Gardens to visit late May to mid-June 23

A group of 4 elderly ladies plan to visit central Honshu between late may to mid-June 23.
We have been to Japan several times and this trip aims to visit public gardens in and around
Nagoya-Matsumoto-Takayama-Kanazawa-Toyama-Nagano-Tokyo.
We are not quite keen to drive but wonder if traveling by train would be too arduous especially when we plan to stay in ryokans along the way as many as possible.

Your advice would be highly appreciated.

Nothing much in Matsumoto that I am aware of, but if you bus from there to Kamikochi you will get some cool weather and nice forests, then bus from there to Takayama. Takayama park has some very nice parts especially at autumn (end Oct/early Nov) though you will have some climbing to do, but there is also the Squirrel forest (Riso-no-mori) that is worth a look.

I would still stop at Shirakawa-go on the way to Kanazawa, and of course at Kanazawa you have kenrokuen (sp?), if you havent decided on accom there Hakuchoro is very nice with big rooms.

Adding on to Lazy Piousfs comment mentioning Hakuchoro (current name Kanazawa Hakuchoro Hotel Sanraku, if Ifm not mistaken), if you time it right and it doesnft rain, there are fireflies in the lane that goes from the ryokan to Kenrokuen. I stayed there once when they were out, and they were magical. Also, if you (or some of you) are among the segment of elderly ladies who tend to wake up very early in the morning, note that Kenrokuen opens very early (at that time of year, I think it is at 5), and they have a period of free admission, which ends a little before their normal admission (you are supposed to exit before that time). I highly recommend going there if you are up and about, not because it is free but because it is tourist-free. I once went there when they opened and did not see another person for nearly 30 minutes, and then only a worker. Sublimec From Hakuchoro, Kenrokuen is an easy stroll down the lane. But there are other hotels that are an easy walk; I liked the KKR Hotel that is across the street from the castle grounds. (Note that the castle grounds are also open early for strolling, and there is a very nice garden there, too, called Gyokusen-Inmaru Park. If you are in Kanazawa for Kenrokuen, you should definitely not miss this other garden.)

I am not particularly plugging the Hotel Hakuchoro (I liked some things about it more than others, but basically had a very nice stay there and would probably stay there again if I got a good price), but I was just looking at their web site and see that they now offer guests a free shuttle bus from Kanazawa Station. (I did not look at all the details.) This could really come in handy.

Depending on your schedule, in early June Kanazawa has the Hyakumangoku Matsuri. I went to the parade once, and it wasnft quite what I expected, but it was a real kick and I loved it. They did have some entries in historical costumes, but it was mainly a hometown parade with lots of kids in it (think baton-twirling units, marching bands, and other such groups). The kids were adorable, and it was a fine day, so I didnft mind standing there for the better part of two hours. You may or may not want to try to go to Kanazawa for the Matsuri (there are other events as well), but just be aware that it is going on (first weekend in June, as I recall). It might be harder or a little more expensive to book hotels that weekend, although I found the city to be surprisingly uncrowded except for along the parade route, the weekend I went.

I have been to Japan many times in the period when you were going, and to all of the places on your list, and Ifm afraid I donft see any of them (except Kanazawa) as being places where any of my favorite gardens are located. Years ago I went to Tokugawa-en in Nagoya and liked it, but it isnft on my Top Ten list. (I have never been to Ashikaga or Hitachi parks near Tokyo, and they do look very appealing, although not particularly easy to get to. I have been to Kairakuen in Mito, and it is fairly easy to get to by train, but at that time of year I found it to be merely nice and not fantastic, to be honest). I donft want to discourage you, but I think you might need to do a fair amount of research to find fine public gardens in those places. It partly depends on your definition of gpublic,h I guess. Remember that some temples have exquisite gardens, and many shrines have very beautiful grounds.

As for driving versus public transit, one problem is that most gpublic gardensh tend to be in cities, and driving is especially challenging in these locations. Also, I donft know how gelderlyh you are (young people tend to set the limit at 60 or even 50! Ha!), but there is currently a lot of sentiment in Japan against older people driving, after a number of high-profile serious accidents involving elderly drivers. It is possible that car rental agencies have strict age limits (I donft know; you would have to check), and also that you might get some unfriendly vibes from natives (some of whom resent foreign tourists to begin with, but donft let that bother you). All of that aside, I would say that just the driving itself will present a lot of challenges. I have found my way to many wonderful gardens in Japan without ever driving, but it does require a lot of research.

