Itinerary check – Apr 1 – Apr 17 (Gifu, Ishakawa, Nagone, Nagoya)

Hello folks, I’m going to be in Kyoto in late March for a while, and then in April I’m thinking of heading north from there to the prefectures of Gifu, Ishakawa and Nagano. I’m thinking of picking from the following cities:

• Nagano, Matsumoto, Kiso Valley

• Kanazawa, Takayama and Shirakawa-go

• Nagoya as well

I have about 15 days to spend and then I gotta make my way back to Tokyo for my flight back on 4/17. I’m keen on Kisu valley but in all my google mapping I’ve realized it’s tricky to get to with a lot of connecting trains needed. I also don’t want to hop around accommodations too much, so I’d rather pick 3 cities to setup base in (5 days in each) and do day trips. Since nagoya is a transport hub, I don’t mind spending 2 days there and check it out.

By this point in my trip, I’d have already explored Kyoto extensively, so I’m looking to do a more lowkey trip, which is why I’m heading up north to Gifu and the neighboring prefectures 🙂 I’d love to explore the countryside and spend som time away from the hustle-bustle of cities.

One option I’ve considered is:

**Day 1 Apr 1 – Day 3 Apr 3**

Nagoya – Check out the amusement park, explore for a couple days.

**Day 4 Apr 4 – Day 8 Apr 8**

Setup base in Nagano city (or matsumoto), do day trips to Kisu valley and others within Nagano. Check out the Snow Monkey Park(Jigokudani Yaen Koen) and the Matsumoto Castle.

**Day 9 Apr 9 – Day 14 Apr 14**

Setup base in Takayama, do day trips to shirakawago and kanazawa, and a satoyama experience or biking around the countryside (would love tips around this!). Maybe stay in a traditional *gassho-zukuri* farmhouse if possible. Do the Shinhotaka Ropeway.

**Day 15 Apr 15**

Take train back to Tokyo from Takayama. However this is tricky, since this train takes a long roundabout route of 5 hours – https://i.imgur.com/gkgyVLH.png

It’s not a dealbreaker since the trains are so nice, but if I can plan this better I’d love to hear some advice!