3 week itinerary in october

hi, i am traveling in japan in october and not sure the best/cheapest/fastest way to travel to cities i would like ot visit. Below is my itinerary: PLEASE HELP ME UNDERSTAND

5oct arrive in NRT at 9pm
6oct from tokyo to kanazawa
8oct kanazawa to shirakawago
9oct shirakawago to takayama
11oct takayama to either kamikochi or matsumoto for stopver to see castle for few hours and move on.. i can sleep in either city or in tokyo depending on what route is best
12-16oct tokyo
17oct day trip to nikko and then evening train to kyoto
18-22kyoto
23kyoto to osaka
25 osaka to KIX to fly home in morning

please help me understand what is best mode of transport. i can buy a one week pass for my week in tokyo (start jr pass on 10th and end on 17th when i take train from nikko to kyoto),. or i can do a 2 week pass from 5th to 18th. i understand jr pass might not be fastest in takayama/matsumoto region. and i was considering taking Nohi bus in that area if its better.

any/all advise and help is appreciated greatly!!!!!
alan

Your itinerary has various destinations. Traveling in October, you may see autumn foliage in some of them.

Regarding a route, I recommend that you check locations of these airports and destinations on a reliable map of Japan and also transportation options among some of them in articles of "Travel" section of this website. You soon notice that the route in your current itinerary is winding and roundabout, and that it would be better to fly into KIX and fly out from NRT.

Have you confirmed that you cannot choose Central Japan International Airport [Centrair, NGO] (near Nagoya City) or Tokyo International Airport [Haneda Airport, HND]?

not sure the best / cheapest / fastest way to travel

Usually a cheapest way to travel is slower and a fastest way to travel is more expensive.
And, how the best way to travel is depends on your personal criteria, which may include not only cost and speed but also cost-effectiveness and amenity.

[Suggested route]

More buses are available between Takayama Nohi Bus Center and Shirakawa-go than between Shirakawa-go and Kanazawa Station East Entrance bus terminal.
In October 2014, days for Takayama Autumn Festival (9 and 10 October) will be followed by a weekend, so here I avoid allotting the weekend for Shirakawa-go, considering possible crowdedness.

05 Oct (Sun): from KIX to Kyoto (2 nights).
07 Oct (Tue): evening from Kyoto to Takayama (4 nights).
08 Oct (Wed): from Takayama to Shirakawa-go and back.
09-10 Oct (Tru-Fri): Takayama (Autumn Festival).
11 Oct (Sat): morning from Takayama to Kanazawa (2 nights).
13 Oct ( # ): morning from Kanazawa to Osaka (2 nights).
15 Oct (Wed): morning from Osaka to Kyoto (2 nights).
17 Oct (Fri): evening from Kyoto to Matsumoto (2 nights).
19 Oct (Sun): morning from Matsumoto to Shinjuku (5 or 6 nights).
20-24 (Mon-Fri)
: one day from Shinjuku to Nikko and back (maybe 1 night).
25 Oct (Sat): from Shinjuku to NRT.
(#) The 13th of October 2014 will be a holiday.

thank you for this reply. i should have mentioned that i booked the flights already into NRT and out of KIX. and that my timing is important becasue i want to make to both festivals in kyoto and takayama.

i considered taking the nohi bus from kanazawa and until i got back to tokyo. in tokyo i thought of using JR 1 week pass IF i can use this pass in the subway/train system within tokyo, (but i dont think i can). from the 11th when i activate jr pass, i use for one week until i go to Nikko on 17th (festival there also) and in afternoon go to kyoto (thru tokyo). otherwise i would use passes that are specific to region because i dont think JR pass is worth it if it takes many hours to reach desitnations.

i need help with what passes are best for each region, or if individual tickets for each ride is good. l,ast night i looked at hyperdia and found the routes using JR pass takes MANY MANY hours!! so local buses might be best.

again, thank you for your help and expertise on this!!!!!

In Japan, planes ) trains ) buses
Unless In Kyushu, Hokkaido or some far away region
Tokyo Kanazawa Kyoto etc follows this rule. So whatever you do, buses are the slowest. If you have the jr pass, you can take the Shinkansen between cities. And use the city buses or city subways if they are under jr.
However, as you wise to start from Tokyo (kanto) to takayama (chubu) to Kyoto (Kansai), you are crossing prefectures. It may be better to take a pass that isn't 7 days straight but instead 2 passes. One for central Japan from Tokyo to and within takayama vicinity. The other for central Japan (say Nagoya) to Kyoto and its vicinity.

Or you can be really cheap and sleep on overnight buses. Usually comes with recliner chairs and blinds. More expensive than the usual coach but at least you won't have to pay for a hotel and are moving while sleeping.

i considered taking the nohi bus from kanazawa and until i got back to tokyo. in tokyo i thought of using JR 1 week pass IF i can use this pass in the subway/train system within tokyo, (but i dont think i can). from the 11th when i activate jr pass, i use for one week until i go to Nikko on 17th (festival there also) and in afternoon go to kyoto (thru tokyo).

The JR Pass will pay off for that plan. Note that it is only good on the JR trains in Tokyo, and not on the subways. But that isn't a major setback, as most things are still pretty well connected.

otherwise i would use passes that are specific to region because i dont think JR pass is worth it if it takes many hours to reach desitnations.

i need help with what passes are best for each region, or if individual tickets for each ride is good. l,ast night i looked at hyperdia and found the routes using JR pass takes MANY MANY hours!! so local buses might be best.

Generally trains are faster than buses along the same routes, and looking at your itinerary you shouldn't be spending more than around 3 hours at a time on the train (except for Tokyo to Kanazawa which takes about 4 hours). Buses on these routes typically take even longer.

i wonder if it is cost effective to use the jr pass for the first 2 weeks and used the nohi buses between kanazawa and shirakawago and then shirakawago and takayama. when i used hyperdia, it says those trips are MANY hours (like 5-7). please tell meif i am wrong on this! otherwise, is there a jr bus that does this route? bc the site does not offer this. i think i read on one of the forums that a bus would take about a 1 hour for each trip.

also, i am deciding to go to kamikochi or matsumoto for the day or so in between takayama and tokyo, as a stopover or longer. is this a good/ practical idea? i know matsumoto has the castle and that is all i am interested in there. i read that kamikochi is beautiful, how long is good to stay there? i know that weekends would be busy there (its a saturday that i would be there). also, best route from either kamikochi or matsumoto to tokyo either the 11th(saturday) or the 12th.