Hi everybody 👋🏼 You guys have been such a helpful community that I thought I would try my luck here. My partner and I are having trouble planning a good route for our upcoming Nagoya – Nagano – Gifu trip in mid Oct. It’s our first time travelling outside the usual Tokyo, Osaka so our planned itinerary is quite nature-centric. Any constructive advice, feedback and recommendations will be greatly appreciated.
Wed, Day 1:
– Land in Nagoya in the morning
– Nagoya Castle
– Take train to Nakatsugawa
– Stay over at Magome
Thurs, Day 2:
– Do the Nakasendo Trail from Magome to Tsumago
– Take the train from Nagiso to Nakatsugawa
– Take bus to Achi
– Stargazing tour
– Stay the night at Achi
I can’t find much information regarding Achi online so any tour/accommodations are very welcomed
Fri, Day 3
– Morning market at Hirugami Onsen
– Fruit-picking experience
– Take the bus back to Nakatsugawa
– Take the train to Takayama
– Stay the night at Takayama
Sat, Day 4
– walk Takayama historic old town
– Take a day trip to Shirakawa-go
– Eat some Hida beef for dinner
– Stay the night at Takayama
Sun, Day 5
– Day trip to Hida Furukawa (we are fans of Your Name hehe)
– Cycling tour of the countryside
– Stay the night back at Takayama
Mon, Day 6:
– Morning bus to Kamikochi from Takayama
– Hike from Taisho Pond to Myojin Bridge (3 hours)
– Hike to Yokoo (3 hours)
– Stay the night over at Kamikochi
Tues, Day 7:
– Attempt the Karasawa Cirque 💪🏼
– Take a bus ride to Matsumoto
– Stay the night over at Matsumoto
Wed, Day 8
– Visit the Matsumoto Castle
– Head over to Nagoya for the night
Thurs, Day 9
– Go to Ghibli Park if we are lucky??
– Stay the night at Nagoya
Fri, Day 10
– Morning flight back home from Nagoya
We haven’t booked anything yet (except for accoms in Magome alr) so our itinerary is pretty loose. These are the cities I am interested in but I am not too sure whether it makes sense route wise as it seems a lot of travelling is involved.
I am also wondering whether it’s worth to go to Matsumoto as I only wanted to visit the castle. For Achi, it does seem pretty inconvenient but I heard the stars were beautiful there and don’t mind making the trip. Let me know if you guys have any feedback, appreciate all the help we could get!
2 comments
I think it’s a solid itinerary. Mid October is when it starts snowing at high altitudes near Kamikochi, and some huts / shops end operations. I would just double check the dates and make sure relevant facilities in your routes are open.
And temperatures there will get close to freezing, so winter gloves and such are recommended.
If you want to skip Matsumoto you could stay at hirayu onsen instead and experience a small Onsen town. The castle in Matsumoto is nice but nothing else there really.
Karasawa cirque is amazing for fall colors, if you can move things around a bit and go beginning of October it’s really worth it. The only downside is that everything will be packed.
If you go end of October expect first snowfall