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Takayama from Tokyo 2020/1/12 17:21
Hi, from Tokyo I will be going to Takayama and stay for 1 night before heading to Kyoto. From Tokyo there are 2 route options using JR Pass. Which is better and recommended? Tokyo- Toyama- Takayama route or Tokyo- Nagoya- Takayama route. Thanks in advance!
by buloi123  

Re: Takayama from Tokyo 2020/1/12 18:07
There are way more good connections via Nagoya (hourly) than via Toyama (just a handful per day). Travel duration is about the same unless you travel by Japan Rail Pass in which case you can't use the Nozomi and travel via Toyama can be about 20 minutes faster. If you travel with regular tickets, the Nagoya is about 1000 yen cheaper.

The scenery along the Toyama route is beautiful, but you spend extended time periods in tunnels. The scenery along the Nagoya route isn't bad either (you can see Mount Fuji if the weather is good) and there are somewhat less tunnels.
by Uji rate this post as useful

Re: Takayama from Tokyo 2020/1/12 18:19
When you go from Takayama to Kyoto you will do Takayama-Nagoya-Kyoto. So if you are after scenic and time it well (not too much wait in Toyama) I would go Tokyo-Toyama-Takayama.

I would question though if 1 night in Takayama is worth it. I know other people on this forum are great Takayama fans, I am not. I found the city overwhelmed by tourist when I visited in October 2017. (In comparison to other rural destinations, I didnft go to major towns such as Kyoto day ruby that trip).
I just think that there are other traditional towns closer to Kyoto that donft get so many tourists (yet)
Imaicho, Nagahama, even Kurashiki.
But somehow Takayama made it in the shortlist of gmust go placesh. Itfs not bad, but if you go to Kyoto you could visit within just about 1 h of train travel all these other places instead of using up two days for getting to Takayama and getting down from the alps again.

If youfd spend more time in the alps, eg visiting Hirayu onsen our Ainokura or even a few days in kanazawa , Takayama would make more sense to me.

Just my personal opinion.

Enjoy your trip to Japan!
by LikeBike (guest) rate this post as useful

Re: Takayama from Tokyo 2020/1/13 12:24
Thank you for help and the reply.
1st, I will be using 7-day JR pass.

Also, yes I from Takayama to Kyoto I will be using again JR pass, and that would be via Nagoya.
If via Toyama route is no issue (like delays, overcrowded, etc.) then I think I will be going through this route.

I'm concern with delays because I have already booked my Shirakawago half day tour from Takayama which will leave Takayama station at 1PM.

I am staying only 1 night in Takayama because I just want to see Shirakawago during this winter time (I will be there on Jan 29). I read that Shirakawago is nice specially during winter. After the halfday (afternoon) tour to Shirakawago, I think roaming around Takayama at night and early morning before heading to Kyoto should be enough. My travel is compressed because I only have 8 days in Japan. Thanks!
by buloi123 rate this post as useful

Re: Takayama from Tokyo 2020/1/13 13:10
Hi!

Technically if your goal was Shirakawa Go, you would have been better off going Tokyo to Kanazawa and then taking the bus to Shirakawa Go and then going back to Kanazawa for the night. From Kanazawa it is an easy limited express train to Kyoto.

If your tour is refundable, I would see if you could switch it.

If not and you want to go via Toyama You must take a no later train than the 7:20 Kagayaki from Tokyo Station. If you are closer to Ueno Station or Omiya Station you can catch this same shinkansen slightly further along, but you need to take that one and nothing later. You will then be taking local trains from Toyama to Takayama You'll have close to 1 hour waiting for the local to Inotani at Toyama and for the record, Toyama Station is boring. It's very clean and very new but boring. You will have a 3 minute transfer at Inotani for the train to Takayama but it should be easy since Inotani is a tiny station. You should get to Takayama by 12:29 giving you more than enough time for you 13:00 tour.

I have seen the Hokuriku shinkansen delayed. But I've not seen more than a 20 minute delay and since you have close to 1 hour in Toyama Station I imagine it would not be a problem

Good luck!
by rkold rate this post as useful

Re: Takayama from Tokyo 2020/1/13 17:12
I have checked my tour and hotel reservation in Takayama and unfortunately it cannot be canceled and non-refundable :(

Checking the NAVITIME apps, the 7:20 AM Kagayaki Shinkansen from Tokyo to Toyoma will arrive in Toyoma at 9:31 AM (estimated). There's a 9:52 AM trip from Toyoma to Takayama via Wide View Hida Train which arrive at Takayama station at 11:23 AM. The arrival at 11:23 AM would take away my worry but I'm not sure if the transit time (9:31 AM to 9:52 AM) in Toyoma is more than enough?

Anyone using NAVITIME app? Is the train information and timing accurate?

Thank you!
by buloi123 rate this post as useful

Re: Takayama from Tokyo 2020/1/14 07:39
Hi!

I don't know why that didn't come up when I did a search on Hyperdia but yes, you need like maybe 10 minutes to transfer in Toyama and that's assuming you are bad with directions and/or have a lot of luggage. You can definitely do the transfer in 20 minutes. And that is good, because it means even if your shinkansen gets delayed you can still get to Takayama by 12:30 taking locals. Getting from JR Takayama to Takayama Bus Station again should not take more than 5-10 minutes at the most.

I'm sorry that nothing is refundable, since you are going to be traveling a lot longer than you needed to. I do think the view from the Hida is very scenic, I actually think the Toyama to Takayama part is a bit nicer than Takayama to Nagoya, but the last few Hida I've been on only had nasty squat toilets on them and didn't sell snacks. So I would make sure to buy snacks the night before because 20 minutes might not be enough time to grab snacks in Toyama or You can buy something on the train from Tokyo to Toyama. The Hokuriku shinkansen has a few limited edition snacks that they rotate out.

Good luck!

by rkold rate this post as useful

Re: Takayama from Tokyo 2020/1/14 10:24
The transfer at Toyama is easily done in 10 minutes, so no need to worry.
The 1/2 day tour I use in Takayama is essentially the same price as Nohi Bus (and I've never had an issue cancelling when my guests change their plans/cancel on me.) As it's the same price, I prefer the ease and timing of the tour, and the bus is comfortable.
Takayama is popular with bus operators as they can stick 50 people and run day trips from places like Nagoya. However, there are still lots of places in the town (and tourist areas) that are not swamped by tourists.
(Just commenting on somewhere like Kurashiki - mentioned above - I been there with no-one else, and also on days that are swamped with thousands - depends on the day.)
by JapanCustomTours rate this post as useful

Re: Takayama from Tokyo 2020/1/14 12:19
Thank you so much everyone! It's really helpful and really appreciate your help and good knowledge and recommendation!
by buloi123 rate this post as useful

Re: Takayama from Tokyo 2020/1/15 20:20
If you have a JR Pass, it's very easy to access to Takayama from Tokyo. First, you will have to take the JR Tokaido Shinkansen to Nagoya. My advice is to use the Hikari rather than Nozomi trains, as the Nozomi is not covered by the Japan Rail Pass. Alternatively, you can take the Hokuriku Shinkansen from Tokyo to Toyama. From either Nagoya or Toyama, you should take the JR Hida Limited Express to Takayama. Source: https://www.jrailpass.com/blog/takayama-japanese-alps#Tokyo_to_Takayam...
by Betty (guest) rate this post as useful

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