Tokyo-Monkey Park-Matsumoto- Takayama

I am planning a 2 night trip from Tokyo and we will stay in Takayama both nights. Is it reasonable to try to see the snow monkeys and Matsumoto Castle in a day from Tokyo, then arriving in Takayama in the evening? We would see Takayama the following day and see Kanazawa the 3rd day before returning to Tokyo. OR could we see Kanazawa and Matsumoto in a day on our way back to Tokyo? Suggestions? Thanks in advance.

2 night trip from Tokyo and we will stay in Takayama both nights. Is it reasonable to try to see the snow monkeys and Matsumoto Castle in a day from Tokyo, then arriving in Takayama in the evening? We would see Takayama the following day and see Kanazawa the 3rd day before returning to Tokyo. OR could we see Kanazawa and Matsumoto in a day on our way back to Tokyo?

How are you travelling between Matsumoto and Takayama - if by train, then the schedule is very difficult (because it takes around five hours). The bus is quicker and makes it more achievable - JapanGuide suggests it is only 2.5 hours each way. Tokyo to Matsumoto is three hours by train.

One option: Tokyo - Matsumoto - Takayama (about eight hours of trains, but you could visit the castle (2-3 hours - I would pick longer rather than shorter). Then from Takayama to Kanazawa (day trip if you wanted), and then visit the monkey park on the way back from wither Kanazawa/Takayama - again, a fairly long day.

You could do Tokyo - Nagano (monkeys) then Toyama and Takayama on the first day. But Matsumoto as a day trip by train would take too long.

You could visit other castles (Kanazawa, Nagoya, Hikone), but Matsumoto is a nice one.

Thank you! I hadn't thought about doing Nagano on the way back from Kanazawa to Tokyo. Matsumoto was something I was thinking of adding after deciding on the original plan, since the castle is so highly rated. Do you think it possible to see Kanazawa (Ninjadera, Kenrokuen, etc.) and still make Jigokudani in a day? Or would an early start from Tokyo to Jigokudani, then to Matsumoto castle, then bus to Takayama work better? Do you know how late we could leave Matsumoto by bus to Takayama?

Do you think it possible to see Kanazawa (Ninjadera, Kenrokuen, etc.) and still make Jigokudani in a day?

It is achievable. However, you will be doing "amazing race".

Shinji, I absolutely LOVE "Amazing Race"! One of my favorite shows. But I don't want to spend our trip racing around like the teams, although I do want to see as much as possible without killing us.

Can you shift your second night to Kanazawa? What I would do is this :
1. early train Tokyo to Matsumoto - see the castle (probably an hour, maybe 1 1/2 hours there tops);
2. train then bus from Matsumoto to Kamikouchi - see the monkeys there (they are usually somewhere);
3. bus Kamikouchi to Takayama, overnight Takayama;
4. next day maybe midday bus Takayama to Shirakawa. Spend 2 hours there, there isnt that much to see, then bus on to Kanazawa. Hotel Hakuchoro at Kanazawa is awesome!
5. next morning see the garden etc at Kanazawa, then shinkansen back to Tokyo!

Kamikouchi is closed until late April, though...

If you want to stay in Takayama for those two nights, I suggest to leave Mastumoto and Kamikouchi to the other trip. That's because Takayama is not a convenient base for them.

For two nights, I think you should visit only 2 cities at most: Takayama and Kanazawa. If so, I recommend you to stay in Kanazawa due to extremely shinkansen connection with Tokyo.
It takes around 2.5 hours from Tokyo to Kanazawa, and around 4.5 hours from Tokyo to Takayama. From Kanazawa, you can take a bus to Takayama.