Wherever you go in Japan, you will find nice gardens, though, and late May through mid-June is a good time. Especially at the end of that time frame, hydrangeas and Japanese iris will be starting to get pretty good. Many foreign tourists seem to be cowed by the famous Japanese grainy seasonh (tsuyu) that officially begins in June (and sometimes pretty early in the month, but at any rate it certainly doesnft rain all day, every day), but keep in mind that if you are a lover of Japanese gardens, rain is your friend. I have had positively transcendent visits to some Japanese gardens during or immediately after a rain, and in general rain keeps the mosses glowing. Bring suitable footwear and suitable outerwear (keeping in mind that it could be muggy and warm even during a shower), and donft hesitate to go out to gardens unless it is really pouring!

I just checked Kenrokuenfs hours, as it started bothering me that I remember seeing the sun come up there, which is inconsistent with a 5 a.m. opening. (It gets light out VERY early in Japan in early June!). Sure enough, their gearly admission periodh starts at 4 at that time of year! Anyway, I had an unforgettable visit there, strolling the place as if it were my own private enclave. (Of course, not many people are up for getting there that early, and you really need to be staying at one of the hotels very close to the garden.)

I also forget to mention the obvious, which is that you should pick your umbrellas carefully. Donft settle for the smallest possible thing just because you are trying to pack light. But also, many hotels and ryokans have a stock of loaner umbrellas for guests that will likely be far superior to anything you would bring yourselves. Donft hesitate to ask. And some gardens even have loaners (I once got one at Ritsurin Koen in Takamatsu.)

I've been to dozens of gardens in Japan, and there is not that much in all those places that you mention, except for Tokyo. In fact you could be kept very busy if you only stayed there - there are over a dozen places in the area, and the timing is not bad either - May has the roses, and from late May there are the water lilies, irises, and then hydrangea season starts. If you have not seen them yet, in Tokyo some of the best are Kosihikawa Korakuen, Rikugien, Kiyosumi, Shinjuku Gyoen, Hamarikyu, Kyu-Shiba Rikyu, Happo-en, Tonogayato, and for a garden plus the roses, there's Kyu-Furukawa Gardens. There is also Showa Kinen Park and the Jindai Botanical Garden. Lots of others as well. For irises in June, there is the Horikiri garden as well as the shrine garden at Meiji Shrine. Plus around mid-May, the Keisei Rose Garden, in Chiba.
https://goo.gl/tAECfM
For the other areas, Kenrokuen by far stands out. The castle garden next to it is not bad either. Not too much else though; in Nagoya the Tokugawa Art Museum has a small but nice garden, and in Inuyama there is Urakuen, but to be honest I found the place small and quite underwhelming (not to mention way overpriced). One of the better places near Nagoya is Nabana no Sato, and there is also the Flower Park Konan. There's also a nice rose garden early to mid-June in Nagaoka, Niigata, but that may or may not be out of reach for you.
There are numerous temples with gardens as well, which range from meh to really nice. That is probably not what you are thinking about though.
As for driving, if going to more rural, isolated areas, it can make sense, assuming somebody is up for driving, has the IDP, and can reasonably get around when sometimes there are only signs in Japanese. It would seem to me though to make more sense to just take trains or buses, and locally rent a car when/if needed.

Dunno if you were just mentioning the cities/towns you are visiting in order or not. If in order, Matsumoto is out of order.

Nagoya, Takayama, Kanazawa, Toyama, Nagano, Tokyo would be better and have less travel times.

Cannot comment on gardens. I know Toyana has a fairly decent sized one.

I have visited many Japanese gardens, but you are visiting a lot of places without gardens. Someone already listed Tokyo gardens, so I'll skip that.

Nagoya has Shirotori Garden and the Tokugawa Museum Garden.

Of course Kanazawa has Kenrokuen Garden, but it has other gardens, such as Gyokusenen Garden near Kenrokuen and the samurai district has the Nomura House.

I am not aware of any great gardens in Takayama, Toyama, Nagano, or Matsumoto.

My million thanks to all of you who took time to write about my quest.
We are all 74 yrs old - friends from high school through uni. We all have been traveling together alll over the world but Japan is our favourite as she is close by - in term of flying time.
We aim for gardens as it is the early summer but not necessarily hell bent to go off the beaten track to visit gardens. My Japanese friend has kindly listed several gardens in and around Tokyo to while away our time for a few days before flying home back to Bangkok.

Will list all gardens above and from there we will play it by ear.

Our ultimate aims for this trip (without any of our grumpy old husbands in tow) is to have a good time, visiting remote onsens, stay in quaint ryokans, enjoy Japanese keiseki and take time enjoying what life has offered so far.
We may not be able to come this way again - who knows?

Will let you know how it goes.

Thanks again all