zebec, when I do that, I always say that it may not look great - but it will taste great!

Mrwunrfl, I did not find a way to buy the Kamikochi > Takayama ticket online. I think I could have purchased the Hirayu Onsen > Takayama portion online, but the Kamikochi > Hirayu Onsen portion is just a shuttle that can only be purchased there (the shuttles run every half hour). I was concerned about not getting what I wanted and tried to buy the tickets as soon as we arrived in Kamikochi, but the agent said, "no, no, buy tomorrow." Turns out, we walked up to the ticket office at 10:55, got on the 11 am bus, got off at Hirayu Onsen at 11:25, walked over to the line for the Takayama bus, and boarded that just before 11:30. Neither bus was very crowded - but this is maybe not peak season. The shuttle driver almost left with our luggage still underneath.

There were some announcements on the bus going to Kamikochi about the return to Matsumoto. In particular, there was something about it being mandatory to purchase the tickets to Shin-Shimashima before traveling, but I wasn't paying much attention since we weren't going that way.

progol - I think you're going to Hiroshima, right? I have an okonomoyaki recommendation for you there. There's a whole building of small okonomoyaki restaurants.

I do have one short video from the train ride that isn't too bad. When I get home, I'll try to remember to post it somewhere and provide a link.

<<progol - I think you're going to Hiroshima, right? I have an okonomoyaki recommendation for you there. There's a whole building of small okonomoyaki restaurants.>>

I canceled that portion of the trip and decided to keep it more lowkeyed. After Kanazawa, we’re going to Yamanaka onsen, part of the Kaga onsen towns, before going on to Kyoto. I’ve heard that the onomiki is a specialty of Hiroshima, but I’ll just have to settle for elsewhere.

I will probably pick your brains for more details as we get closer to the trip. It’s been so much fun following you!

Greetings from Haneda Airport. We took the Shinkansen from Kanazawa to Tokyo Station, then the Yamanote line to Hamamatsucho and the monorail to the airport. Our train left Kanazawa at 9:49 am, and we walked into the ANA Lounge at Haneda just before 1:30 pm. Pretty efficient!

We had about a day and a half in Kanazawa, with near-perfect weather. I've been here before, but it's been 17 years, and the only thing I remembered from that trip was Kenrokuen Garden - one of Japan's premier gardens - which of course we visited this time.
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Kenrokuen Garden
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Kenrokuen Garden
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Kenrokuen Garden - I love Japanese maples and wish I could get one to grow in our yard

We also spent some time in the adjacent Kanazawa Castle area and gardens.
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And at the Oyama Jinga Shrine:
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The Utatsuyama temple area has more than 50 temples and shrines mixed in with residential streets. We only visited a few, after our terrific temple/shrine walk in Takayama a couple of days earlier.
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Renjoji Temple
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Renjoji Temple
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Finally, we walked through several of the historic Chaya districts.
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Kazuemachi Chaya District

When it came time to eat, the options were overwhelming just within a few blocks of Kanazawa station, with small restaurants in the station and several newer developments just outside it. English menus are hit or miss, and it isn't uncommon to order from an iPad or table. The Google Translate camera feature is our friend! That's how I found this wonderful tuna donburi.
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I think that's a wrap, but I'll review my notes and photos on the way home to see if I've missed anything.

Thank you so much, ms_go. I very much enjoyed following along with you and taking some of your advice as we plan our own autumn trip as well. Travel home safely.

Wonderful TR, thanks!

It only took a month, but we've finally been through all of our photos and posted some albums online - sharing here in case it is of interest to anyone traveling to these areas.

https://onelittleworld.zenfolio.com/japan2023

mrwunrfl, the first post in the Kanazawa gallery is a video from the train ride from Takayama to Kanazawa. It isn't great, but it's one that I managed to capture without us going into a tunnel or behind trees the whole time. There were prettier parts, but overall, I'd say it's pretty typical of the ride.

Oh, ms_go, thank you! I can’t wait to spend time with your photos and get a sense of the places we will be! What I see looks wonderful!

Those are wonderful photos, ms_go. Thanks for the video!

Wow, I really love the photos. Our family is planning to travel to Japan this October. I'm still looking for information to make a fun itinerary. Do you have any input ideas on what places are good to visit in October in Japan? Thank you!

As our trip is fast approaching, I'm studying your TR for the wonderful ideas and practical advice.

So another boring practical transportation question --
If we don't stop in Shirakawa-go between Takayama and Kanazawa, is it better to take the train, as you did, with the transfer in Toyama, or take the bus?

I'm looking forward to following your trip! I'm not really sure I have an answer to your question. I know we considered the bus but decided not to do that. I don't recall how long the bus ride is, and I don't know about that bus specifically, but we did take several other bus rides of 1-2 hours and found the space/leg room to be pretty tight. The train was definitely more comfortable.

That's what I figured. We'll be taking enough buses on this trip so I think when we can take a train, we will, even if there is a change. It doesn't look like there's a significant difference in time, though.

yeah, you got that right

LOL! I'm getting it, mrwunrfl!!

I don't recall the transfer at Toyama being difficult. We didn't have a lot of time, but we got off of one train and followed the signs for "Shinkansen." We had our luggage with us (airline carryon-sized rolling bags). We ended up not forwarding luggage at all on our trip.

ms_go, we’ll also be taking carry-on so we may not feel compelled to forward our luggage.

The only time we might find it helpful to forward our luggage is when we stay in the Okuhida onsen and again when we go to Kaga onsen. We’ll see. Otherwise, not a big deal since we don’t carry a lot, either.

As long as you don't have trouble carrying it up/down a long flight stairs, then no problem. That would be at a station where you would have to use a bridge over the tracks to get between platforms. Fewer coin lockers for rollaboard sizes vs small backpacks.

Good point about the stairs. I’ll definitely do a bit more research into potential challenges, but we do travel pretty lightly.

progol, we pack lightly too But using the luggage transfer service several times was very helpful for us. Few passengers on the trains we took had luggage with them.

Thank you. Another good point! For instance, it might be a good idea sending luggage from Tokyo to Matsumoto so we don’t have to worry about dragging luggage through the train stations. We just have to make sure we organize ourselves so we have what we need for the day we send luggage.