AsiaVela

Japan travel guides

Central Japan and the Alps

Kanazawa's gardens and teahouses, Takayama's old merchant streets, the thatched farmhouses of Shirakawa-go, the Nakasendo post towns and the ski slopes of Hakuba.

Destination guides

07
Fruit and vegetable stalls under the arcade roof of Omicho Market, with shoppers walking between the stands
Ishikawa · 2 nights; 3 with a Shirakawa-go or Noto day trip

Kanazawa

Whether Kanazawa is worth the detour between Tokyo and Kyoto, how many nights to give it, where to sleep, and how to fit the garden, museums and Shirakawa-go.

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Dark wooden merchant houses with latticed fronts line a quiet street in Takayama's Sanmachi old town under a blue sky
Gifu · 2 nights (3 with Okuhida Onsen)

Takayama

How many nights Takayama needs, where to sleep (station, old town or Okuhida Onsen), the morning markets, festival floats and the bus to Shirakawa-go.

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Wada House, a large thatched gassho-zukuri farmhouse with a wooden front and benches outside, under a blue sky
Gifu · A few hours (the village itself takes 2–3 hours on foot), or one night in a farmhouse inn

Shirakawa-go

Whether to stop on the Takayama–Kanazawa bus, day-trip or sleep in a gassho farmhouse, plus bus bookings, the viewpoint, village rules and the 2027 light-up.

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Tsumago's main street, a quiet road between dark two-storey timber houses with forested hills behind
Nagano · 1–2 nights

Kiso Valley

How long the Magome–Tsumago walk takes, which way to walk, sending bags ahead, trains from Nagoya, and whether to sleep in Tsumago, Magome or Narai.

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Snow-covered peaks of the Hakuba range rising above the houses and snowy fields of Hakuba village under a clear blue sky
Nagano · 6–7 nights for a ski week

Hakuba

Plan a Hakuba ski week: the ten resorts, whether the 2026–27 valley pass pays, which village to sleep in, and the shinkansen and bus from Tokyo.

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The white and green-roofed main keep of Nagoya Castle on its stone base under a blue sky
Aichi · 1 night, or 2 with the Toyota and railway museums

Nagoya

Whether Nagoya earns a night between Tokyo and Kyoto: the rebuilt Hommaru Palace while the castle keep is shut, Atsuta Jingu, Osu, two museums and the food.

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Mikurigaike crater pond below green slopes and the jagged Tateyama peaks
Toyama and Nagano · One day for the crossing; a gateway night before it, plus an optional night on the route

Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route

Six vehicles across the Northern Alps from Toyama to Nagano: when it opens, which way to ride, ticket prices, the snow walls, Kurobe Dam and your luggage.

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Itineraries

02
A row of dark stone and bronze Jizo statues lined up beside a stream under tall trees at Okunoin, Koyasan, with a temple hall behind
Japan · 21 days (20 nights in 11 places)

Japan in 3 weeks

A 21-day Japan itinerary in 20 nights: Tokyo, a Hakone ryokan, the Kiso walk, Takayama, a Shirakawa-go farmhouse, Kyoto, a Koyasan temple and Naoshima.

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Tsumago's main street of dark timber inns and houses curving towards wooded hills, with a few walkers on the road
Gifu, Nagano and Ishikawa · 6 days (5 nights)

Japanese Alps in 6 days

A six-day loop from Nagoya: the Magome–Tsumago walk, two nights in Takayama, a Shirakawa-go farmhouse night and Kanazawa, plus the buses, pass and bookings.

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