4 days itinerary in the Japanese Alps

Hi,

I am finding quite hard to wrap my plans around my visit to the Japanese Alps. It is only clear the beginning and end, but in between, I can't make my mind.

This is the part of the plan that is fixed:

Day 1. Leave Tokyo in the morning.
Day 5. Sleep in Kyoto

This was my initial plan:

Day 1. Leave Tokyo and arrive Matsumoto around lunch. In the afternoon visit the castle and the city and sleep there.
Day 2. Early in the morning go to Omachi to do the Alpine route. Go to Takayama and sleep there
Day 3. In the morning walk around Takayama, then around noon head to Shirakawago, spend 4 hours approx there and at the end of the day, go to Kanazawa.
Day 4. Spend the day in Kanazawa.
Day 5. Spend half day and then head to Kyoto.

The main issue I see is that Day 2 is going to be hard because from Tateyama (end of the alpine route) to Takayama is around 3 hours. And I am going to Takayama to spend the morning only with the extra time traveling to don't spend ay time there.

So I have thought about a few other other options:

Spend 3 nights in Kanazawa (Day 2, 3, 4). So Day 3 I spend in Kanazawa. Day 4, in the morning I go to Shirakawago continue to Takayama and back to Kanazawa at the end of the day. Day 5 Kanazawa again.
Day 2 and 3 sleep in Takayama. Day 3 visit Shirakawago and Takayama. Day 4, early in the morning had to Kanazawa, spend the day and half there.
Skip Takayama, still visit Shirakawa-go and maybe spend the day

Last day I can spend the whole day in Kanazawa if needed. I must sleep in Kyoto in the last day, so that means I can leave Kanazawa in the evening (it is 140 mins by train to Kyoto). I am traveling alone so I do need to adjust the planning to others :)

Any suggestions? Thanks

How about this...

Day 2 (evening) Kanazawa (we stayed at Hotel Hakuchoro, very nice with big rooms!);
Day 3 Kanazawa;
Day 4 Kanazawa bus to Shirakawa early-ish. You only need maybe 3 hours at Shirakawa then on to Takayama. Spend the night at Takayama (we've stayed a few times at Tanabe Ryokan - very nice, and for a few nights at Hotel Associa which might only be open at ski times, also very nice but a bit out of town);
Day 5 (morning) markets at Takayama if that tickles your fancy (nothing special IMO) but a walk to the old castle ruins at Takayama Park will get you going before breakfast. Then take the wideview Hida to Nagoya and the shinkansen on to Kyoto. The wideview Hida is a really nice trip.

...one last thing...if you left Takayama early enough you might have time for a stop at Maibara and hop on to Hikone before Kyoto. Hikone is an awesome town and the castle there with its views over lake Biwa is my favorite - not as flash as Matsumoto castle but the views and gardens are much prettier. you'd probably want 2 - 3 hours for a Hikone stop.