Toll charges avoidable?

Hi, I will be travelling to Japan mid-April and plan to drive in this sequence: Osaka - Takayama -Shirakawago -Toyama - Kanazawa - Kyoto.

I realized that the toll charges came up to quite a bit through searching this site: http://www.kousokubiyori.jp

(1) Can anyone advise if there are non-chargeable roads for this route? Especially between Osaka to Takayama and from Kanazawa to Kyoto as the toll charges are esp. high?

(2) I am travelling from Osaka to Takayama on 14th Apr, the Takayama Spring Festival Day. Would there be expected very heavy traffic on the route due to this festival?

Thank you so much.

You can always avoid toll roads, but it is likely to take considerably more time. Probably twice as long on the Osaka-Takayama and Kanazawa-Kyoto routes.

I am travelling from Osaka to Takayama on 14th Apr, the Takayama Spring Festival Day. Would there be expected very heavy traffic on the route due to this festival?

No. Only in the city center of Takayama can you encounter some congestion at certain times, e.g. after the evening festival or when searching a parking spot.

There are ALWAYS ways to avoid toll roads....get yourself a good map, or good map-book like shobunsha's road atlas on this page:
http://www.omnimap.com/catalog/int/japan2.htm
but as has been pointed out, driving OFF the toll roads takes forever, seriously, it is deadly. Years of your life you will never get back. Only way out in the country is it worth it for the scenery or the chance to get off the beaten path, and incidentally if you're off the beaten path there's less traffic, but I beg you. Please. Take the toll roads.