Hi all, hoping for some feedback on the mountain leg of our winter trip in January. We will be leaving Tokyo on the 1st January and arriving in Kyoto on the 8th January. That gives us 7 nights to spend in central Japan’s Nagano/Gifu prefectures. We are a fairly large family group of 9 (all adults). The priority is to make the most of the wintery scenery – snow capped mountains and outdoor scenery, buildings in snow that kind of thing.
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Our current itinerary is:
* 1st January – Travel from Tokyo to Senjojiki Cirque via train. Stay on the mountain 1 night
* 2nd January – Transfer to Matsumoto via train and stay for 1 night – visit the Matsumoto Castle
* 3rd January – Catch a bus from Matsumoto Bus Terminal to Takayama Bus Terminal and base ourselves in Takayama from the 3rd to 8th January (5 nights)
* On the 8th of January catch a train to Kyoto via Nagoya
Questions:
* Is the transportation above a sensible way for us to move from location to location?
* Does it make sense for us to stay in Matsumoto for 1 night? Another option we thought of was travelling straight through to Takayama via Matsumoto and not stopping. We were thinking that this may be a lot for one day
* Is it a good idea to base ourselves in Takayama for the whole 5 nights? It seems like there is a lot of different options for everyone there within the city and surrounds. Some of the ideas we have had for day trips from the Takayama bus terminal:
* Day trip to Shirakawa-Go
* Day trip to Shin-Hotaka Ropeway
* Day trip to Hirayu Onsen Village (or individuals may want to stay overnight)
* Day trip to a beginner friendly ski field near Takayama which we may do for more than one day (Mont Deus Hida Kuraiyama Snow Park)
1 comment
i was just in takayama for two nights last week. complete opposite season obviously. takayama is very small, didn’t see a ton of restaurants and the shopping streets in old Takayama are easily visited in 2-3 hours. seems like 5 days there would be a lot. we stayed at oyado yamaikyu which is a westerner friendly ryokan and included dinner and breakfast. however I think the ryokan experience with the onset bath and the tatami room etc would get old after 2 nights.
took the tourist bus day trip from takayama to shirakawa-go and the other village (Aikonura?). It leaves from takayama bus station. It is a good way to go vs the local bus because you get a guide, no intermediate stops, and you get to visit both villages instead of just one. bought tickets through Klook. make sure you are early for the bus, we missed it by two minutes and had to catch up with it using a taxi. expensive mistake.
one thing i would consider if i had more time would be to stay one night at one of the gassho style inns in shirakawa-go. probably a good experience and the place will be more interesting after the day trippers are gone. it is a worthwhile visit either way.
don’t know much about anything else in gifu so can’t help you there…we just went because my kid wanted to go to shirakawa-go.