Kanazawa-Takayama-Matsumoto-Narai.....

In Oct. we would like to travel from Kyoto up to Kanazawa ( 2 nights)and then make our way back via Takayama (2 nights)and Matsumoto(2 nights) to Narai and then stay 2 nights at Magome,walking the Edo Rd. before returning to Kyoto somehow. We thought perhaps to rent a car in Kanazawa and drive down as far as Matsumoto (though the fee for returning the car at Matsumoto seems as much as the rental. Is there a solution to this?) Any advice on this route would be very welcome. It seems a train/bus pass doesn't work too well,so any help with this is welcome too.
Thank you.

En-route from Kanazawa to Takayama is beautiful Shirakawa-go. From Takayama to Matsumoto, you shouldn't miss out Kamikochi.

If you don't want to pay for high drop-off fee for a rental car, you can use bus: Kanazawa - Shirakawa-go - Takayama - Kamikochi - Matsumoto. The last leg of the journey from Kamikochi to Matsumoto involves a transfer to a train. I don't think there is a travel pass for this route since different bus companies are involved, you have to buy separated tickets.

Your route as you originally posted it is very easy to do by train.

It is about 2 hours from Kyoto to Kanazawa. You can go from Kanazawa to Takayama is 2-1/2 hours. From Takayama to Matsumoto is about 5 hours. I would probably do the Kiso Valley first, to break up that long leg into segments. Then, you can get an express train back from Matsumoto to Kyoto that takes under 3 hours.

There is no need at all to rent a car.

Easy by train perhaps , but why go 5 hrs. Takayama-Matsumoto when a bus will do it in less than half that?

...by the way, there appears to be a drinking festival in Shirakawa-go and environs on Oct.14-15.Might be prudent to factor this in to travel plans for the area.....

Takayama has an Autumn Festival on Oct 9-10

Because if you take the train instead of the bus, then all your stops in the Kiso Valley--Narai, Tsumago, Magoma, are along the way amd you can stop at them as part of the journey and then you can take an express back to Kyoto--it works out to be quicker in the end. When you are taking the bus, it runs paralell to the route you would take in the other direction with the stops in the Nakasendo towns. Taking slightly under 3 hours to travel Matsumoto to Kyoto is an even a faster rate of travel than taking the bus Takayama to Matsumoto.

But why ask for help when you don't want it anyway??

I'm not sure the original poster was rejecting the bus/train out of hand, or rejecting any suggestions, just asking questions.

Even if you take the train to Magome and Tsumago you end up switching to a bus.

But anyway, I think it's true that you don't NEED a car, anywhere in Japan. I think the choice to use a car depends on your schedule, comfort level, budget, and style of travel.
I live in Japan so am not eligible for a JR pass. I know I can still take trains and buses but I drive, mostly. I enjoy the freedom to stop along the way, change my route, change my schedule, and throw trash in the back of the car. No, there's no need whatsoever. I just like it. I have never researched all the access to Shirakawago and Kanazawa and the Kiso valley and all that by public transportation but it seems just from reading this forum that there are limiting factors such as the bus schedules. It's not like Shinagawa station where you just roll up and chances are the train you want is leaving in ten minutes and if you don't get that one you only have to wait a few more for another.
I have found free parking in Shirakawago, free parking at the various places in which I stayed, and very reasonably priced and well-marked parking lots in Takayama and Matsumoto.
The last time I was driving around that area, I took a lesser road to get to my destination and took some time swimming in a little river. I stopped along route 19 (Kiso Valley) to look at the famous rock formation - nezame no toko - and found it boring as hell, so I could just turn around and leave without waiting. Further up the road I found a cool waterfall with a little shrine beside it so I took a break to look around. Yeah, I had to drive and pay tolls and all that...but it is just a different experience. It's possible to actually choose to drive, for a variety of reasons.

..thanks Spendy, maybe the lady was just having a bad day.
There's a difference between sitting passively in a train and pulling your car over to admire at will and as you say , transport is not always easy to arrange in that area.
We've booked a car to cruise the Mt.Aso area of Kyushu first, so will have a better idea about driving then. Drove motorbikes all over Asia India and Nepal before, so this should be manageable.

Hey...stumbled upon the Gujo-Hachiman site gujohachiman.com/kanko/index_e.htm just brilliant!
More people should know about this.

We've been trying to book a ryokan in Gujo hachiman without luck. When you ring none of them speak English - including the Tourist Office. Is there any other way to book there?

....apparently the tourist office there is helpful and usually finds you something for that night if you just turn up.