Originally Posted by
abmj-jr
Actually, if I were doing this, I'd probably look at the Skyliner to Ueno then Ueno-Echigoyuzawa-Kanazawa, but I am weird that way.
^ That would work for me too.
But for the first time visitor, the "simplest" route might be N'EX to Shinagawa, then Shinkansen to Maibara and Thunderbird to Kanazawa. No complicated changes. All JR. All easy stations to deal with.