Hello everyone!
My partner and I are in the process of planning a trip to Japan, and I would really appreciate your insights and advice on this part (Japanese Alps) of our itinerary. We’re super excited but also want to make sure we’re making the most of our time and not missing out on any must-visit locations.
Itinerary :
Day 1: This day we will arrive to Nagano from Tokyo, we’ll be staying at a ryokan with a private onsen. We will be staying close to the monkey park so i guess we might go over there and I’m also thinking if we can add Matsumoto Castle as it is not that close to Nagano.
Day 2: Next, we’re heading to Kanazawa. On our list we have Kenroku-en, the Kanazawa Station, Higashi Chaya, the old Castle of Kanazawa, Ninjadera and Nagamachi and the idea would be to visit the most of them
Day 3: In the morning, we plan to visit Shirakawa-go and have lunch there by 12ish. After that, we’ll head to Takayama, where we might stay for another night. Here I have Sanmachi Suji, Hida Kokubunji, Jinya (maybe?) Nakabashi
Day 4: Continue to Kyoto
Do you think this itinerary is doable? Are we allowing enough time for each destination? I’ve set this particular route because of the JR convenience (trips from Nagano to Kanazawa takes like an hour or two, proximity of Takayama to Kyoto).
Also, we’ll be traveling quite a bit, and i’m a bit worried about managing our luggage. If we were going to carry our luggage (might be 2 suitcases for each of us, besides backpack) I’m assuming we would have to use the storage options at stations or trying to leave them on our hotel/ryokan/etc so i know that may leave us way too stressed. But I’ve read some stuff about the “hands-free travel” but I still can’t get to understand our options here. As per my knowledge there are companies like Yamato transport that can handle that and i’ve seen a lot of people suggesting to ask the staff at hotels or ryokans to handle this but I’m not sure if I can take that for granted, so a clarification would be appreciated.
Thanks in advance for your help!
TL;DR: Planning a Japan trip with stops in Nagano, Kanazawa, Shirakawa-go, Takayama, and Kyoto. Seeking advice on the feasibility of our itinerary and tips for managing luggage during frequent travel days.