Hey y’all, taking my first trip to Japan next year and planning out the itinerary. There’s four of us in the travel group, and we’ll be in Japan for 14 days.
We’re currently deciding whether to go to Takayama for the spring festival or to skip it; current concern is it being too busy to enjoy the town, let alone the festival.
For the best experience, would you recommend staying in Takayama outside of the festival days, or just deal with the crowds for the festival experience?
3 comments
Depends on how much you want to experience the festival. Personally I wouldnt mind the crowd if its something I really want to see. Plus crowd is expected since its a festival 🙈 if you just wanna see the festival itself maybe you can try getting a hotel in Gero or somewhere near then do a daytrip?
Even though I called Takayama a mad house during the festival, I still think it’s worthwhile going if you have the opportunity. You’ll have tons of opportunities to see quaint Japanese towns but you only have very few chances to see a festival.
Hello,
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I went to the Takayama Spring Festival in 2023. To answer some points.
* Is the town busy? Only really on the Festival days. Very packed, and hard to navigate the streets. The day before the festival was fine.
* Best experience? Staying in Takayama, so you can head back to your hotel, and leave your luggage at your hotel (the station will run out of lockers). Also getting in and out of Takayama will be extremely crowded. If you can afford to stay a day after the festival, it will be a lot more relaxing, or just book your seats ahead of time.
* Cons? It’ll be expensive, but if you book in advance, you won’t overpay too much. A lot of restaurants will be booked, so plan this in advance. If all else fails, there’s a cheap sushi train chain not too far from the center of the city.
Final thoughts.
* Honestly, a very underwhelming festival. I’ve been to a few, and surprised how hyped this one is. It’s a very cute local festival with some history to it, but definitely doesn’t deserve a title of being a top festival, that some websites advertise.
* However, if it just aligns to your itinerary, it definitely is fun to stop by and see. I don’t think I would recommend anyone to go out of their way to go to the festival, however.