Takayama

I am planning a 10 days vacation trip in Japan, starting from Nagoya in August 2013. My plan as below:

Day 1 and 2: Nagoya - 2 nights
Day 3 and 4 : Take the bullet train to Hiroshima. Stay 2 nights
Day 5: Take train from Hiroshima to Nagoya, Transfer to train to Takayama. Stay in Takayama
Day 6 - sightsseing in Takayama
Day 7 - Day trip from Takayama to Gokayama¥Shirakawago. Overnight in Takayama
Day 8 : Day trip Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route from Takayama. Overnight in Takayama
Day 9 : Day trip to Matsumoto or Kanazawa. Overnight in Takayama.
Day 10 : Return to Nagoya

Please advise whether the above plan is fine. I would like to know whether Takayama is a good point to make my side trips. Is it better to vist Masumoto or Kanazawa? Will by staying in Takayama for 5 nights a littel too much? What would be the best and value JR Pass should I get to cover my trips and itineary?

Regds
Kim

Takayama is not a good base for the Alpine Route, especially if you intend to do the whole route. Shirakawa-go is OK as a daytrip from Takayama and while Kanazawa and Matsumoto are feasible they really deserve more time. A better way to take in these places should be from Takayama take bus to Kanazawa with an en-route stop in Shirakawa-go. Spend a whole day in Kanazawa, leave for the Alpine Route on another day and bed down in Matsumoto. From Matsumoto you can take train back to Nagoya or if you still have extra time take bus to Takayama with an en-route stop in beautiful Kamikochi.

If you need more time for the above places, consider cutting short your stay in Hiroshima. 1 night stay should be enough to cover Hiroshima and Miyajima.

My family really likes Takayama. We stayed there about 5 nights at Christmas 2010 then went back the next year in June for a few days. But then I dont call myself Lazy Pious for nothing, and my family is quite happy to stay in one place 4 days at a time without getting bored. I think it would be hard to use Takayama as a base save for Shirakawa, so I'd probably stay Takayama 2 or 3 nights then move on to Kanazawa then Matsumoto, each for overnight stays. Takayama is a lovely town. We'd go back again, for sure. I agree with William about Hiroshima, though we stayed a couple of nights at Miyajima which was very nice. It gets a bad rap as a tourist trap, but I thought it was a lot better, and it is pretty much empty by 6PM.

Dear William and Pious,

Thank you for your advice. I will reduce my stay in Hiroshima to 1 night and reduce to 3 nights stay in Takayama. Will move to Kanazawa for 2 nights stay. Will use half day in Kanazawa to do the Tateyama Kurobe Alphine Route until the Kurobe Dam Stop and then make a return trip back to Kanazawa. I may not have the time to go to Masumoto. My departure flight is out from Nagoya and is a morning flight, so I need to have an overnight stay in Nagoya. Regards Kim

I hope you have not packed other things on the day you go for the Alpine Route. Doing it from the western end all the way to the Kurobe Dam means you are almost doing the whole route. Returning to Kanazawa on the same day may not just take half a day!

BTW, note that August may not be the optimum time for a visit to the Alpine Route. It is best during spring for its unique snow corridor or fall for autumn foliage to justify the high transport cost, IMHO.

We did a similar route from Tokyo (except we did not go to Hiroshima) to Takayama-Shirakawa Go-Kanazawa-Alpine Route-Matsumoto few years ago in the spring.
We stayed in Takayama 3 nights, which I thought was one night too long since we did not have the interest of going to all the shrines. We just attended the festival.
We stayed in Shirakawa-go overnight, but it is not necessary. You can see the whole village in about 4 hours.
We stayed in Kanazawa for 3 nights and we thought it was worth it.
We did the Alpine Route, including staying at the Tateyama Hotel in Murado. This was definitely worth it.
You can go all the way to Matsumoto, stay overnight and go on to Nagoya.
I would not waste my time going back from Kurobe Dam.

Dear all,

Thank you for your reply and information. I just realized that the time taken to return from Kurobe Dam to Tateyama is longer than going onwards to Matsumoto. William thank you for highlighting. Since August (summer) is not the best time to do the Mt Tateyama Alpine Route, should I exclude this item from my trip? Instead, go for the Shin-Hotaka Ropeway and spend more time in Matsumoto?

