Takayama-Shirakawa-go-Kanazawa

We are planning to spend 4 days , 3 nights going around Takayama/Shirakawa-go and Kanazawa. Please advise a suitable itinerary for us. Is it easy to move around from Takayama to Shirakawa-go farmhouse? any tours available?
Many thanks.

Hi,

You will have no problems traveling between the 3 areas in 3 days - Nohi bus runs a service from Takayama to Kanazawa via Shirakawa-go or vice-versa 3 times a day.

Here is a link to the timetable:

http://www.japan-guide.com/bus/shirakawago.html

Personally, I wouldn't think it's necessary to book a tour, as they tend to be overpriced, and I think you'll find it easy enough to get around.

With 4 days, you can tour Kanazawa, Shirakawa-go and Takayama in a leisurely pace. People make special trip to Shirakawa-go to spend a night in one of the unique gassho zukuri farmhouses. Without staying overnight, Shirakawa-go can still be explored in half a day en-route between Kanazawa and Takayama. Bus schedules:
http://www.nouhibus.co.jp/english/shirakawago_kanazawa....

Takayama can be managed on foot. On a tight schedule, it can be done in a day. Staying overnight is highly recommended. You can enjoy one of the 2 markets in the early morning and taking a stroll along the riverbank at dawn is quite memorable. Don't forget to try out Hida Beef which is less expensive than Kobe Beef, yet taste just as good.

Kanazawa's sights are spread out, use the town's loop bus to get around. It allows you to hop-on and off between sights. Go to Omicho Market for fresh seafood.

Not an answer but a further question on this topic - we are staying overnight in Takayama then planning to visit Shirakawa-go by bus, returning in the afternoon. As this will be on a Sunday in mid august, are reservations likely to be necessary for the bus?

We went during Oct. and bought our bus ticket the night before. On the day of departure, there were only about 10 people on board. If you're doing a daytrip from Takayama, buying a roundtrip ticket will save you a few hundred yen. In 2007, the roundtrip ticket was 4300 yen, one-way ticket was 2400 yen.

We found the kind people at Takayama tourism were happy to make the bus booking for us. However, we changed when we realised that on Tocoo.com we could rent a car for about the same as busfare for two. It was a great experience and driving was easy and great fun! Also we were underwhelmed by Shira-go but loved Gujo-hachiman so much!