Do you stay in Takayama, Kamikochi or Gero Onsen? What are the best bases for hiking Japanese Alps?
Where to seek accommodation that will not break your bank? Best places accessible by public transport? What places will help you avoid breaching the dreaded 30,000 steps mark?
And of course, which places you do not recommend.
This is the thread, where you should discuss all your recent Takayama, Okuhida or Gifu experiences or ask questions about upcoming trips.
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6 comments
Can’t comment about in relation to Alps, but when I stayed two nights in Takayama last November, I stayed at Takayama Ouan. Maybe travel hadn’t fully awoken yet soon after the travel restrictions were lifted, but it was 50€ per night, and the hotel had a top floor public open air bath with some great views. The hotel also had tatami floors pretty much everywhere. A bit touristy, but hard to beat the price. A few minute walk from Takayama station.
For those looking for more modern accommodations, there’s a very very new Mercure (completed 2022) at Takayama station, as well as the slightly less new Tokyu Stay (2019).
I am staying at Yarimikan in Okuhida next month. I plan to start in Kamikochi, hike Yarigatake and stay at Yarisawa Lodge and Yarigatake Sanso Hut along the way. Will report back 👍
So I was there in 2019, I did not stay in Takayama propper but right outside in Hida at a place called Yoshiki No Sato Dainichi No Yado.
They provide pick up service if you need it from Hida-Kokufu Station if you need it and they will take you back once you leave.
It was way too big for my wife (slept 6) but they had an amazing tub that faced the gardens, everyone there was super nice, was given two very nice sake glasses once we arrived and we ate at one of the two restaurants on site and the chef gave us a small bottle of sake at no charge for being a patron at his restaurant.
The town is super quiet if you want to get away from the tourists of Takayama, with nice biking trails, history and koi that swim in the towns canals during the spring time.
In Kamikochi we stayed at the [Nishi Itoya Mountain Lodge.](https://www.booking.com/Share-HYBivo) No private bathrooms (has a large public bath and shared toilets on each floor) but the view of the mountain from our room was gorgeous. Great dinner too.
Or, try Guesthouse Raicho in Norikura just outside the park. It’s up the hill from the Norikura Bus Terminal so easy to get to via the Alpico Bus route and you can bus straight into Kamikochi from there. I wrote about it in this trip report.
– [Summer Long Weekend in Matsumoto and Waterfalls in Norikura (Nagano)](https://www.reddit.com/r/JapanTravel/comments/piyive/summer_weekend_in_matsumoto_and_waterfalls_in/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf)
For where we stayed in Takayama, see my trip report.
– [Takayama: Autumn Weekend (Gifu)](https://www.reddit.com/r/JapanTravel/comments/mg8ir9/autumn_weekend_in_takayama_gifu_prefecture/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf)
And if looking for a good snow/ski town, don’t overlook Nozawa Onsen.
– [Snow Weekend in Nozawa Onsen](https://www.reddit.com/r/JapanTravel/comments/t33lt8/snow_weekend_in_nozawa_onsen_nagano/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf)
In 2016 I spent a night in Okuhida at [Ryokan Gizan](https://shinhirayu-gizan.com/en/) ( [map link](https://www.google.com/maps/place/Ryokan+Gizan/@36.2415836,137.523156,17.75z/data=!4m9!3m8!1s0x601d4dd77c65d275:0xe35bd0ba7083fce3!5m2!4m1!1i2!8m2!3d36.2416433!4d137.5246697!16s%2Fg%2F1tffv00s?shorturl=1) ). It was early March, so Kamikochi must have been closed and it would have been considered the off-season. I felt like I had the whole ryokan to myself and I loved my stay. The onsen was beautiful, my dinner and breakfast were absolutely delicious, and I loved walking around the village.
I got there by the [Nohi Bus](https://www.nouhibus.co.jp/english/routebus/) from Matsumoto Bus Terminal, with a transfer at Hirayu Onsen. I think the ryokan was around the halfway point between Hirayu Bus Terminal and the Shin Hotaka Ropeway.
It looks like if you want to go to Kamikochi from Ryokan Gizan, you will have to make a similar transfer at [Hirayu Bus Terminal](https://www.google.com/maps/place/Hirayu+Bus+Terminal/@36.1909541,137.5517022,21z/data=!4m6!3m5!1s0x601d49ef77faa0d9:0x8b736374939df8fe!8m2!3d36.1909741!4d137.5519519!16s%2Fg%2F11ptrbdy6s?shorturl=1) and takes a little over an hour. I actually liked the Hirayu terminal, there was a well-stocked convenience store and a local specialty meat-bun stand downstairs, and an indoor/outdoor onsen upstairs. On a clear day, the view in the parking lot of the surrounding mountains and forest is beautiful.