Japanese Alps: Takayama, Hirayu Onsen, Shirakawago

I am in love with Japanese nature, and as such, any rural part of Japan. I came to Takayama and Shirakawago for the first time in 2016, during my first visit to Japan, and it was probably what made me want to come back to Japan altogether.

The charming streets of Takayama, the UNESCO-protected thatched-roof villages of Shirakawa-go, and the serene hot springs of Hirayu Onsen, make an ideal escape from bustling Tokyo.

In this post I will share with you a 2.5 trip from Tokyo to these places.

Transport

There are several ways to reach Takayama, with the most optimal being:

• By train: taking the shinkansen from Tokyo to Nagoya, and transfering to Hida Limited Express train to Takayama. Duration: 4.5 hours. Cost: around 12000 yen. While train is covered by JR Pass, the bus is not.

• By bus: direct expressway bus. Duration: 5 hours. Cost: around 6000 yen.

As you may guess, I vote for the bus option. The change is minimal and especially if you do not have the JR Pass, it is much cheaper and comfortable. Plus, it allows you to stop at Hirayu Onsen on the way! You can get it Willer Express for example. I recommend taking the early morning bus around 7 AM as even if you took the overnight one, you would be waiting around 5.30 AM until establishments opened.

Day 1: Relaxing at Hirayu Onsen

We took the 7 AM bus from Shinjuku Expressway Bus terminal. The bus makes a stop at Hirayu Onsen at 11.30 AM, which is convenient as it allows you relax in its onsen for a bit before taking the afternoon bus to Takayama. As it was quite rainy and foggy, it ended up being quite convenient too! Note that buses usually always stop at least at a rest stop, where you can grab coffee or a snack, but I always like taking some with me in case.

We left our luggage at Hirayu bus stop locker, and had some noodles at the cafeteria, only 700 yen for a big bowl! It is quite impressive how the prize drops once you get out of Tokyo.

There are several hiking trails, including a waterfall - Hirayu Waterfall- but due to the weather we only took a brief walk around the bus stop, mainly to Hirayu Folk Museum. It consists of a thatched house where you can rest inside.

There is a rustic onsen, called Hirayu-no-Yu, where you also need to take your shampoo and gel. Instead, we opted for Hirayu No Mori, that is a more modernish onsen, with several outdoor onsen, and only costs 700 yen. With more time you can also rest and have some tea.

We took the last bus to Takayama at 5.30 PM, taking about 1.5 hours to arrive. Our accomodation for 3 nights was Hostel Murasaki Ryokan. I really liked it, as for starters, we had Doraemon-themed rooms with thick futons. There was also a big living room for guests with a stove in the middle, where we would sit around and talk to fellow guests.

Free coffee and tea, and also a kitchen where people were bringing meat to bbq in the livingn room stove.

Day 2: Takayama

Every morning there is a morning market next to Takayama river, the Miyagawa morning market. Oh and there was so much to eat and see, it was overwhelming. For a smallish village, Takayama sure was lively. From tasty croissants, to wagyu beef sushi - Hida wagyu beef from Gifu Prefecture is supposed to be one of the best. Of course, matcha ice creams, taiyaki or takoyaki were also mouth-watering. There are also many shops where you can carve your own name in chopsticks or get different souvenirs.

Following the river, we walked to Takayama Jinja (300 yen), the main shrine of the village. The interior are quite large and the garden was pretty too. Just next to the shrine we crossed the Nakabashi red bridge, a landmark of the city, to then continue along the old streets of Takayama: Sanmachi Suji.

The crowds were quite apparent, and queues long for some shops, mainly wagyu sushi. There were many shops selling soy sauce and miso paste, also a local specialty, or sake. Honestly we could have spent the whole day just looking at the street shops.

Towards the end of the street, about 15 minutes walk, was the Kusakabe Folk Museum, a traditional restored merchant house. We did not go in as found it a bit expensive but had heard it was quite popular.

In the afternoon we walked to Sakurayama Hachimangu Shrine, a bit more north, with less tourists, and proceeded to Higashiyamamachi. There is a hiking trail along different temples of the district, surrounded by gardens. It was probably the nicer part of the day as clearly most people stayed around the river.

In the evening we went to eat some wagyu beef, and it did not disappoint, and walked around the old streets again to capture the night atmosphere.

Day 3: Shirakawago

Shirakawago is a remote mountain hamlet, a UNESCO World Heritage site, renowned for its distinctive gassho-zukuri farmhouses. It literally takes you back in time and make you think that you are inside a fairytale.

From Takayama, there are direct buses, but they get filled quite easily. We tried to take the 9.30 AM bus, but by 9 AM they were sold out, so we had to book the next one, thankfully only an hour later. It takes about 1 hour, and costs about 5000 yen roundtrip per person, depending on the season. It is possible to book the bus ticket in advance so it may be better if possible to book it the previous day.

Once we reached Shirakawago, we hiked up to Ogimachi Castle Observation Deck, where we could see the whole village, with alps in the background. There were many people queuing for photos though so it was a bit stressfull.

The rest of the time we walked around the village, the houses were so curious. Most of them were shops, or museums now. We also visited Wada house, one of the largest gassho-zukuri farmhouses, dating back to the 18th century. The rooftop looked quite fragile, I wonder what happens it snows heavily....

There are many other houses to see, but each has a cost, and I think they must be similar in the end. Crossing the river to the otherwise had the Hida Folk Village, but it is basically paying to see more of these houses that you can see for free in the actual village -in my opinion. Really the best is just to walk around, snack dango or ice cream. We also met a Japanese family who wanted to chat and take a photo with us.

We came back to Takayama by 5 PM bus, and couldn't help but eat more wagyu beef.

I think 2 days is perfect for this trip, but for a more relaxed pace, I think even another day in Takayama may be okay. There are also those that then contine to Kanazawa. For us, we took the bus the next day to Osaka, taking only 5 hours.