Hokuriku Shinkansen

The Hokuriku Shinkansen (Japanese: 北陸新幹線) is a high-speed Shinkansen railway line connecting Tokyo with Tsuruga in the Hokuriku region of Japan. It is jointly operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East) and West Japan Railway Company (JR West).

The first 117.4-kilometre (72.9 mi) section, between Takasaki and Nagano, opened on 1 October 1997, ahead of the 1998 Nagano Winter Olympics, and was originally known as the Nagano Shinkansen (長野新幹線). At Takasaki, the line connects with the Jōetsu Shinkansen, allowing services to continue to Tokyo. The line was extended 228.1 kilometres (141.7 mi) from Nagano to Kanazawa on 14 March 2015. A further 125-kilometre (78 mi) extension from Kanazawa to Tsuruga opened on 16 March 2024.

An extension from Tsuruga to Ōsaka is planned. The route was initially selected in December 2016 as an Obama–Kyoto route, with construction expected to begin in the late 2020s following environmental impact assessments. On 15 July 2026, the proposed alignment was revised to bypass Kyoto Station, and instead stop at a new deep underground station in Kyoto near Katsuragawa Station.