | Line of sight only on your RIGHT (facing forward) Annaka-Haruna – Omiya |
| Mount Asama | Mountain | Seen on your LEFT (facing forward) / on your RIGHT (facing forward) Takasaki – Nagano | Line of sight only on your LEFT (facing forward) / on your RIGHT (facing forward) Nagano – Takasaki |
| Mount Myoko | Mountain | Line of sight only on your LEFT (facing forward) / on your RIGHT (facing forward) Ueda – Itoigawa | Line of sight only on your LEFT (facing forward) / on your RIGHT (facing forward) Itoigawa – Ueda |
| Mount Tate (Tateyama Range) | Mountain | Seen on your LEFT (facing forward) / on your RIGHT (facing forward) Ueda – Kanazawa | Seen on your LEFT (facing forward) / on your RIGHT (facing forward) Kanazawa – Ueda |
| Sea of Japan | Lake / sea | Needs checking on your RIGHT (facing forward) Itoigawa | Seen (hidden by noise barriers in places) on your LEFT (facing forward) Itoigawa |
Noise barriers, buildings, trees and cuttings are not in the calculation. Low features such as lakes, rivers and the sea may be hidden by barriers.
How to read it
The same landmark switches sides between trains toward Tsuruga and trains toward Tokyo.
Mount Asama is calculated to appear mainly on the right toward Tsuruga, chiefly between Karuizawa and Ueda and also near Annaka-Haruna and Nagano, and mainly on the left toward Tokyo. Around Takasaki Station the direction of the track means the calculation puts it on the other side for a while. The Tateyama Range is calculated to appear on the left toward Tsuruga between Kurobe-Unazukionsen and Kanazawa, and on the right toward Tokyo. For both directions there are at least two travel records that name the direction, and they match the calculated side. There are also short sections with a calculated line of sight between Ueda and Iiyama.
The Sea of Japan is calculated to appear on the left toward Tokyo around Itoigawa Station, and there are records of this. Toward Tsuruga it would be on the right, but only one record names that direction, so it is labelled "Needs checking". Mount Myogi and Mount Myoko have a calculated line of sight, but we have not found two travel records that apply to each direction, so they are labelled "Line of sight only".
Tunnels
From the difference between the height of the track and the height of the ground, we estimate 83 tunnels, about 25.4% of the track length. Between Tokyo and Omiya the train runs on the Tohoku Shinkansen tracks, and between Omiya and Takasaki on the Joetsu Shinkansen tracks. Distances and tables on this page are calculated on the joined track from Tokyo to Tsuruga. We have not been able to confirm a published tunnel ratio for the Hokuriku Shinkansen alone. Tunnel sections are estimated from terrain and may differ from the actual location and length.
Timing
Passing times are estimates that spread the fastest scheduled time between Tokyo and Tsuruga, 188 minutes, in proportion to distance. On trains that stop at every station the error grows. If you enter your train's arrival time in the tool, it spreads the time again between that train's departure and arrival. The details are in Methods and limits.