This will be our (married couple in our 30’s) second trip to Japan. Our dates are Nov 10 – Nov 28. We primarily enjoy searching out less-known attractions and did this to some success in Kyoto on our last go-around. Our goal this time is to see the fall colors in Japan (which is why we put the Alps first in our journey, leaving Kyoto and Tokyo for the end) and explore regions we didn’t get to see last time. We have strong interest in food + drink, Japanese culture, and avoiding crowds.
We generally are early risers who are able to be on the go for the entire day. We don’t typically spend much time in our hotel. We like to have a good plan for the day, but we don’t overdo it so that we are not rushed and can explore things that catch our interest along the way.
Looking for advice on if this is a sensible route and if we are spending too much time in Takayama. Wondering if anyone has suggestions or advice for our first half, which is the most travel-heavy and new to us. Would also ask if there are decent spots for another Onsen dip along our route after we leave the alps.
Yes, Shirakawago is missing from the itinerary. We are going to see the Hida no Sato folk village near Takayama as a substitute because we just aren’t too interested in crowded bus travel and the over-touristy vibe we get from Shirakawago. We instead plan to take the Hida Wide View from Takayama to Toyama to take in the views.
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Nov 10: Arrive in Narita at 3PM and head into Tokyo to recover.
Nov 11: Tokyo
* Another relax, recover, explore day
Nov 12: Tokyo -> Nagano City
* The plan is to spend the day in Tokyo and head to Nagano either in the evening or afternoon. Our main attraction to Nagano is the Togakushi Shrine, which we will be doing early in the morning the next day. I understand the Jigokudani monkey part has hit-or-miss monkey sightings during this time of year? Either way, given the difficulty of access and lack of interest we are not sure it is worth it.
Nov 13: Nagano – Matsumoto
* We plan to get up quite early and have a friend who will be driving us from the city to the Togakushi shrine path. We are very excited! We understand this hike take a few hours.
* Interested in exploring Obuse afterwards if time allows, possibly Jigokudani if we make excellent time.
* Evening train to Matsumoto to enjoy castle at night and dinner.
Nov 14: Matsumoto – Hirayu Onsen
* We will be staying in a onsen ryokan this night. Our Matsumoto interests, in order, are going exploring the castle, taking a sake brewery tour, the Matsumoto City Museum of Art, and the wasabi farm. We are not committed to doing all of these activities as we understand that the bus to Hirayu takes 1.5 hours and we would like to reach our ryokan before nightfall.
Nov 15: Hirayu Onsen – Takayama
* Breakfast at the ryokan and the the 1 hour bus to Takayama, arriving before noon. Alternatively, we may head to Takayama in the evening after visiting Kamikochi. Coincidentally, this is the last day of the season at Kamikochi before it closes for the winter. We are not sure if it will be “worth it” at the time of year as we understand it will be quite cold and the fall colors fallen. However, we are enticed by the idea of being there, and on the last day to boot!
Nov 16: Takayama
* We will have most of the previous day, if we do not opt for Kamikochi, along with this day for the following interests: Hida folk village, Sake brewery tour, Morning market, Higashiyama temple walk, perhaps biking to Furukawa if it is not frigid.
Nov 17: Takayma – Kanazawa
* We will be taking the Hida Wide View train to Toyama and then hopping on the Shinkansen to Kanazawa. We have not decided when to head to Kanazawa – early if we feel we happy with Takayama, later if not.
Nov 18: Kanazawa
* Kanazawa is less fleshed out. We want to take a slower pace and enjoy the area. Of course Kenroku-en, the modern art mustum, Nagamachi, Omicho Market, Kanazawa castle. We understand that Kanazawa has an interesting bar scene due to the university presence? We are also interested in Kanazawa sushi given it’s proximity to the sea and that we will be there in the winter crab season.
Nov 19: Kanazawa – (Fukui) – Osaka
* This day we will either spend in Kanazawa and head straight to Osaka, OR try to visit some sights in Fukui. Specifically, Eiheji Temple, Hakusan Heisenji, and the Dinosaur museum (being by far the least important). Ever since seeing Hakusan Heisenji I have wanted to visit. Unfortunately, it is not that easy to access. The plan would be to leave Kanazawa in the morning, visit Eiheji, then head down to Katsuyama City to see Heisenji and the Dino museum. Then we would head back to Fukui station and head to Osaka. We understand this would be a long day and we would just head straight to hotel in Osaka.
Nov 20: Osaka
* Do whatever we want. Decompress. Eat. Maybe go to the Suntory distillery.
Nov 21: Osaka – Kyoto
* Day to either bop around Osaka, maybe head to Kyoto, or do a side trip like Uji.
Nov 22: Kyoto
* Hope to wander around Kyoto and find lesser-known (less crowded) spots to enjoy the city. Interested in Uji, Kurama/Kibune, Ohara as well.
Nov 23: Kyoto
* Same as above.
Nov 24: Kyoto – Tokyo
* Shinkansen to Tokyo.
Nov 25: Tokyo
* Enjoy Tokyo.
Nov 26: Tokyo
* See above.
Nov 27: Tokyo
* See above.
Nov 28: Tokyo
* Fly home.
Thanks everyone!
8 comments
I….am….so….jealous.
I only spent one day and night in Takayama, and I regret not staying longer. As you probably already know, Takayama is renowned for ancient traditional sake brewpubs. At the time, I was unaware that the Hakushu Distillery is relatively close to Takayama. Japanese whisky is incredibly subtle and has recently been “discovered” by Westerners who have driven prices well past the relative value of individual bottles. Hakushu is highly valued by connoisseurs for it’s peatiness, and adaptability to the Chinese tradition of brewing hot tea and whisky toddies.
