Nagano Area drive in January

Hi guys,

The trip will be in the second week of January 2023, after 2 days in Kanazawa to visit the city wefre going to rent a car and do a trip around the central part of Japan.

Day 1 – Car rental at Komatsu Airport – On route to Kusatsu Onsen thru Kanazawa, Toyama along the North coast. Night at Kusatsu onsen.
Day 2 – Morning a Kusatsu onsen. Afternoon trip to Mastumoto. Stay near the castle.
Day 3 – Visit the castle in the morning. Visit Narai-Juku, Tsumato- Juku and Magome- Juku. Sleep near Magome-Juku
Day 4 – Travel to Takayama, Visit the city maybe Hida no Sato. Sleep at Hirayu Onsen
Day 5 – Visit Shiragawa-Go in the morning. Drive to Komatsu airport to leave the car and get the plane to Tokyo. Flight around 6pm.

I think that day one is a long driving day but feasible.

On day 3, might be better to skip one of the villages, which one is advisable to visit? Is it possible to walk parts of the Nakasendo trail in the winter?

Any recommendation of good hotels/ryokan with bath in those areas?

We have a day that we can add to this trip. We are open to changes and recommendations.

Thanks in advance for the inputs.

Day 1 – Car rental at Komatsu Airport – On route to Kusatsu Onsen thru Kanazawa, -Toyama along the North coast. Night at Kusatsu onsen.

The enjoyable part in an onsen city is the late afternoon , early evening. Most ryokan will have a glasth checkin time of maybe 17:00 or earlier. So you can arrive and have dinner. Dinner is an early affair at ryokans and there normally isnft a lot of flexibility.

Also consider that mid January you will very likely encounter snow for most of your trip. So drive carefully and plan sufficient time.

Day 2 – Morning a Kusatsu onsen. Afternoon trip to Mastumoto. Stay near the castle.
Day 3 – Visit the castle in the morning. Visit Narai-Juku, Tsumato- Juku and Magome- Juku. Sleep near Magome-Juku
If you have to choose I would go to Magome.

Day 4 – Travel to Takayama, Visit the city maybe Hida no Sato. Sleep at Hirayu Onsen
I went some years ago and stayed 2 night in Hirayu no Mori. It is right in the village and also a day spa and not your small traditional ryokan, but for a rotenburo freak like me ideal, plus I was there by bus in the middle of a typhoon. I think you can find some more remote ryokans with baths outside in the nature but less different tubs.
http://bicycletraveljapan.blogspot.com/2017/10/day-30-takayama-sightse...


Day 5 – Visit Shiragawa-Go in the morning. Drive to Komatsu airport to leave the car and get the plane to Tokyo. Flight around 6pm.[Qe]
As you have a car I would NOT visit Shirakawago but Ainokura. Shirakawago is full of tourists (I heard) while Ainokura still gets tourists but much, much less.

Day 1 – Car rental at Komatsu Airport – On route to Kusatsu Onsen thru Kanazawa, -Toyama along the North coast. Night at Kusatsu onsen.

The enjoyable part in an onsen city is the late afternoon , early evening. Most ryokan will have a glasth checkin time of maybe 17:00 or earlier. So you can arrive and have dinner. Dinner is an early affair at ryokans and there normally isnft a lot of flexibility.

Also consider that mid January you will very likely encounter snow for most of your trip. So drive carefully and plan sufficient time.

Day 2 – Morning a Kusatsu onsen. Afternoon trip to Mastumoto. Stay near the castle.
Day 3 – Visit the castle in the morning. Visit Narai-Juku, Tsumato- Juku and Magome- Juku. Sleep near Magome-Juku
If you have to choose I would go to Magome.

Day 4 – Travel to Takayama, Visit the city maybe Hida no Sato. Sleep at Hirayu Onsen
I went some years ago and stayed 2 night in Hirayu no Mori. It is right in the village and also a day spa and not your small traditional ryokan, but for a rotenburo freak like me ideal, plus I was there by bus in the middle of a typhoon. I think you can find some more remote ryokans with baths outside in the nature but less different tubs.
http://bicycletraveljapan.blogspot.com/2017/10/day-30-takayama-sightse...


Day 5 – Visit Shiragawa-Go in the morning. Drive to Komatsu airport to leave the car and get the plane to Tokyo. Flight around 6pm.[Qe]
As you have a car I would NOT visit Shirakawago but Ainokura. Shirakawago is full of tourists (I heard) while Ainokura still gets tourists but much, much less.

I didn't go to Hirayu no Mori as an overnight guest like @LikeBike, but I did as a day guest and the onsen are really pretty fantastic. I was there in February and there was a lot of snow, like a lot.

I think if you want to do a lot of your drive you will need to be very comfortable driving in snow or at the very least surrounded by snow even when it is just piled by the side of the road.

@LikeBike,
Thank you for the suggestion, will check Ainokura.

@rkold
I do have experience driving in the snow, not daily but every year do a couple of vacations that require driving with snow.