Nanto City
Nanto city is located in a mountainous region in the southwestern corner of Toyama, a prefecture on the Sea of Japan in central Honshu. The modern city of Nanto was established in 2004 from the merger of eight surrounding towns and villages, including Inami, Inokuchi, Fukumitsu, Fukuno, Johana, Kamitaira, Taira, and Toga.
The northern part of the city is in the Tonami plains, while southern Nanto is mountainous and forested. Situated just north of Gifu Prefecture, Nanto is close to the city of Kanazawa to the west and Shirakawa-go village and Takayama directly south. Visitors to Nanto can easily travel to these nearby destinations.
The climate in Nanto is generally moderate with warm summers and heavy snowfall in winter months even though temperatures rarely fall much below freezing. The snow does accumulate, however, and the area can see up to three meters of snow, especially in and around the mountains.
The most direct way to get to Nanto from Tokyo is to take the Hokuriku Shinkansen, which stops at Shin-Takaoka Station, where you can take the local JR Johana line further into the Nanto region or take the World Heritage Bus directly to Gokayama and Shirakawa-go. From Kyoto and Osaka, take the JR Thunderbird limited express to Kanazawa Station, where numerous bus options are available to travel into Gokayama and Inami. The best way to get around some of the more rural areas within Nanto is to rent a car, as sites can be quite spread out and there is only limited public transport.
