8 day trip is it worth going to shirakawago?

My initial plan was spending 4 days in Tokyo and 4 in Kyoto. Then I discovered Takayama and Shirakawa-go and have been thinking of going there too but it looks like it takes 6-7h from Tokyo and then 5-6h more hours from there to Kyoto, which would take away at least 2 days to visit Takayama and Shirakawa-go because just going in one days seems impossible and I would like to walk around and see the place calmly and enjoy it in a slow way.

Any experiences or inputs you can give me would be very appreciated: how to get there, where to sleep (shirakawa-go or takayama?), is it worth going?

I did not go to Shirakawa-go when I was in Takayama (I went to Hida-no-Sato to see the Gassho house, and I decided I am not interested with Shirakawa-go and cancel my initial plan to visit it. I went to Gero instead)

There are couple hotels just beside Takayama Station, there is also consensus that staying a night at Shirakawa-go will be worthwhile. As for is it worth going? Yes, at least you should visit once. (Though I will not be going back twice)

While I see the appeal of Takayama and Shirakawa-go, in such a short time you can never see EVERYTHING you want, and if you like to travel slowly and enjoy, I say save them for a different trip and just stick to Tokyo and Kyoto. If you want the feel of a nice old town, going on a day trip to, say, Kawagoe from Tokyo will give you a good enough impression, and save Takayama and Shirakawa-go for another trip.