oops

didnt mind it and I slept pretty well (probably because I was exhausted). The Takayama Green Hotel was across the street from Sosuke and I went over there to try (to no avail) to catch a bus to Hidanosato. Looked like a nice place, a nice typical Japanese tourist hotel.

Elainee, from Shirakawago you can get a bus to Kanazawa, so you would not have to go back to Takayama. There are two runs a day (the afternoon bus arrives Kanazawa at 1845). It is a seasonal bus, but probably running at the time you will be there (I do have the schedul in my backpack and can check it for you if you want).

When in Matsumoto, please visit the Peoples bar. Nice couple runs the place.

Thanks for the great responses. How could anybody travel without this kind of help!! I will fax Seiryu tomorrow. I am angry with Hilton and will not stay in Hiltons unless there is no other choice. If you do not stay in a Hilton for one year, you lose all your accumulated Hilton points. That is terrible. I just found out when I tried to use my points. What a bummer!! But I will look into the club floor at the Marriott. My London family just stayed at the club floor at the Sheraton in NYC. I think they should have been charged extra for all the goodies the children ate. I think club floors are really good. I am delighted that from Shirakawago we can get a bus to Kanazawa, so we would not have to go back to Takayama. We will plan our time in Shirakawago accordingly. Great info! Now we still need to wait until October for this adventure.

Wow...I had no idea that Hilton points disappeared if you didn't stay for a year. That's bad. We use the Hiltons in Japan all the time, so we have loads of points...I'd be really mad if we couldn't use them.

hilton emailed me in april saying that if i didin't either use the points or stay at a hilton hotel by the end of june, i would loose all my points. fortunately, i was able to book a stay at sf hilton on my last bus. trip. but, it is still a bummer. any other hotel frequent stay program have the same policies? i've also got points with residence inn.

"An account may be closed at Marriott's discretion if no points are accrued during a 24-month period. All points in the account will be forfeited at that time."
I got this from Marriott website. Two years is better than one year. Now I need to check Hyatt. All those years of business travel should give some reward.

You will be delighted by Magome and Tsumago. Near Magome, we stayed at the Shinchaya, a wonderful inn set in a lovely garden -- probably the best (though not the most expensive) place we stayed in our 19 days in Japan in April. The post town of Magome is a short distance away. As with most places, it is great to be there early when everything is quiet (it's quite a tourist destination). Good shopping. A specialty of Magome is buckwheat cakes with various fillings (pumpkin, eggplant, etc.). You can walk from Magome to Tsumago, probably the most frequently walked part of the ancient Nakasendo Highway. (We walked it as part of a 12-day walking trip of the highway.) We stayed in an inn in the village of O-tsumago, about 20 minutes' walk from Tsumago. This inn was the most original and least restored of the inns in which we stayed. It had a tatami room with a large fire-pit (iroriba) located just next to the entrance. Tsumago is even nicer than Magome -- seems somewhat more authentic. These are wonderful towns to visit. And Matsumoto, with it's fine castle and excellent museums, is a treat. Have a great time!