Kanazawa, Shirakawa-go and Takayama in 10 days

This 10-day trip runs from Tokyo to Kyoto by way of the Sea of Japan coast and the Hida mountains: three nights in Kanazawa, a city of gardens and teahouses, the thatched village of Shirakawa-go, two nights in a farmhouse inn near Takayama, then Kyoto. It suits travellers who already know Tokyo and Kyoto, or who prefer craft and mountains to big cities, from April to June and in October and November.

The trip at a glance

Japan is a few hours' flight from Europe's main cities, direct or with one stop. You arrive in Tokyo and leave from Kyoto through Kansai airport.

Days 1 and 2: Tokyo

The Okura Tokyo, a house founded in 1962, stands in Toranomon, about 40 minutes by taxi from Haneda and 70 from Narita. It combines a 41-storey tower with the Heritage Wing on the garden side; the Okura Museum of Art is on site, along with a 25 m pool. Check-in from 3 pm. The spa and pool close from 12 to 15 January 2027 for maintenance.

Two days are enough for a first look or a return visit: the East Gardens of the Imperial Palace (closed on Mondays and Fridays), Asakusa and Senso-ji, Meiji Jingu shrine. The Tokyo page gives opening hours.

Days 3 to 5: Kanazawa

On day three, the Hokuriku Shinkansen links Tokyo and Kanazawa in about 2 hours 30 minutes. From the station's east exit, the Hokuriku Tetsudo bus stops outside Kinjohro in 12 minutes. This ryotei, a traditional restaurant that became a ryokan (Japanese inn), was founded in 1890 on the Asano river. It has just 6 Japanese rooms, each with a private bath in hinoki (Japanese cypress) or granite, and serves kaiseki, the seasonal multi-course meal, in Kaga style, in the room or a private dining room. Check-in from 4 pm, 7 pm at the latest.

Three nights leave two full days for Kanazawa:

• Kenrokuen garden, open from 7 am to 6 pm from 1 March to 15 October and from 8 am to 5 pm the rest of the year, 320 ¥ (about 2 €); from April to August, the Hasuike-mon and Zuijinzaka gates open free of charge from 4 am;
• the tea ceremony at the Saisetsu-tei pavilion in Gyokusen-en garden, garden entry included, for 5,000 ¥ (about 29 €) per person, booked 3 days ahead;
• Higashi Chaya, the district of wooden teahouses (chaya), where walks from the inn lead, with its gold-leaf shops, a speciality of the city;
• Nagamachi, the old samurai quarter, and the Nomura house;
• Myoryu-ji, known as the "ninja temple", founded in 1643, with its trapdoors and hidden staircases: guided tour only, by reservation, 1,200 ¥ (about 7 €);
• the D. T. Suzuki Museum, by the architect Yoshio Taniguchi, closed on Mondays.

The 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art closes from 6 May 2027 to March 2028: to see it, travel before 6 May 2027.

Day 6: Shirakawa-go, then Takayama

The express bus from Kanazawa to Takayama, run by Hokutetsu and Nohi Bus, takes about 2 hours 15 minutes. It stops at Shirakawa-go, 50 minutes from Takayama; each leg costs 2,800 ¥ (about 16 €), and some services require a reservation. The village, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1995, has more than 100 gassho-zukuri buildings, farmhouses with steep thatched roofs. A stop of a few hours is enough to walk round it before catching the next bus.

In Takayama, the Wanosato shuttle leaves the west exit of JR Takayama Station at 2.20, 3.20 and 4.20 pm, booked 7 days ahead: it sets the time of your bus from Shirakawa-go. The inn is in Ichinomiya, south of Takayama, on a 45,000 m² estate beside the Miya river, facing Mount Norikura. It rents four villas, two of them in gassho-zukuri style, and three suites in a 160-year-old farmhouse. After the kaiseki dinner, Hida folk tales are told around the irori hearth, with sake warmed in bamboo. The shared hot-spring baths open from 2 to 5.50 pm and from 6.30 to 10 am.

Dates to watch. In April, Wanosato does not sell Tuesday and Wednesday nights. Nights 6 and 7 must therefore fall between Thursday and Monday: in April, your first day in Japan must be a Saturday, Sunday, Monday or Tuesday. Children are accepted from primary-school age, in the villas only.

Day 7: Takayama or the mountains

Two options for the day:

• the old town of Takayama: the Sanmachi merchant quarter, its wooden-latticed houses and its sake breweries marked by a ball of cedar leaves; Takayama Jinya, the former shogunate administrative office, open from 8.45 am, 500 ¥ (about 3 €); the Hida no Sato open-air museum village, with more than 30 buildings, 700 ¥ (about 4 €);
• the Shinhotaka Ropeway in Okuhida: two cable cars, some with double-decker cabins, climb to 2,156 m, for 3,800 ¥ (about 22 €) return; departures every 30 minutes, all year round.

On 14 and 15 April, the Sanno Matsuri festival parades 12 floats through the old town; on 9 and 10 October, the Hachiman Matsuri parades 11.

Days 8 and 9: Kyoto

The Wanosato shuttle goes back down to Takayama Station at 9, 10 or 11 am. The Hida express links Takayama with Nagoya in 2 hours 20 minutes, and the Nozomi Shinkansen continues to Kyoto.

Capella Kyoto, opened on 22 March 2026, is in Miyagawa-cho, one of Kyoto's five geiko (geisha) districts, near Kennin-ji temple and a 4-minute walk from Gion-Shijo Station. Kengo Kuma designed its 89 rooms and suites, all over 50 m²; the spa has three private onsen rooms.

On day nine, the private tea ceremony at the Camellia Garden teahouse near Ryoan-ji lasts 50 minutes, for 15,000 ¥ (about 85 €) per person. Kinkaku-ji, the Golden Pavilion, open from 9 am to 5 pm, fits into the same day. In the evening, Gion and Miyagawa-cho are within walking distance; the Gion council asks visitors not to photograph a geiko or maiko without her consent. The Kyoto page covers other sights.

Day 10: departure

The JR Haruka limited express links Kyoto Station and Kansai airport in about 80 minutes, with no change.

Planning the trip

Our guide to trains and the Japan Rail Pass explains which trains the pass covers. The price shown covers the hotels and the three listed activities; meals are set out on each hotel page, while flights, trains, buses and accommodation taxes are extra.