My friend and I have both been to Tokyo and Kyoto before. This trip, we’re planning a loop from Tokyo. We are interested in historic stuff and outdoorsy stuff, but not so much things like art museums. My biggest question is about how long to spend in Kanazawa vs Takayama. We’re traveling March 15-27.
March 16: arrive in Tokyo (one of us in the afternoon and the other, late evening. (3 nights in Tokyo)
March 17-18: Tokyo
March 19: Train to Kanazawa, presumably arriving midday. Afternoon in Kanazawa. Night tour of the Samurai district. (2 nights in Kanazawa)
March 20: Day in Kanazawa (gardens, historic districts, maybe tea ceremony?)
March 21: Bus to Takayama, with stop for 2-4 hours in Shirakawago, stowing luggage at bus station (3 nights in Takayama)
March 22: Morning private food and culture tour of Takayama, which presumably will include some of the main old town sites; afternoon on walking course (?? This is something I’d like to do)
March 23: Takayama?
March 24: Train or rental car to Magome for Nakasendo Trail. (Going to base the decision on the rental car on weather. It would save time, but I’m not doing it in snow or ice.) (2 nights Magome)
March 25: Nakasendo Trail (and explore the post towns)
March 26: Back to Tokyo (last minute shopping in afternoon, etc…) (1 night in Tokyo)
March 27: Depart Tokyo in late afternoon for one of us, early evening for the other
My friend thinks we should add more time to Kanazawa and less in Takayama, but from what I’ve read, we should be able to hit the main sites in the 1 1/2 days we have in Kanazawa? (Also, we’ll have a washing machine in Takayama, so I’m figuring we will need time for that.) Would you recommend 3 nights Kanazawa/2 nights Takayama? Or 2 nights Kanazawa/3 nights Takayama?
If I do a rental car, I’m leaning toward dropping it in Nagoya. That said, does anyone know what the parking situation is in Magome?
Does this seem like a doable (definitely busy, I know) itinerary?