smacdvanbc

I will arrive Takayama at noon on Thursday May 8th and leave Kanazawa at 3:00pm Monday May 12th by train(for Hiroshima).

I am currently booked 2 nights Takayama, 1 night (Saturday)in Shiragawa-go ,and 1 night Kanazawa(arriving noon on Sunday and departing 3:00pm on Monday).

Is this the best division of time in these places?

KimJapan

It's not bad. You might switch Takayama and Kanazawa in terms of how many nights in each, as there is more to see in Kanazawa than in Takayama. I'm sure some places are closed on Mondays, like the 21st Century Museum of Art.

smacdvanbc

Thanks KimJapan. As much as I hate to forgo Shiragawa-go (I know how much you and others rave about the place), I have decided to spend 2 nights(1 day really) in Takayama and 2 nights(and 2 full days) in Kanazawa. Unfortunately I am just not able to add even 1 day in the area.

A reason to return is how I see it.

kja

Hi, smacdvanbc - I think 1 day in Takayama and 2 days in Kanazawa sounds great. Enjoy!

nikidi

Sorry for hijacking this thread, but KimJapan, would really appreciate ur input on my Matsumoto - Takayama - Shirakawa-go - Kanazawa bit of the itinerary.

the plan is to hire a car from one point and drive to Kanazawa - i have 5N/6days for the area.whats the best route to do it?

i was thinking of splitting the nights as follows - (see matsumoto castle and tsumago and onward to Takayama for 2 N, 1N Shirakawa-go - 2N Kanazawa.

what do you think? my itinerary is
http://www.fodors.com/community/asia...ion-advice.cfm

hawaiiantraveler

smac, if it were me I would do 1 night Takayama, 1 night S-Go and two nights Kanazawa

nikidi, I am not KimJapan but if it were me and according to what you just wrote, I would do it 1N Takayama, 1N S-Go and 3N Kanazawa but according to your itin on the thread you linked you don't have that many nights in the area.

Aloha!

nikidi

hawaiiantraveler,i do have 5 nights starting from the 2nd to 6th. - i've put it down as 1 in matsumoto and 2 each in kanazawa and takayama at the moment, but now re thinking it. would appreciate ur views on the best route for the area. start matsumoto and finish in kanazawa?

nikidi

i was thinking of picking a rental - visiting the matsumoto castle, drive to tsumago for a quick visit before driving to takayama for the night. have 1 day plus another night sight seeing there and then continue to S-go and then to Kanazawa. mainly keen on some snow scenery!!

hawaiiantraveler

niki, much more to see in Kanazawa and Matsumoto than in Takayama but that of course is only my opinion. 2 nights in Takayama is one night too many for me but others here might have a different opinion.

nikidi

I will have only 1 Day in Takayama. So the route is doable? pick car from Matsumoto drive to Takayama. (rather than taking see castle and get back on thrain to Takayama) and drive via s-go to Kanazawa?

mrwunrfl

Train from Matsumoto to Takayama would be a 5-hour trip. You basically would be going south in the Kiso Valley then west a bit and then north on the Takayama line along a river valley. With a car you can stop at Kamikochi and at Hirayu Onsen.

smacdvanbc, you would be able to visit Shirakawa-go or Gokayama enroute from Takayama to Kanazawa.

nikidi

yes I was wondering why it said a 5 hr train ride opposed to 2 1/2 drive. So car it is.thanks vm for clearing that! i was confused with the car route.

is worth driving to tsumago from matsumoto before going to takayama or better to visit kamikochi? snow scenery is the priority but have only 5nights/6days for the area.

the plan is to drive from matsumoto to takayama and then via S-go/gokayama to Kanazawa.

KimJapan

The only hiccup might be drop off charges for the car. If you are ok with them then good plan. With luck, cherry blossoms may still be around in S-go area.

KimJapan

Oh sorry. Now I see there are two people 4 years apart. Most recent poster tracking end of March - sorry no cherry blossoms. I mistook it and though you were traveling in Early May.

nikidi

ooh..we may have to cancel our trip -have had no luck for any hotels in kyoto!! absolutely none - any ideas?

KimJapan

Dates?

nikidi

6th - 11th April. I know, its just too late now

hawaiiantraveler

Gomen nasai smacd.....

nikidi, I think I mentioned to you earlier on another thread that at this late hour you might have to tailor your schedule and wants to what rooms you can get. If you had a plan to stay in a certain hotel and area you probably will have to change that want.....

A quick search on kayak.com for your dates shows a dozen hotels for two people(I forget how many you are) ranging from $60.00 to $450.00 per night. Try other search engines like agoda.com or japanican.com or booking.com or latestays.com
on expedia.com I just got 160 hits for places to stay in and around Kyoto for those dates, check it out.

Osaka is cheaper and short train ride away from Kyoto, try there or towns on the outskirts of Kyoto. Tons of rooms in Osaka usually.....

Aloha!

nikidi

I'm not sure whether I want to battle the crowds. For all hotels to be booked out, it will get pretty crowded!! is it really worth it to see the cherry blossoms or better to visit in non peak to enjoy the culture and temples better?

hawaiiantraveler

YES!!!