Japan Alps

We are planning our first trip to Japan Oct 3-21st. We will be starting and leaving from Tokyo. After 3 nights in Toyko, we would like to head to the Japanese Alps. We are fairly experienced travellers but I have to admit the logistics are overwhelming me. We have up to 5 nights allocated.

We would like to see and do:

Magome-Tsumago walk

Takayama

Hida Furukawa ( cycling trip)

Shirakawa - go

Matsumoto castle

We are also hearing that hiking Kamikochi is gorgeous - especially in Oct.

We were thinking also about a couple of nights in Kanazawa ( for the gardens and geisha districts mostly) but given we already want to do too much and will be going to Kyoto after the alps that we might skip this.

So far I was thinking leave Tokyo, visit Matsumoto en route to Magome. Overnight in Magome (1 night) and then start the hike early and then carry on to Takayama (1 night). Spend the next couple of days in Takayama as a base with day trips to Shirakawa go and Hida Furukawa . This is 4 nights so far. We will be going to Kyoto from here.

I am trying to keep moving around to a minimum.

The questions (but of course wanting general feedback and experiences)

What is the best way/ place to fit Kamikochi in? What is the best base?

Is it feasible to use Takayama as a base for all of these?

Are there other bases we should consider?

I have heard that it is good to rent a car from Takayama to explore the region easier on day trips?

After our 4 nights as outlined might it make sense to go to Kanazawa for a quick look (overnight) and then head to Kyoto in the evening after a full day of exploring.

This is a lot of questions. We like atmospheric towns in the evening, hiking, culture, photography and generally have explored around on our own renting a car. We would like a contrast to the many city scapes we will likely experience.

Thank you in advance!

Hi!

I'm going to do my best to answer your questions.

I've been to Kamikochi. I was not there during ideal conditions but it was still quite pretty. If you can fit it in and you like hiking it would certainly make sense.

I think in your situation I would do: Tokyo to Magoma-Tsumago, Magome-Tsumago to Matsumoto, Stop off at Kamikochi between Matsumoto to Takayama, at Takayama visit Hida Furukawa and Shirakawa Go and on the day you visit Shirakawa Go, just continue to Kanazawa where you can catch a train to Kyoto. It might be good to rent a car for Hida Furukawa unless you are on a specific bike tour that is picking you up in Takayama just because trains are only so frequent. You can not enter Kamikochi with a car and drop-off fees if you rent a car in Matsumoto (Nagano-ken) and return it in Kanazawa (Ishikawa-ken) or Takayama (Gifu-ken) will be quite high .

I personally think Shirawaka Go feels like a tourist trap and I was more impressed with Hida no Sato folk village, but I know other people disagree with me. If you decide to skip Shirakawa Go you can just bus it directly to Kanazawa.

You might want to look into the 3 Star Bus route Ticket:
http://www.alpico.co.jp/access/ticket/pdf/panf701[1].pdf At Hirayu Onsen you can catch the shuttle to Kamikochi, it will cost additional . It's 5500 yen and would cover all bus travel between Matsumoto and Kanazawa. It's a pretty decent deal.

While Takayama offers a tour now to Tsumago and Magome, you're talking 4+ hours one way. I personally would not want to do an 8 hour round trip day trip, but this is your trip not mine. You could make Matsumoto a base while visiting Tsumago and Magome and Matsumoto. Takayama could be a base for the next part of your trip. I don't think there is any way to easily make somewhere a base for all 4 nights. The travel is just too much.

I hope this helps!

This is beyond helpful. Wow thank you. Will look at your suggestions. Thanks again for taking the time