Regards
Kim

Indeed it would be best to "save" the Apline Route for a spring trip to see its mighty snow corridor. The Shin-Hotaka ropeway is a very good choice for a panoramic view of the Japanese Alps, and some hiking and trekking is possible on top during summer. And if Matsumoto is back on the itinerary, as I mentioned before, consider stopping by beautiful Kamikochi between Takayama and Matsumoto. While in Matsumoto another highly worthwhile side trip is scenic Daio Wasabi Farm, the largest wasabi farm in Japan.

Dear William 5,

Very much appreciated your input.I shall postpone the Tetayama Alphine Route to another time. My revised proposed itinerary will be:

Day 1- Nagoya. Overnight in nagoya
Day 2- Day trip to Inuyama. overnight in Nagoyao
Day 3- Train to Hiroshima.Visit the Hiroshima Memorial Park and downtown area. Stay in Hiroshima
Day 4 - Trip to Miyajima Island in Morning. Afternoon take train back to Nagoya. More Sightseeing in Nagoya. Overnight in Nagoya
Day 5 - Take train to Masumotomo.Visit the castle and enjoy the gourmet available.
Day 6 - Take bus to Takayama. See Old town. Overnight in Takayama
Day 7 -Joined the Shirakawago sightseeing bus tour (8.30 am to 3.00 pm). More sightseeing and shopping in Takayama. Overnight in Takayama
Day 8 - Shin-Hotaka ropeway. Lunch at Hirayu Onsen and then bus trip to Kamikochi. Do some hiking in Kamikochi. Return to Takayama for overnight.
Day 9 - Leave Takayama for Kanazawa by train. Visit Kenroku-en Garden. Overnight in Kanazawa
Day 10 - VisitHigashi Chaya District. Late afternoon take train back to Nagoya.Overnight in Nagoya
Day 11 - Departure flight

In Matsumoto, not planning to visit the Wasabi farm,because getting there seems to be quite difficult, so will 1 day be good enough in Matsumoto? Also is it possible to do Shin-Hokata Ropeway and Kamikochi on the same day? Would welcome your comments on my revised itinerary. Thank you

Regards
Kim

Your route looks OK and I can see you have arranged to minimize change of hotels. We travel light and do not mind changing hotels every night, so personally we would do it differently such as take in Shirakawa-go on the way from Takayama to Kanazawa and Kamikochi on the way from Matsumoto to Takayama. But there is nothing wrong with your present plan, so go for it if it fits your pace of travel.

Are you staying the night in Matsumoto on day 5!? If so you should have enough time for Daio Wasabi Farm. It is just slightly more than half an hour train ride from Matsumoto to Hotaka followed by a 10 min shuttle. When we went there a few years back there was no shuttle so we rent a bike and still we managed to do it in half a day.
http://www.daiowasabi.co.jp/images/jikokuhyou.pdf

Yes, day 8 is too rushed. Even without hiking up the mt Kamikochi deserves at least 2-3 hrs stroll along the riverbank to take in the beautiful scenery with the Japanese Alps as a backdrop. And for Shin-Hokata besides the ropeway ride consider staying longer for an onsen experience. Even without staying overnight you can go for a daytime use of the lovely rotenburo in one of the onsen hotels/ryokans.

Hi William5,

Thank you for your reply. I would like to stay overnight at Hirayu Onsen before I go to Takayama, so that I can do the Shin-Hotoka Ropeway on the day I arrive in Hirayu and then Kamikochi the next morning . So far I cannot find accomodation within walking distance from Hirayu Bus terminals. I was trying to book Hirayakan as it seems to be the nearest accomodation from the bus terminal and quite reasonable cost, but there is no room available on the date I arrive in Hirayu.

Are you referring to Hirayukan and what exact date in August are you going!? I did a search on the following booking site and it seems that rooms are available during August.
http://www.japanican.com/hotels/shisetsudetail.aspx?ar=21&sar=2105&st=...

If it is Hiratakan rooms are also available during August.
http://www.japanican.com/hotels/shisetsudetail.aspx?ar=21&sar=2105&st=...

Hi William5,

Thank you for your advice. I managed to book the hotel Hirayukan. My plan is now finalized.

Regards
Kim