Takayama Hokuriku area in Dec

Hi all,

I will be travelling with my family (5 of us in total) to Osaka on 22 dec and plan to travel around the Takayama Hokuriku area. I am considering between an entire trip by public transport or including selfdrive for trips outside Kyoto and Osaka.

This is my itinerary (if I were to include self drive )

Day 1 - Train to Kyoto from Osaka airport. Stay in Kyoto
Day 2 - Pick up car. Drive from Kyoto to Awaraonsen. Stay in Awaraonsen
Day 3 - Drive from Awaraonsen to Kanazawa to Toyama. Stay in Toyama
Day 4 - Drive from Toyama to Takayama. Stay in Takayama.
Day 5 - Daytrip by nohi bus to Shirakawa-go. Stay in Takayama
Day 6 - Bus to Okuhida. Stay in Okuhida.
Day 7 - Bus back to Takayama. Drive from Takayama to Nagoya. Return car in Nagoya. Take bullet train from Nagoya to Kyoto. Stay in Kyoto
Day 8 onwards - Train/Bus around Kyoto/Osaka

Obviously this route can be done with public transport entirely as well but I included the car option as it gives us more convenience and flexibility and we can stop by little towns on the way and not worry about having to bring our luggages everywhere. However, my key concern is driving in snow (late dec) as none of us have driven in snow before. As Okuhida and Shirakawago are high snowfall areas in the mountains, I have opted to do these via public transport in case the roads are small and winding. Correct me if I am wrong but I think the other routes are via expressways which are easier to drive on. That being said, can anyone please offer any advice on my plan with the inclusion of self drive. Is it feasible or is travelling entirely by public transport a better option? Also, if I were to go with the car option, does anyone know anywhere in Takayama where I can park the car overnight when I head to Okuhida?

Thank you in advance for your help!

I wouldn't drive on snow with your inexperience. Judging by the understanding of driving on snow in the message you conveyed. Use public transport.

I think it is impossible to drive cars such on a snow road. It will snow 3 meters high, so you must use transportation like train, and a bus. Also, we have much snow in Kanazawa, Toyama, and Hida, so you can't go anywhere in time, so please be careful.

Make sure your car has snow tires. On my trip to Shirakawa-go this week (in the snow), the attendants at the toll booth on the express way were checking vehicles (you really don't want to have to drive with chains.) Also, for Shirakawa-go I don't even consider Nohi bus, I get the i-Site tour - more comfortable, same price.

Also, consider that driving in Japan is actually really slow - the speed limits are low and the distances long.

Hello

Since from Toyama to Takayama are mountainous areas with snow, I think driving will be serious.
If youre move from Toyama to Takayama, and from Takayama to Nagoya is use to only by expressway, in that case I recommend returning car rental in Toyama.

If you do, you can move from Toyama to Takayama, from Takayama to Nagoya by either train or bus.
If you have been exploring Takayama sightseeing on the 4th or 6th day and there is no alpine sightseeing on the 7th day, you can also take a high-speed bus from Okuhida to Nagoya.

If you drive to Takayama,
There is a chargeable car park in Takayama, but please pay attention to the price.
Please check with the hotel owner about the surrounding parking lot.
There is an upper limit on the price per day when parking for 24 hours, and it is around 1,000 to 1,500 yen at low price.
There is no upper limit on the fee and it will exceed 5000 yen in high price.

have a nice trip.

My family travelled to the Hokuriku area in late Dec. However,there was hardly any snow(most were dirty or melted already). We did not use snow tires. But there may be a freak storm or something, so you should use the snow tires just in case.