Jan 2017 itinerary - Hokkaido&Chubu

Jan 6 Arrive in Tokyo, stay overnight
Jan 7 Fly to Sapporo via Haneda
Jan 8 - 10 Sapporo, Otaru, Asahiyama Zoo in no particular order
Jan 11 Sapporo to Hakodate, stay overnight
Jan 12 Hakodate
Jan 13 Hakodate to Tokyo, stay overnight, may meet up with a friend
Jan 14 Tokyo to Takayama, overnight
Jan 15 Takayama
Jan 16 Takayama to Shirakawago, farmhouse stay
Jan 17 Shirakawago to Nagoya by bus
Jan 18 Nagoya
Jan 19 Day trip to Inuyama
Jan 20 Nagoya to Tokyo
Jan 21 Tokyo
Jan 22 Flight home in evening

My Hokkaido portion is pretty much set as I'm traveling with a friend. That being said, how does the rest of it, e.g. Jan 14-20 look? Is there a way to fit Matsumoto in there, perhaps? Like on my way to Tokyo from Nagoya on the 20th. Or would that be too much? Just want to see the castle, that's all.

Re: Shirakawago. I am aware that solo travelers are not accepted via the JapaneseGuestHouse site so I will try to book with the tourist association. Has anyone tried that lately? Any luck? I know their Light Up event for 2017 is on hold but I thought I'd try to avoid staying overnight on a weekend just in case.

Not too worried about the weather. I'm from the Northeast USA area so I'm used to the cold, snow and cancellations. ;) Anything else I should know about, in terms of winter differences in USA and Japan?

Any help is appreciated. :) Thank you in advance!

I am sure you will have lots of information after me.

All I want to tell you is, it is snow season, then the route/railway/

air are sometimes stopped, because of bad weather.

^ Thanks for your reply!

Popping by Matsumoto is possible. But as of now, no one besides you whether you have some morning activities planned for Nagoya (though one full day in Nagoya is enough IMO) or any dinner reservations in Tokyo so I cant be definite in saying that Matsumoto castle is possible.

Jan 14 -20 looks fine. I would say that you are spending too much time in Nagoya and Takayama, but to each his own. (If there is no light up, don't stay too late in Shirakawa-go, don't want to miss the last bus out!!) If you want to take my advice, spend some time in Kanazawa or Toyama that are near Takayama; do spend some time out of Nagoya for some nice treks.

Thanks for your reply!

I'm planning to be in Shirakawago on a Monday to avoid the lightup. That probably sounds kind of weird since most people tend to go there for it, but I'm not that interested. Plus, if the event does happen, I'd think my chances of scoring a minshuku would be easier since I'll be there on a weekday night.

Forgot to mention in my original post that I've already been to Kanazawa. While I like the city, I feel like there's only so much to see so no point in visiting again unless I have to.

As for Nagoya, in reality I only have a half and a half there as I'm visiting nearby Inuyama the whole day. But you're right--the more I think about it the more I think spending a day in Nagoya is already enough.