A Guide to a Winter Day Trip to Takayama, Japan

January 2025

A Winter Day Trip to Takayama, Japan

High in the mountains lies the Hida folk village of Takayama located in the Gifu Prefecture – which literally means High Mountain in Japanese. The town is surrounded by this portion of the Japanese Alps known as the Hida Mountains that reach over 3000 meters high. This village is known for several things. First, Hida beef which is equivalent to Kobe beef in this region. Hida beef cattle are responsible for producing this delicious variety of wagyu beef but perhaps because this region is not along the tourist circuit, it is not nearly as well known. The muscle and marbling makes the Hida beef unique and most attribute the fresh mountain air in the Gifu region. 

Takayama is also known as “Little Kyoto” as the historical area, the Sanmachi, Oshinmachi, and Shimoni-no-machi districts, is well preserved and reminiscent of Kyoto’s geisha district, Gion. During the Edo period, this is where craftsmen, merchants, and farmers would gather for trade for people all over the Gifu prefecture. It really does feel like taking a step back in time – the buildings are small, uniform, and traditional. Each wood covered front hid a fun store to explore.

And finally, there is a festival that takes place in the spring and fall here and is considered one of the top three most beautiful festivals in all of Japan. As you can imagine, it draws quite a crowd of both locals, Japanese tourists, and international tourists to witness the festivities. Floats are paraded through the street and feature intricate carvings and ornate detail. For those that are not lucky enough to witness the festival in person have another option to see these floats and learn more about the festival by visiting the Takayama Matsuri Yatai Kaikan Exhibition Hall. 

One of the reasons we selected this itinerary for our second trip to Japan was the opportunity to explore the countryside of Japan and this day trip to Shirakawa-go and Takayama was definitely high on our list. Originally, I had planned for Kevin and myself to take two days of the trip to explore one town each day. The issue is that getting to these towns is not as easy as getting around the major areas of Japan and the public bus line takes about 3 hours one way for each of these day trips so it felt like a lot to do for two days. I then tried to arrange for the bus routes so we could complete both stops in one day and while it was certainly doable on paper, there seemed to be too many variables to make it work. I did find a bus company that arranges for this exact day trip and while I was not thrilled to book with a company, it would give us the guarantee of visiting Shirakawa-go and Takayama in one day which then gave us an additional free day during our trip for another adventure. I surrendered and booked the Platinum route tour: Shirakawa-go and Takayama with round trip bus service from Kanazawa that included an English speaking guide and lunch with White Ring Company Bus and Tours. 

Since we were visiting on a bus tour, we had a limited amount of time to explore and I had quite a list of things to see during our time here. The bus dropped us off at 140PM and we had to be back at 320PM so I knew we had to hustle. 

One thing we noticed immediately was the presence of rickshaws which we have not seen in Japan before. I guess this is a convenient way to get around and I am not sure what the charge is for doing them – my guess is at least a few thousand yen depending on the time – but I did find that to be something I was not expecting.

Our first landmark was crossing the red Nakabashi Bridge over the Miyagawa River – it helped that our bus stop was close to hear so it made for an easy return point. And just over the bridge is where all the action is jam packed through Sanmachi Suji District. And wow was there a lot going on! The street was full of various crafts, souvenirs, fresh miso, sake breweries, and so much more. 

Going into the sake breweries is a must do experience. Even if you are not into sake, the system for trying samples is so fun. First, you exchange yen for tokens, typically 200 yen gets your one token to exchange at one of the gashapon vending machines for a sake tasting cup. This then allows you to use the cup to try various sakes around the room that are in dispenser machines. Once you run out of tastings, you can refill with more tokens. As you can imagine, this is a very popular activity for visitors and rightfully so, it is fun to participate and enjoy.

We wandered through the old part of town with a our next and most important agenda item of the day – Hida beef. Even though I had sit down restaurants marked, given our experience earlier in Shirakawa-go I knew we would not have time so luckily I had an alternative – Hida Beef Baya. It is a ways out of the tourist area near the Nakabashi Bridge but I knew it would be worth it. We arrived to very few people around – I almost thought it was closed as I expected it to be mobbed given its popularity. There is a window for take away or eating on a few stools and a few stools inside. The menu is very simple – just four items to choose from. We went with a grilled beef skewer and beef croquette. Both were great but the grilled beef was sublime. I really did question if Hida beef was going to be as good as Kobe and it really was – it had all the melt in your mouth goodness and it was so rich and flavorful. We easily could have easily gotten a few more skewers but opted to keep some space in our bellies for more treats. This spot was amazing, highly recommend especially if you are like us and your visit to Takayama is short. 

Our next area to explore was the more modern streets of Honmanchi Dori and Kokubunji Dori. The cafe game is strong in Takayama so we stopped in Soeur for Kevin’s coffee and a Hida apple pie. I did not know the Hida region was known for their apples but wow these were delicious. The next store we popped into was Swing Hida Takayama and it was the most beautiful wood working shop we have ever seen! I so wish we purchased something from this store – though they do have an online store that I will have to take a peek at. The tables, wooden slabs, and various wood carved items were simply stunning. Make sure to stop in and admire this incredible work.

We made a pit stop at Shoren-ji which was unfortunately very crowded and more of a bus depot before turning back and heading towards Nakabashi Bridge. On our way we passed by Takayama Matsuri Yatai Kaikan Exhibition Hall which we definitely did not have enough time to do which was really disappointing. We did however pop into the Hida Takayama Activity and Exchange Hall where local people are actively working on their craft and they have rotating ones featured all day. We saw basket weaving, yarnwork, and woodcarving during our walk through but what was nice is you could walk in and appreciate with limited time but certainly spend more time learning about each craft that is on display during your visit. 

Now that we were nearby Nakabashi Bridge, we walked through Sanmachi Suji District at a slower pace than before, entering various shops that we did not think we would have time for. One such shop had beautiful paintings along with woven birds, one featuring a kingfisher! So you know we had to grab that before we left. While this area is generally very crowded, there are definitely some hidden gems to sift through that go beyond pleasing the tourist wallet so if you have the time, you can definitely find the one that speaks to you. 

We loved visiting Takayama and I only wish we had more time or it was easier to get to from Kanazawa. For your day trip, make sure you include visits to:

• Wander around the Sanmachi, Oshinmachi, and Shimoni-no-machi districts but do not miss the modern areas on Honmanchi Dori and Kokubunji Dori 
• Do some souvenir shopping
• Participate in sake tasting at one of the many breweries 
• Make sure you get Hida beef – we loved our stop at Hida Beef Baya
• If you have time for a meal, look at eating at Tempura Ebihachi or Kyoshi for Hida beef 
• If you are here in the morning, head to the Miyagawa Morning Markets for local produce and products (open 8AM-12PM)
• There are so many great museums! Besides the festival float museum at Takayama Matsuri Yatai Kaikan, check out the Takayama Shōwa-kan Museum featuring the Showa Era (1926-89) or the Hida Takayama Retro Museum with nostalgic items from the 1945-1975 to name a few

Continue reading all the details of our trip – here!

To see our full itinerary – here!

Read what to expect in Japan – here!

My complete packing list for Japan – here!

See all blog posts for Japan – here!