Takayama to Nagano

What�fs the best way to travel from Takayama to Nagano by public transport and how long does it take?

Check the pages about those places on this website. All locations have a "Getting to and Around" section, and you can choose the location you depart from.

Depending on the time of year the prettiest route IMO is Takayama bus to Kamikochi, Kamikochi bus/train to Matsumoto, Matsumoto train to Nagano. I think the bus can go direct to Matsumoto as well if you dont want to see Kamikochi.

Another route would be Takayama wideview hida train to Toyama, Toyama Shinkansen to Nagano.

Hi!

I can't imagine any time of year when the trip between Takayama and Nagano isn't more attractive via bus from Takayama to Matsumoto and then train from Matsumoto to Nagano.

If you time things absolutely perfectly, it might be faster to take the Hida to Toyama and then the shinkansen to Nagano, with the emphasis on timing things perfectly. There are only 4 Hidas between Takayama and Toyama. If you miss one of those Hidas, it's a very long wait. I also don't remember how well the trains are timed in Toyama or if you are always stuck with a layover. Toyama is a very clean and modern station, but has very little of interest there. Unless I was just missing a lot, it doesn't have any sort of shopping area attached to the station like some larger shinkansen stations. I took the train from Takayama to Toyama to Nagano in June 2017.

I didn't do the full route but in June 2018, I went from Matsumoto to Kamikochi and Kamikochi back to Matsumoto to Nagano. I've taken the bus from Takayama to Hirayu in February 2010 so between those two trips, I've done most of the Takayama to Matsumoto bus route and the Matsumoto to Nagano train route. I would personally rather have a layover in Matsumoto Station than in Toyama.

Good luck!

Four hours Takayama to Matsumoto and onward train to Nagano. The bus is 2 1/2 hours, the train another hour or so. Connection times vary so allowing 30 minutes as a rough guess.
Going via Toyama is also pretty easy and 3 hours 41 minutes as I normally get the 11:01 Wide View and the waiting time at Toyama is a good opportunity to get lunch (49 minutes between trains) and then arriving Nagano 14:22.