My short trip to Japan in December is coming together, although more slowly that I hoped. To recap, we got a very good fare from Hawaii to Narita, then Las Vegas. We have reviewed the suggestions on this forum and decided to fly from Narita to Komatsu and then take the bus to Kanazawa.

The next question is whether we should send our bags ahead to Takayama, so that we can stop in Shirakawa-go for a few hours on the way? It would free us up to wander. The alternative is to take a tour from Takayama to Shirakawa-go once we get to Takayama. Then it would be "guided" and we would not be "wandering".

Finally, I am having difficulty booking our final night at an onsen hotel in the Okuhida region. I want a particular manor house but not a single date in December is available. I'm wondering if they simply do not book more than 6 months in advance.

Any ideas?

Luggage forwarding could make sense, or I think there is now a luggage storage facility in Shirakawa-go.

And BTW, you can see gassho-zukuri at Hida no Sato in Takayama -- including ones you can actually roam around.

We took a bus from Takayama to Shirakawa-go, and returned the same day. They are commuter, and not tourist buses that go, and they go quite frequently. You only really need a couple of hours there to wander around the structures. We reserved the bus tickets a day in advance, and then we decided to return earlier than planned, so we hopped on an earlier bus. Hence, you do not need a guided tour. If you leave early enough in the morning, it's a half day activity.