Takayama impression?

I was wondering if anyone has been to Takayama and what the city is like in real life? I mean this in the sense of touristy and/or crowded (like Higashiyama in Kyoto) and if it has a nice atmosphere?

For my first trip to Japan I�fve been to Kyoto, Osaka and Tokyo with some side-trips and found that I liked out-of-the-way places more than the really touristy/crowded ones (Himeji Castle was beautiful on the outside and hell inside. There were school trips and in the main keep it was pretty much like standing in one long queue. Kokoen garden was nice and quiet in contrast).

For my next visit in Japan I�fd like to visit slightly more out of the way places. Takayama seems like a nice choice, as this fell off my first itinerary due to lack of time. As my friends prefer to stay in one place for several nights in a row instead of doing a lot of travelling with suitcases and such, we�fd be staying in Takayama for quite a few nights so it would be a pity if it wasn�ft to our liking.

Does anyone have an impression of the city to share? Or about Nagano or Sendai (or some other place that would make Yamadera easy to reach)? I'd also welcome other suggestions of beautiful cities/sights that are not too crowded. I�fll most likely travel in autumn next year (but I think I will avoid the festival in Takayama, so after that).

My (very) preliminary itinerary is as follows:

1) Fly in Tokyo, Narita, immediately go to Nagoya
2) Spend day in Nagoya
3) Spend day in Nagoya
4) Go to Takayama (2 ½ hours)
5) Daytrip to Shirakawago
6) Daytrip to Furukawa
7) Spend the day in Takayama
8) Go to Suimeikan Karukaya for 1 or 2 nights (ryokan) (1 ½ hour)
9) Daytrip Kamikochi (either from ryokan or Takayama, not in weekend)
10) Go back to Takayama (pick-up luggage at hotel there)
11) Go to Nagano (3 ½ hours)
12) Spend day in/around Nagano
13) Daytrip Yamanouchi / Shibu onsen
14) Daytrip to Matsumoto?
15) Go to Sendai (2+ hours)
16) Daytrip to Matsushima? (40 min)
17) Spend the day in Sendai
18) Yamadera Daytrip (1 hour) (early nov)
19) Go to Tokyo
20) Spend the day in Tokyo
21) Go to Airport

Takayama is a nice city, not crowded. Peaceful. I was there during the spring and still snowing. Would likely make a re-visit some time again...

I didn't like Takayama much. I was during the weekend, it was fairly crowded and I felt quite a bit in a tourist trap rathen than in a nice town. It was one of the very few places in Japan I didn't enjoy much (along with Shirakawa-go).

I've spent probably a week all up in Takayama. Our family really loved it. when we were there (a few years ago now) it was not very busy except in the old shopping section. We have stayed twice at Ryokan Tanabe, and once at Hotel Associa which is a little way out of town. Associa is awesome if you like onsens, and Ryokan Tanabe is in a great position just near the red bridge from memory (or the green one...).

The park is great for a mild hike - there are ruins at the top but they are just mounds from foundations. It is very peaceful up there, though. The squirrel park (a bit out of town) is awesome if you like squirrels. The beef restaurants are great too. The trip out on the wideview Hida is my favorite train trip.

Thank you for the replies!
Sputnikboy, can you tell me when you were there? And if perhaps you have some other suggestions for cities/towns you liked better?

I live in Japan and have been to a pretty wide range of places, and I just wasn't impressed with Takayama. I think maybe because it is hyped up by tourists and often included in many itineraries, when I finally had the chance to go I was really excited about it, and remember feeling really underwhelmed. Of course, it was a nice place! Very pleasant, but that's it. At the same time, as a base to explore the area, it has its merits. If you've got a little extra time, how about adding in Gujo-Hachiman? I really enjoyed visiting there, honestly much more than Takayama!

Takayama is nice in the evening or early morning before the crowds. Otherwise, I also found the historic district to be quite touristy. It's nice, but the image that is presented of it (as a charming little town far off the tourist trail) is not accurate and I think can lead to the high expectations that I and the other person had when we went that it can't really meet. Sure it's somewhat isolated, but tourists go there all the time. It's extremely well-known. Maybe it's not so crowded on weekdays though. The historic district in Takayama is very nice, I don't want to make it sound disappointing in that way; the tourist crowds are what may be disappointing. The area and town is very nice.

Furukawa on your itinerary is much less touristy. There are actual craftsmen there in the historic district. It's smaller, but it will likely feel "more authentic".

