Hida: Takayama and Shirakawa-go

The Hida region, in the mountains of Gifu Prefecture, takes two or three nights around Takayama, which is 2 h 20 from Nagoya on the Hida limited express and 4 h 15 from Osaka by direct train. It brings together three landscapes: an old merchant town, Takayama, known for its two float festivals; Shirakawa-go, a village of thatched farmhouses inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1995; and the hot springs of Okuhida, at the foot of the Northern Alps, where a gondola climbs to 2,156 m. It suits a second trip to Japan, between Tokyo, Kanazawa and Kyoto, for couples and families looking for rural Japan and nights in a ryokan (traditional Japanese inn).

Takayama, a mountain merchant town

Sanmachi, the old town, is a protected former merchant quarter. Its townhouses have wooden-lattice fronts lined with channels of clear water; sake breweries are marked by a ball of cedar leaves hanging at the door. The quarter can be explored on foot in half a day.

Takayama Jinya was the local office of the shogunate, the military government of the Edo period. Visitors walk through tatami rooms (rice-straw mats) with shoes off; the building is unheated, which matters in winter. It opens from 8.45 am to 5 pm between April and October and from 8.45 am to 4.30 pm between November and March, and closes from 29 December to 3 January. Admission is 500 ¥ (about 3 €), free up to age 18.

Hida no Sato, the Hida Folk Village, is an open-air museum of more than 30 buildings on about 99,000 m², including thatched farmhouses, with demonstrations of lacquer, weaving and dyeing. It opens daily from 8.30 am to 5 pm, for 700 ¥ (about 4 €), and makes a good introduction to the architecture of Shirakawa-go, especially with children.

All times on this page are local time.

Takayama's two festivals

The dates are fixed each year, whatever the day of the week. Over these four days the town is in high demand: a trip built around a festival should be booked early, and the nearest hotel in the selection, Wanosato, lies outside town, in the Miya River valley.

Shirakawa-go, the village of thatched roofs

Shirakawa-go keeps more than 100 gassho-zukuri buildings, large farmhouses with steep thatched roofs. The village was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1995. It is about 50 minutes by express bus from Takayama Station and 1 h 30 from Kanazawa Station, so it fits neatly between the two cities.

A few rules shape a visit:

• A night in a farmhouse. Rooms in the gassho-zukuri farmhouses offered through the tourist association are allocated by lottery. A night in the village shows it in the evening, after the day visitors have gone.
• Winter illumination. In 2027 the village is lit up on 11, 17, 24 and 31 January. Accommodation and parking are by reservation; the first round of car parking reservations, opened on 10 September, is sold out.
• Coaches. From 1 December 2026, coach parking at the main car park is by reservation.

Okuhida and the Shinhotaka Ropeway

East of Takayama, Okuhida gathers hot-spring villages at the foot of the Northern Alps, among them Hirayu, at about 1,200 m, and Shinhotaka Onsen. From Shinhotaka Onsen, the Shinhotaka Ropeway climbs in two sections to 2,156 m, with double-decker cabins, the only ones of their kind in Japan. It runs all year, with a departure every 30 minutes; a return ticket costs 3,800 ¥ (about 22 €).

The baths of Okuhida are onsen, fed by natural hot springs. The guide to onsen, ryokan and etiquette in Japan explains how to bathe.

Getting around the region

The shinkansen is Japan's high-speed train. From Tokyo, the usual route goes through Nagoya, a little over 4 h in all. By car, Hirayu is about 90 minutes from Shirakawa-go, so the two can be combined in one day. The guide to trains and the Japan Rail Pass explains seat reservations.

Seasons: a mountain climate

The table of 1991-2020 normals from the JMA (Japan Meteorological Agency) shows a true mountain climate in Takayama. The average high is only 3.2 °C in January, 4.7 °C in February and 6.2 °C in December: the season of snow in Shirakawa-go and of the January illumination, when snow tyres are compulsory to reach Wanosato by car. Spring comes fast, from 10 °C in March to 17 °C in April, the month of the spring festival, and 23 °C in May. Summer stays bearable, with an average high of 31 °C in August, and cooler at altitude in Okuhida. Autumn drops from 26 °C in September to 20 °C in October, the month of the autumn festival, then 13 °C in November.

The JMA publishes no cherry blossom date for Takayama. The guide to seasons and cherry blossoms gives those of nearby cities.

Where to stay in Hida

Umika's selection includes two ryokans, one in the valley south of Takayama and one high up in Okuhida.

Wanosato, in Ichinomiya. On a 45,000 m² estate on the Miya River, facing Mount Norikura, it lets four villas, two of them in gassho-zukuri style and one a 120-year-old house with an irori, a sunken hearth in the floor, plus three suites in a 160-year-old farmhouse. It has shared hot-spring baths and serves kaiseki dinner (a Japanese multi-course meal). A shuttle links it to JR Takayama Station; by car, snow tyres are compulsory in winter. Children are welcome from primary-school age, in the villas.

KAI Okuhida, in Hirayu. Opened on 5 September 2024 by Hoshino Resorts, this 49-room ryokan stands at about 1,200 m, 45 minutes by car from Takayama and a 4-minute walk from the Hirayu Onsen bus terminal. 28 rooms have a private open-air onsen bath; the shared baths have an indoor and an outdoor pool. Kaiseki dinner showcases Hida beef. Children are welcome, and it is the closest address to the Shinhotaka Ropeway.

The Kanazawa, Shirakawa-go and Takayama in 10 days itinerary includes two nights at Wanosato after Shirakawa-go, coming from Kanazawa.