awrpete

My wife and I are considering going to the Takayama Matsui festival on October 9 and 10 (as part of a first-time visit to Japan). We will be coming from Tokyo, and were able to get a hotel reservation in the city of Takayama for October 10, but the closest accommodation we could find for October 9 is in Gero.

We are thinking of taking the train from Tokyo to Takayama on the morning of the 9th, spend the day and evening at the festival, then take the train to Gero that evening and check into the hotel. ( If I've read Hyperdia right, there is a 9:45 p.m. train from Takayama to Gero. ) We would return by train to Takayama the morning of the 10th and spend the the day and night there.

Questions:
1. With the festival going on, I assume we need to make train/seat reservations as soon as possible for the trip from Tokyo to Takayama (via Nagoya), and for the train from Takayama to Gero and back to Takayama the next day. Yes?
2. We will be getting JR passes for the trip, but since we won't be in Japan until til 4 days before traveling to Takayama, do I need to just reserve and pay for these tickets from the U.S. before getting the JR passes?
3. What could we do with our luggage? I am concerned the train station storage might be too busy/full to hold our bags during the day of October 9? I guess I could ask the Takayama hotel we will be staying at October 10 to store them after our arrival in Takayama on October 9, or have them sent on to Kanazawa...
4. Is this whole scenario crazy? This is our first time in Japan. We know we will miss experiencing the usual Takayama sites, and know we will be seeing so much in Tokyo, Kyoto, Hiroshima and other places that we're debating whether this complicated idea is worth it...

Thanks for any input you may have.

mrwunrfl

1) Yes. You want seat reservations on a particular train. Not "train reservations", if you think that means something different, it's not. Those trains have unreserved cars where you might get a seat. Your JR Pass counts for having paid the fare.

You don't have to go via Nagoya. You could go via Toyama. On hyperdia, enter:
From TOKYO (or the subway/railway station nearest your hotel)
To TAKAYAMA
Pass1 TOYAMA

Takayama Line from Nagoya is scenic. From Toyama it is supposed to be one of the most scenic in Japan. You want a limited express train in either case.

CaliforniaLady

Send your luggage ahead, if you can from your prior night's hotel. The system works out quite well. Then you can carry a small backpack with you. I get a small zip loc bag, and I put some travel size toiletries in there specifically for that purpose.

Alternatively, if you want to leave your luggage at your Takayama hotel for the day, I suggest getting their approval in advance. Although typically gracious, sometimes the Japanese have strict rules, for whatever reason. Another consideration is whether or not that hotel is near the festival--you could end up having an extra transport step to drop off and get your luggage.

mrwunrfl

2) You can't. At least am pretty sure you can't. I think I saw something about online seat reservations for JR Central. You'd only need to pay the seat reservation fee, not the fare. If you can do it.

3) Sure, the hotel will hold your luggage for the day or overnight. You could also ship to Kanazawa. Or ship from Tokyo to Gero. That's a hard G in gair-o. Where are you staying in Takayama?

Gero is aka Gero Onsen, worth some time for that. Not the best onsen town I've visited, but make something of your visit there.

I see a 9:30PM ltd exp on that day (not 9:45). Kind of late to be leaving Takayama and I think everyone will be gone by then, but check on the evening festivities (i.e. are there any?) I am not sure about that. I remember the morning after the spring matsuri, a Sunday, that the town was deserted. Maybe they all bailed after the parade.

4) No, it is not crazy at all. You can still visit some Takayama sights on the festival day (Takayama Jinya, e.g.). Not like you have to be matsuri-ing all day both days. Or stay over a third night and you will have the place to yourselves on Tuesday.

Or you could skip it. I would say that I enjoyed my visit to Takayama with no matsuri than the visit during the matsuri (tho rain played a factor).

mrwunrfl

I suppose there might be a hotel that won't hold your bags for the day. Which is a bit why I asked which hotel. I would fully expect the Best Western or the Green Hotel to do so.

CaliforniaLady

We stayed at the Best Western, and it's nice enough and quite central. If I recall correctly, it's really close to the train station, so it would be quite convenient to drop your bags there. I agree, mrwunrfl, that it would be highly unlikely that any Japanese hotel would refuse to hold luggage for the day, but it would be prudent to email in advance in any case.

internetwiz

I went to Takayama Matsui last fall and for your scenario, I would recommend sending your luggage to Kanazawa (or your next destination). In the long run, it'll be easier for you and one less thing to keep track of in your travels.

Make sure you visit the Takayama Float Exhibition hall early, before you see the replica floats. They are quiet impressive. Also, walk around to see the floats in their "garages" getting prepped to take out for the parade (although that might be the day before you get there). Also, if you have a camera that takes night shots, that would be ideal for the lantern festival.

Even though there was a festival going on, we didn't find it overly crowded, except during the actual parades.

Have a good time. It was a special experience for us (although staying at a ryokan added to the experience).

awrpete

Thanks for all the great feedback. We are encouraged that this is possible to work this out.

The Takayama hotel we have reserved for the 10th is the Spa Alpina hotel. By the time we got around to this, Best Western and others were full or way over our budget. I keep checking to see whether anything else opens up on the 9th. Though staying in Gero sounds like it would work, we wouldn't really be seeing or taking advantage of the onsen town.

As you suggested, CaliforniaLady, I'll e-mail the Spa Alpina to see if they can hold our luggage. If they can't, we'll forward it to Kanazawa, as several of you suggested.

Thanks for the suggesting for the more scenic route through Toyama, mrwunrfl. Will look into that. And yes, there is the evening parade on Oct. 9 with the lantern-lit floats, so we want to see that.

Thanks for reminding me of the importance of a good camera for night shots, internetwiz. I'll bring my best.

I'm still a bit confused about being able to use the JR pass, but it sounds like the best option is to have a travel agent reserve/buy seats for the trains ahead of time, and not plan to use our JR passes until we leave Kanazawa. Do I have that right?

Thanks all.

CaliforniaLady

awrpete, keep trying for the Best Western. Call the 800 number, and ask them for the email address, and write to the hotel directly. The squeaky wheel gets the oil. The free breakfasts were really good and elaborate, with Japanese and Western foods.

awrpete

Good idea, CaLady. I have called the 800 number intermittently, but e-mailing the hotel directly is a great idea. Will do.

mrwunrfl

Article 15 of the following tells me that your hotel will hold your luggage:
http://www.spa-hotel-alpina.com/engl...ipulation.html

>>Do I have that right?

I don't think you do. Your JR Pass gets you travel on the train and free seat reservations, if available.

What you are concerned about is getting seat reservation tickets on the limited express trains on the Takayama Line. Without the pass those tickets cost a few hundred yen each.

Maybe you can get someone to buy those reservations in advance of your JR Pass exchange. But you c/would still use your pass to get reserved seats on, and to travel on, the shinkansen to Nagoya/Toyama and to cover the fare for travel on the Takayama Line.

Am pretty sure, anyway, that a person can buy a reserved seat ticket without showing that they paid the fare. (japan-guide probably has a better explanation about reserved seat tix)

JR used to have a way to pay for a reserved seat on the Narita Express online. You'd pick up the ticket when you got to Japan. If you then got a JR Pass then they would refund the cost of the reserved seat.

When kuranosuke and I planned to go to the Takayama festival he was going to have his son in Tokyo get our reserved seats in advance. Then we would buy a fare ticket or use a JR Pass to cover the fare. That didn't happen. I got the reserved seat to Takayama several days in advance, after arriving in Japan, but IIRC I traveled to Takayama the night before the start of the festival.