I didn't find Shirakawa-go to be so bad in terms of tourists, but those who find it crowded should consider Ainokura. Ainokura gets less visitors but is a very well-preserved village of the same type as Shirakawa-go (Ogimachi). It also has a viewpoint and the houses are arranged quite nicely and closer together.

Other quieter historic districts around where you're traveling are Mino (between Gifu City and Takayama). It has two streets of historic houses that are still used for more than just tourist things. The "udatsu" roofs are famous.

On the way to Nagano, I really liked Narai. While it does cater to tourists, it has a lot of local shops that are fun to browse. The Kiso Valley has many historic districts. Magome, Tsumago, Fukushima, etc.

Near Nagoya, but not on the way to any other places, Kameyama (Mie Prefecture) is a very nice, fairly large historic district that I don't think is ever very crowded. I was quite surprised at the size/length of the historic district and was able to appreciate it with very few other people. I have only been there once, but my impression is that it's rarely very crowded.

For historic districts, there are actually a lot that are easy to reach along your travel route.

Scarreddragon: Gujo-Hachiman looks like a good place to visit, only a bit more difficult to reach. But then, maybe that will keep other people away. I�fll keep it in mind and see if I can puzzle this into our itinerary.

Rabbityama: I think we would like Ainokura as an alternative to Shirakawa-go.

As for your other suggestions: We�fve already visited Magome and did the hike to Tsumago during our first trip to Japan and enjoyed it a lot (the nice weather was a bonus too). I think I will skip Narai, though, as we�fve already been to Kiso valley and there are so many other places we�fve yet to visit.

Mino sounds like it might be a good choice, so I�fll look into that, and I will take a look at Kameyama as well (how far is it from Nagoya, do you know?).

Thanks very much for the reactions!

You may refer to the website below for further information abvout Mino city:
http://tourguides.nagoya/en/mino.html

Takayama is nice, I like it, but it's definitely not unique at all. There are well-known reasons and history why Takayama became so popular among foreign travelers; books have been written on this topic and the city is a prime example of successful inbound tourism strategies. But there is literally nothing unique there that you can't find in many other well-preserved traditional towns around Japan (well, the festival is famous and big). When I first went there, my impression was "ok, I've seen similar places", but I can understand how for a first-time tourist going on the Golden Route between Tokyo and Osaka/Kyoto it is a spectacular sight. Some other suggestions were given in this thread already, all of them are great, although I think Gujo-Hachiman and Magome/Tsumago will be crowded too. If you've been to Magome/Tsumago already, then Takayama is just like a bigger version of them. I'd skip Mino unless you have particular interest in washi paper, the main area is not as vibrant and is somewhat too big to have a cosy feeling. However, Seki-juku in Kameyama city is a real hidden gem, I really love that one! It's in Mie prefecture, on the way to the ninja city Iga-Ueno or to Nara, near a train station called "Seki".

wow, the opinions on takayama are definitely polarizing! here is my 2 cents worth :)

i have made 2 trips in the last 2 consecutive years to japan, third planned this year. In total almost touring japan for 3 months. takayama happens to be my son's fav destination (my 1st travel partner), my wife's fav destination (2nd travel partner) and my fav destination (firmly penned into my upcoming itinerary).

yes, the is a commercial feel to the old part, but it looks gorgeous and has a great vibe. yes, during peak seasons and especially during these times, on weekends or holidays, the coaches can pour in, but generally it is a beautiful and chillaxed town with plenty to offer and a great base for day trips.

my last trip had us stay there for 4 nights. we hired a car one day and explored kamikochi (fantastic). we talk a 15 minute train to hidafurukawa another day and did some exploring and went on a cycling tour (fantastic) another day we did a 15km hike around the outskirts of takayama doing a temple run as well (absolutely beautiful). while on the last day we soaked up and explored takayama itself.

as for it being not unique. i would disagree. it definitely has its own identity and plenty to do and see. for those posting that the are other places that you can see similar stuff... umm yeah, i guess, there are japanese people all around, similar temples, vegetation and restaurants. but it IS japan :)

do enjoy! :D

I also side with the "Takayama"-like group.
While the main area might be really touristic at some times (especially during the festivals) it has a LOOOT of non touristic locations aswell (for example, almost noone walks the temple path (http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e5906.html) or barely someone goes to Hida no Sato (http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e5901.html) which is also great with not many people.

"Shirakawa go" on the other hand is super touristic (but still nice for a one time visit imo). However i recommend to go to the less crowed places like Gokayama (same houses but less people) instead or additional.

Kameyama's historic district (Seki-juku, a former post on the Tokaido Road) is near Seki Station. From Nagoya, it's about 1.5 hours by train with a transfer at Kameyama Station. Kameyama Station has the former castle ruins, as well, if that interests you.

