Takayama

From Tokyo Station, you can reach Takayama by taking a Tokaido Shinkansen train (Nozomi or Hikari) to Nagoya and then transfer to the Wide View Hida Limited Express train for the run to Takayama. The ride takes just over 4 hours via Nozomi with a good connection. By Hikari it takes 4 1/2 hours, but the ride is fully included in the Japan Rail Pass. From Kyoto or Osaka, you can take the Shinkansen to Nagoya, then the Wide View Hida, but there is also a morning Wide View direct from Osaka and Kyoto, slightly slower but more convenient. Another option is to travel from Shinjuku in Tokyo to Matsumoto on the Azusa/Super Azusa limited express train, then walk to Nohi Bus at the Matsumoto Bus Terminal and travel by express bus to Takayama.

Takayama lazily rubs the sleep out of its eyes twice a year for elaborate festivals held every April and October.

During the festivals, thousands of tourists from across Japan and around the world cram into the town’s normally quiet streets. The festival days are busy and beautiful, but they’re not necessarily the best time to appreciate Takayama itself. Some say that a lot of Takayama’s gentle charm is smothered by all the crowds and excitement.Takayama’s spring and autumn festivals unofficially mark cycles of activity and hibernation. Spring arrives a little later in Takayama compared to many other parts of Japan, with the snow beginning to melt and temperatures beginning to heat up towards the end of March. Thus, the Spring Festival in April signals the start of the lively spring and summer months: There are cherry blossoms in the spring, lavender in the summer, outdoor flea markets on Sundays, and generally rampant hiking, biking, and strolling. Autumn, which lasts from around September-November, is another fantastic time to be in Takayama. The weather is cooler compared to the humid summer months, and koyo (autumn leaf) viewings are almost as big a deal in Japan as cherry blossoms.Winter begins to set in around the time of the Autumn Festival in October, making this festival Takayama’s last big party before everyone hunkers down for the winter.  Buried in the Japanese Alps, Takayama’s winters are long, snowy and quite cold. That said, winter in Takayama is a lot prettier than the grey winters of many other countries. In Takayama, the winter weather is generally clear and blue-skied, so the town ends up looking like the inside of a lovely Japanese snow globe.