Kawazana to Takayama

From Kyoto we were planning on going via train to Kanazawa then bus to Shirakawa and onto Takeyama. But I�fm wondering if we should go in reverse. After this 3 day segment we head to Tokyo. Wondering what is best for saving travel time?

I would go in reverse, Kyoto , trains -> Takayama , bus-> Shirakawago, bus -> Kanazawa, shinkansen -> Tokyo

Thank you but why?

The train trip via Nagoya is really pretty, but would take longer I think and is probably more expensive. The train trip from Kyoto to Kanazawa is nothing to write home about.

Reason 2:
Overall it should be faster, because you have Shinkansen from Kyoto to Nagoya and from Kanazawa to Tokyo. In the other loop you only have Shinkansen from Nagoya to Tokyo.

Enjoy your trip to Japan!

Takayama to Tokyo via any of the three main options takes a long time. Much faster is Kyoto->Takayama->Kanazawa->Tokyo for overall travel time.

And the route Kyoto to Kanazawa is ok for scenery. The Takayama to Tokyo (either via Toyama or Nagoya) are also ok, but the second legs on the shinkansen are not so attractive (via Nagano is the better of the two IMO.) The third option is bus to Matsumoto and then train into Shinjuku, again, half of that is more scenic than the other, but it depends on preferences.