Help! I can't understand Japanese!
 

Hope someone can help me check if this plan is feasible:

1 Dec TOKYO - TAKAYAMA
2 Dec TAKAYAMA - SHIRAKAWAGO
3 Dec SHIRAKAWAGO - KANAZAWA
4 Dec KANAZAWA - KYOTO

I'm confused over the transport. I understand from the posts that in Dec the Nohi bus goes to S-go only from Takayama. What is the time schedule like? (The website is in Japanese.)
Can I do S-go to Kanazawa by Nohi Bus in one day? Will it be too long a journey?Heard so much about Kanazawa I don't want to miss it. I'm quite sure my 15-yr old son will be thrilled with the samurai atmosphere.

If the bus from S-go to Kanazawa is not running then you can take a bus to Takaoka and the train from there. I did that trip in January of last year in the opposite direction and then took the bus back to Takaoka. The train trip is not long and not expensive.

IIRC, the schedule was for it to take 2 hours but it took longer, about 2.5 hours, to get to S-go. Shirakawago is at stop number 34 or so, so it is a long trip on a city bus. When you get off the bus in Takaoka walk in the direction the bus is headed to get to the JR station.

You can go from Tokyo to Takayama by train. It takes around 4 hours with the best connections and 1 change of train in Nagoya. Price ¥14,800 per person.

From Takayama to S-go there are buses, roughly 2 hours. You can purchase the through ticket to Kanazawa when you arrive in Takayama.

The bus from S-go to Kanazawa is just over an hour. If it isn't running directly to Kanazawa, you can take a bus to Takaoka and then get a train to Kanazawa. This takes longer. You will be able to know the schedule when you arrive in Takayama for sure. You will for sure be able to get to Kanazawa, though, so I wouldn't worry about it to much.

Kanazawa to Kyoto is under 3 hours by Thunderbird super express train.

I live in Kanazawa and love it, but I wouldn't say it had a samurai atmoshpere. There is a nice preserved samurai district, but that means old houses with thick walls around them with thatched coverings and small windows. There is one house you can go into. There is plenty to see and do, but Kanazawa is a city not unlike other small cities in Japan. I wouldn't talk it up to your son as being a samurai city...he will be disappointed. The reason people refer to samurai and Kanazawa together sometimes is in reference to the road system, which is narrow and windy. Kanazawa was not bombed in WWII so the old style roads are intact, unlike Nagoya and Hiroshima, which are very easy to get around.

Thanks so much mrwunrfl and KimJapan - just what I needed! I have read your messages in this forum and am in awe of the insights you give.
I am now more confident that we won't be stranded in these places!
KimJapan, I'll remember your advice wrt samurai.
Btw, any chance of snow in these places in 1st week of Dec? That will be something my son will be thrilled about!

There will probably be a little bit of snow in Shirakawago. Maybe only 5 or 6 feet deep, tho.

When I stayed at Koemon minshuku they had several pairs of snow boots available for guests and they actually had a pair that fit me. The boots were necessary.

They go to great lengths to keep the road open. It is a fairly major undertaking. I was impressed by the amount of snow removal equipment that was deployed on the road from Takaoka to S-go.

mrw is not kidding. I recall seeing the pictures on his old website of that visit and there were "mountains" made of snow.