Thanks for posting your complete itinerary....looks great - you definitely will see a lot...

I agree 100% with mrwunrfl about the train ride from Matsumoto to Takayama. I used part of that route when I went from Tsumago to Gujo Hachiman - changed at Tajimi and Minoota - I love those smaller local type trains!

Enjoy!

mrwunrful and mara-Thanks so much for your recommendation concerning taking the smaller trains. I thought the 8:35 through Nagoya would simplify things, but I would like to see Tajimi and Minoota. (Both areas look very scenic.) I have 2 concerns about doing this:

1-Are the seats on the smaller trains less comfortable than on the wide view?

2-Do you think that changing twice at the two smaller stations would require carrying luggage up and down stairs at the stations.

I just went back onto hyperdia and I see that the first train via Tajimi and Minoota is not until the afternoon and does not arrive into Takayama until 6. Since I want to have a few hours of daylight when we arrive, that won't work. So I guess we I'll stick with the 8:35 through Nagoya which arrives at around one o'clock. But i would still like to know the answers to my questions above so I know for my 'next trip'.

http://www.hyperdia.com/cgi/en/searc...d&sum_target=7

Don't know if this long link works...but the same LE Shinano 4 leaving at 8:35 can get you to the route mrwunrfl and I suggested....sometimes you have to fool with hyperdia - you can also put Tajimi in the box that says Pass1 to sort of force it...lol....

Sorry don't remember if there were elevators or not - and I was there in 2010...

http://railway.jr-central.co.jp/stat...rier-free.html

http://railway.jr-central.co.jp/stat...rier-free.html

Couldn't find an English page but the Japanese pages for the Tajimi and Minoota stations have barrier-free info.....

エレベーター　= elevator in Japanese (katakana)

Mara your hyperdia link is the schedule I was referring.

1. Yes. But it is only a 27 minute ride. Here is a link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k2kaFXbT8XE
that shows Tajimi station. The first train you see arriving is a JR local. Bench seats. Later you can see limited express trains with white cloth on the headrest.

2. Tajimi station looks larger than I expected. Looks like that could be an escalator on the opposite side when that first train pulls in. Could be stairs. Anyway, travel lightly. You could use takkyubin to send from Matsumoto to Kanazawa or even to Hiroshima.

Yes, mrwunrfl, I know that but shellyk didn't find it when she did her hyperdia search so I posted it.... :)

Both Tajimi and Minoota from the links I posted appear to have elevators....

Thanks you both for the links. At this point I think I may forgo the nice scenery for simplicity, but my trip is still a work in progress.