To complete your possible perception of me being a raging alcoholic, please say hello to all my friends at the Red Hill Pub:
https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g298113-d4770421-Reviews-Red_Hill-Takayama_Gifu_Prefecture_Tokai_Chubu.html?m=19905
Did you exclude a day trip to Nara because you visited last time? I was in Japan in November 2006 and the foliage was spectacular!
Your itinerary sounds very nice but when I read it I think about how little time you spend at your various destinations. It sounds like you will just rush through every city and not really experience it. You will mostly travel and not really stay in a location. Matsumoto, Kanazawa and Hirayu are beautiful cities/areas and you will not see a lot of them.
The Daio wasabi farm is quite a journey from Matsumoto, for example. You have to take the train and then walk for a while to get there. You might get a taxi or rent a bike but it’s still a multi-hour trip.
If I were you I’d ditch Nagano. To me it’s just another big Japanese metropolis but in the mountains. Spend more time in Matsumoto, Hirayu and Kanazawa.
Your Kyoto and Toyko time allotment looks good though.
Nagano, yes if you have someone that can get you there for the hike it make sense. I am especially attracted by monkeys, but it does seem to be a hit or miss. If you watch Abroad in Japan on Youtube, for him it was a miss. Still, if you are onsen fan, Yudanaka onsen is a valid choice too and you have the option to do the hike to try your luck on seeing the monkey.
Personally went to wasabi farm in Azumino then Matsumoto the next day. Considering you plan to go to a ryokan that night, that usually mean check-in the latest at 6pm (when you have meal included), it mean you need to be in the bus before 4h30. If you opt for a ryokan without meal, you might be able to check-in later, but keep check-in time in mind. In any case, you will probably have to drop Azumino (take 1h by train round trip + walk or bike 3km each way to the farm)
I think that Kamikochi can be interesting, you do not have time to do a super long hike, but I guess it can get you a better experience of the mountain, but well, I guess it indeed can get cold.
Takayama for a day feel ok for me, but might be a bit loaded it you wan to include folk village. Seem more realistic if you skip Kamikochi or folk village.
I think that the Toyama and Fukui day can be quite flexible days if you see that you need more time in either Takayama or Kanazawa, but still seems to be a valid option.
If you want to change the Toyama day to go to Shirakawa-go, it should be possible. It is a highway bus and not a city bus, so it cannot really get crowded and the bus do use highway and I am pretty sure the law require you to wear a seat belt on the highway, so you will not be standing in a crammed bus. I think that some of the bus going there require a seat reservation anyway. It’s ok if you do not want to go, but crowded bus is the wrong reason not to go. Note that a full day in Shirakawa-go is a bit much, I would say 3 to 5 hours is enough.
The obvious onsen stop in the area is Gero onsen, but unfortunately it’s a bit off the itinerary, it’s a bit over 1h by train from Takayama, but in the opposite direction to Toyama, so it’s not exactly the most convenient.
I have done several trips changing accommodation almost daily and my no1 tip would be to travel light. Do not bring too much cloth and do your laundry. Having a backpack or small suitcase will make it easier on moving the luggage in train and bus and you can use smaller locker if you need to (so cheaper). Try to select hotel close to the station, so you can leave your bag there after check out and easily pick it up before changing city, or easy to bring at the station to put it in a locker.
*Especially* because you’ll be coming off of a few one-night stops, I don’t think 2 nights in Takayama is too much at all. I did two nights in Takayama on my last trip and felt like it was the right amount of time, and even 3 would have still been worth it, it’s quite the lovely little town. However, the city I *do* think is really worth an extra night is Kanazawa. Kanazawa is bigger than I think people imagine, and it’s incredibly walkable. I don’t know where you’re from, but I hail from Portland, OR, and have found that Kanazawa has a very similar feel. Not a metropolis by any stretch, but definitely a good sized city. The sights are of course great, but I’ll say that of all the cities in Japan I’ve been lucky enough to just wander through, Kanazawa is my favorite. It’s a great place to just get lost and wander, and it won’t be too cold in November, sweater weather for sure, but not super chilly. In particular, one of my favorite afternoons in Japan ever was starting in the hyper-touristy Higashi-Chaya district, then pretty much immediately departing from the center streets and wandering up through the hills. I stopped at ~a dozen temples that were completely empty yet clearly open for visitors, the whole area up there had this wonderfully rich feeling that’s honestly hard to put into words.
> We plan to get up quite early and have a friend who will be driving us from the city to the Togakushi shrine path.
If you plan to get up early, then perhaps you should visit Zenko-ji (which is very peaceful before 9am) before Togakushi shrine.
> Jigokudani monkey part
Unless it would be unseasonably cold – it’s gonna be a miss before late November.
> Kamikochi
It would be well past autumn foliage season (mid- to late October)
> The plan would be to leave Kanazawa in the morning, visit Eiheji, then head down to Katsuyama City to see Heisenji and the Dino museum.
Unless you are planning to rent a car in Fukui, or take cabs between Eiheiji, Heisenji-Hakusan and Dinosaur Museum that’s downright impossible (with access to Heisenji-Hakusan by public transport being a tad infrequent).
I personally haven’t used it but there is a ropeway just north of Hirayu Onsen that will take you up to near Nishihotaka and should give you a decent view of the Kamikochi valley.
I think you should be able to hike to the Nishihotaka hut if you want to without much difficulty but I don’t know for sure. Wouldn’t even consider going any further if I were you, though.
koyo?
[https://koyo.walkerplus.com/](https://koyo.walkerplus.com/)
use google translate and have fun
I would do the Hida Takayama folk village in the afternoon/evening. When I was there years ago they lit it up at night and it was really pretty.