Nikko or Takayama

Hi All,

I am a first time Japan visitor with wife and 8 year old kid and will travel in October for 2 weeks.

I wanted to go to either Nikko or Takayama (will struggle to do both) to see some nature and spend some time in Onsen and Ryokan.

Would you recommend NiKko Or Takayama - what are pros and cons?

Thx and best
Christian

For nature and onsen, my top recommendation is the Okuhida area of Takayama, but not central Takayama itself which has no traditional onsen and only little nature. Okuhida, on the other hand, has some of Japan's best outdoor hot springs and most atmospheric, rustic ryokan and is surrounded by the Japan Alps:
https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e5940.html

The Okunikko region of Nikko is also a very good choice for nature and a relatively good choice for onsen. For most tourists it is probably much easier accessible than Okuhida which could be a considerable factor.

Hi!

I would say it depends on where else you are going and how you feel about travel times. Takayama (and Okuhida) can take a while to get to. You've not mentioned the rest of your itinerary.

If you're going from Tokyo, you're easily looking at either a 168 minute train trip to Matsumoto and then a bus from Matsumoto to Takayama (or Hirayu where you can change for Okuhida, Hirayu is also quite pretty and has some nice onsen.) and is either 1.5 hours to Hirayu or 2.5 to Takayama. (Or you can take a direct bus from Tokyo to Takayama which takes about 5.5 hours and does seem to stop at Hirayu on the way.) It's 5.5 hours from Osaka and about an hour less by bus from Kyoto. The bus does not stop at Hirayu on the way. You can also take the train from either Tokyo to Kyoto/Osaka, but if you want to get to Hirayu/Okuhida you will need to bus it eventually. Once the Hida is back up, it's 140 minutes from Nagoya to Takayama. From Kyoto it's an additional 52-33 minutes depending on if you are using a rail pass or not or catch the Hikaris that go direct Kyoto to Nagoya. It is longer from Tokyo, 100-120 minutes, which if you want to go to Hirayu first, means the bus is probably faster and cheaper. The Hida between Toyama and Takayama will be down a lot longer, so if you really wanted to come from that direction, you're better off just taking a bus from Toyama.

Coming from Tokyo Nikko is a lot easier to reach and about 125 minutes by train. You can get there with a Tokyo Wide Pass and would not need to purchase to look at possibly using other more expensive train passes or bus fares or if you wanted to use the Tobu line, I think they have special packages as well.

Again, this largely depends on the rest of your itinerary and how much you think your 8 year old is going to enjoy long trips. I have a 7.5 year old. I know my daughter does not have a lot of patience for long train/bus trips so when I was in Japan I tried to keep it down to no more than 2 hours at a go. Occasionally we do long day trips, but it's always broken up by sightseeing before the return trip. Again, I don't know your plans but we enjoyed Matsumoto a lot so if you had the time, you could break up a trip to Takayama with that. We went to Kamikochi and stayed in a cabin. It didn't work out well for us because it poured the entire time we were there, but if you want to be in nature and are not bothered by things like that it is another option. The cabins when available are a veritable bargain and was only 12,000 yen a night.

Good luck!

Would you have ayn recommendations for nice Ryokan / onsen that are "reasonably priced" in either Nikko or Takayam?

I also need to mention I have quite a large tattoo (nothing offensive Maori style covering large parts of my shoulder). Having read about the tattoo policy I guess we would need a "liberal" onsen not to upset / irritate people.

Would also be great if the onsen allowed my daughter to go into bath with my wife - so allowing for children to accompany adults.

Thanks again!

Hi!

I personally do not have any tattoos but I have a dear friend who does and so saved some threads with more info regarding onsen/ryokan that allow tattoos, I believe this link in Japanese has more info on onsen that allow tattoos. The other way to get around it is to stay somewhere that has either private baths or has an onsen in your room. I have other friends who stayed someplace in either Yudanaka or Shibu onsen (in Nagano-ken near the famous snow monkeys) that had a private bath specifically so their tattoos would be a non-issue. If you like I can try to get you the name.

http://tattoo-spot.jp/

In Takayama, I've stayed at the Associa. They do not allow tattoos and even with their free shuttle to the station, I wouldn't stay there again without having my own car. I've not stayed overnight in Nikko or Hirayu, so can't recommend somewhere there and I've not been to Okuhida yet. I did stay last trip (June 2018) in Nakanoyu Onsen Ryokan for 1 night. I don't know if they allow tattoos in their public onsen, but they do have a private bath you can use for free as a guest. I paid about 23,000 yen for 1 night for 1 adult and 1 child (7.5.) It included a fabulous dinner and breakfast. I took advantage of their free shuttle service from Matsumoto to their ryokan as well as from their ryokan to Kamikochi. They might do a free shuttle back to Matsumoto, but I don't know. I think a lot of people staying there continue onwards to Takayama. In the highlands near Matsumoto, I saw a few other ryokan with private baths on offer which again would solve any issues with tattoos.

Nearly every ryokan/hotel with onsen/sento I've seen will not have an issue with your daughter using the onsen. I think a few at a certain age require a child to use the baths associated with their gender (so I think at 8 some places wouldn't let your daughter use a public onsen with you, though at others it could be as old as 10 or 12) but most places allow kids if they allow child guests. I think the only exception I've ever seen was one ryokan in Takayama that allowed child guests but you had to be 10 to use the onsen. It is the exception though.

But yeah, which makes sense, Nikko or Takayama really depends on your itinerary and how much you want to spend on transportation.

I hope this helps!

Both are good.
Nikko also comes with EdoMura Wonderland that your 8-yo might enjoy, but there are attractions in Takayama that would probably interest them as well.
Nikko is closer to Tokyo, and Takayama can fit nicely into a two week schedule.
There are some ryokan/onsen that do not mind tattoos, but it still seems the majority are still scared of them (silly really given the Japanese tradition of tattoos that most Japanese want to ignore/bury/forget). Having kids in the onsen with you is quite normal.

Places to stay in Takayama - I agree with the comment about the Associa - I stayed there ages ago, but it was not for me being well out of town. Lower priced, maybe you can get a nice deal on Asunaro - I've used that a few times. The location is fine and the town is small so you can get around easily. The Spa Aplina is cheap but a more modern style business hotel so functional - the onsen is on the top floor. Hida Plaza is ok (depending on the room you choose) I have also been booking the Takayama Green recently. A couple of other places I've stayed in town - a bit of a mix.

For Nikko, I normally stay at the Station Hotel, but I have just booked some rooms at Kinugawa Onsen Hotel (outside of Nikko). I did stay at "Annex Turtle Hotori-An Ryokan" a couple of years ago. Location is a bit odd, and it was a little basic, but nice enough. I seem to remember we had the onsen to ourselves so a tattoo would not have been a problem.