Ronda, you say you liked more off-the-beaten-path places more�c which ones do you mean? It would be good to know to be able to compare them.

Personally, I think Takayama has a reputation of being charming and �goff-the-beaten-path�h, however so many people go there for the quiet rural experience that it�fs really getting more touristy and I�fd have to say that it�fs anything but �goff-the-beaten-path�h anymore. As others have said, it�fs nice but not really amazing, personally I didn�ft enjoy it that much compared to other places but it�fs fine to visit for a day.

It�fs worth noting that many of the people commenting here have been to Japan a few times and have visited quite a few places, of course their opinions will be different from those of a first time visitor who hasn�ft visited any non-touristy sites and doesn�ft have much to compare Takayama to. I think those who have been to more rural and historic places are less likely to choose Takayama as a favourite, however first-timers will see it as more rural and less touristy/crowded than the other places they visited (Kyoto-Tokyo).

Personally, I *really* dislike crowds and I�fm willing to skip all the �gmust-see�h cities and temples to avoid people or wake up at 6am and be done before the tourists arrive. There are many places that I simply didn�ft go to or didn�ft like because of the crowds.

By the way, I�fd really recommend Hiraizumi while you�fre up north. If you�fre already in Sendai on the 15th, you could go to Hiraizumi on the 17th.

Thank you so much everyone for sharing your experiences! While opinions seem to differ, it does give me a better idea of what Takayama would be like.

Even so, I�fm still not sure what I will do. The train trip does sound beautiful, and the mention of a squirrel park is a bit of a plus (thanks for that Lazy Pious). Also, I like doing some sort of craft workshop as a change from all the walking and sightseeing on a long vacation and Hida no Sato would give me an easy way to do that (it�fs really hard finding information about craft experiences in English).

I will definitely consider Kameyama/Seki as it�fs also not that far from Nagoya and I really did enjoy Magoma en Tsumago a lot.

To FancyLampshade: Well, I just mean less touristy and crowded than the places everyone goes. Just like you, I dislike crowds as well. We went to Ginkakuji right when it opened, so that worked fine for us but Higashiyama in Kyoto was just sooo busy and touristy and Himeji was even worse. In contrast, I *loved* Hachimantai, not just for the autumn colours but also because it was really peaceful there and most of the tourists there where Japanese themselves.

Thanks for the suggestion of Hiraizumi, I can fit that in easily enough :) I don�ft really know much about Sendai but it seems like a convenient place to stay, transport wise.

Does anyone have an impression of the city to share? Or about Nagano or Sendai...

Regarding Sendai: I haven't explored it thoroughly - although I do plan to go back later this year - but it's a good base for exploring the wider area, and it's not short of attractions itself (particularly if you're a history buff).

https://withinstrikingdistance.wordpress.com/tag/sendai/

Also, a big thumbs-up to FancyLampshade's suggestion of Hiraizumi. Great little place with loads of history, and it wasn't crowded at all when I went there a couple of years back. I'm sure it gets its fair share of foreign visitors, but whilst I was strolling around I got the impression that I was the only foreigner there at that particular time; for the most part the other visitors were Japanese domestic tourists.

https://withinstrikingdistance.wordpress.com/2016/07/17/field-report-f...

Staying in Sendai will certainly make it easier to go there. I did my visit as a day trip out of faraway Tōkyō: not something I'd normally do or recommend to others, of course! (It was raining in Tōkyō, it was sunny in Iwate, I had a JR Pass, I was a railfan and wanted to spend a few hours riding trains ... just a bunch of things that came together, haha.)

As for quiet spots that see only a fraction of the tourist traffic one might run into in Takayama or Kyōto ... I've got a few places in mind, mainly scattered around the Chūgoku region and Kyūshū and Shikoku. I'm reluctant to offer anything else though, as there are so many great suggestions above that might be a better fit for your central/northern Honshū itinerary. Perhaps for another time. (^_^)

Cheers.

Thanks for the information about Sendai, I enjoyed reading the experiences (it's a pity were not going in spring because the cherry blossom looked lovely). Since you seconded the suggestion of Hiraizumi, it's definitely going in the intinerary (especially since we didn't exactly have much planned in the region yet).

Takayama - getting more touristy, but some great places to visit. (I probably have done six or more visits in the last year.)

Sendai - under-rated and some good spots. A different "feel" to many other cities and I like it, but not as much as Takayama. Doing it as a day trip tomorrow for guests, (last week a two night stay).