Day trip to Shirakawa-go and Takayama with White Ring Company – Kanazawa, Japan

January 2025

Day trip to Shirakawa-go and Takayama with White Ring Company – Kanazawa, Japan

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 Shinagawa-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. 

While the website indicated there would be a max of six people on the tour, arriving at the pick up location to full size tour buses meant that little nugget was out the window. This meant we would be waiting for strangers to keep up with the day to keep us on time with the schedule – hilarious. But this was the trade off of opting to not DIY and risk the issues around that so I accepted our fate as tourists on a giant bus tour as we pulled away from Kanazawa station. 

Shortly after leaving the city limits, we entered a snowy landscape that transformed into white countryside. It was so pretty and as we continued to go farther, the snow became thicker for a proper snowfall. 

After a rather pointless bathroom stop five minutes away from Shirakawa-go, we were given our instructions and had less than two hours to accomplish everything we wanted to see in Shirakawa-go. Kevin and I studied the map to make the most out of our time before sprinting off the bus to explore. 

Read about our time in Shirakawa-go here! 

We made it back to the bus at 11:20AM on the dot which was our departure time. While I was happy we made it to Shirakawa-go, I was so disappointed with the amount of time we had here. I really just needed another hour to get to everything I wanted to see but I knew this would be the large disadvantage of seeing Shirakawa-go with a tour instead of on our own. I was happy with what we were able to see of Shirakawa-go but still, we were so close. 

The bus pulled away as we climbed back up the mountain as we headed towards lunch. I have to say, I was nervous that we were going to have a wasted meal in Japan by having lunch on this tour so I was ready to have food spots at the ready for the second town on the tour. As the bus pulled into what looked like a Japanese rest stop with several other tour buses stacked in a row, I thought there was no way this was going to be any good. We walked into a giant cafeteria with rows of tables and chairs just like you would see at a grade school cafeteria, and each setting was set up for a shabu shabu lunch. Shabu Shabu is a Japanese hot pot where you (the chef!) have various items like thinly sliced meat and vegetables that get cooked in boiling broth. We had shabu shabu on our first trip to Japan at the ryokan we stayed at so we were familiar with the do-it-yourself dining experience. And I have to say, the meal was quite tasty. The beef given to us was Hida beef which is equivalent to Kobe beef in this region. We were also given pork, lots of veggies, and a miso paste that I wish I could have demanded more of. While there may have been 100 plus people eating in this cafeteria, the lunch exceeded expectations. 

We were given far too much time for lunch which was frustrating given that we could have used more time in the town of Shirakawa-go. We did several laps around the souvenir store before waiting on the bus for our departure to our second destination, Takayama. 

Knowing it would be another dash to scratch the surface of Takayama, we studied the map to identify our must stop locations and those we would hit if we had time. 

Read about our time in Takayama here! 

And with 3:20PM on the clock, we hopped back on the bus and made our way back to Kanazawa. Going into Takayama knowing we would not get to a proper sit down Hida beef meal or any of the museums help set expectations a little better than when we arrived at Shirakawa-go. I was still disappointed with the amount of time we had there especially since we made yet another rest room stop on the way back that could have been used as more time in Takayama. 

So, would I recommend the Day trip to Shirakawa-go and Takayama with White Ring Company?

Doing Shirakawa-go and Takayama in one day on your own is very challenging – it either becomes a very long public bus ride situation and it does not help the cause to split it into two days. For Shirakawa-go and Takayama, you can definitely spend a half day in each but unless you are staying overnight, a full day for each may be too much. If you have a car, that may be the only factor that gives you the advantage to doing this trip on your own. 

That being said, the website did advertise this tour as a max of six people so that was very disappointing to show up to a giant coach bus full of people that we had to depend on to meet timelines in order to keep us on schedule – which shocking, we had issues with at several of the stops. Time is somewhat challenging for people to an extent I cannot understand. 

We definitely do not have enough time in each location to do the things I wanted but maybe only needed an hour more in each location so wish the tour would lengthen a bit cause we were efficient and it was still not possible. Lunch was entirely too long and the multiple rest stops were really unnecessary. I know it is a lot of driving but people know that when they sign up so long as you set expectations then the breaks are not necessary. If the timing of the lunch was cut in half and the rest stops skipped, we may have had the proper amount of time in each location, which is what we are paying for. 

However, we did get to explore Shirakawa-go and Takayama which would not have been possible for our Japan itinerary without the tour through White Ring Company. I just think a few changes could really amplify the experience to be more fulfilling. Just do not expect a relaxing day because if you have an agenda of things you want to experience in Shirakawa-go and Takayama, you have to hustle! I really loved the time we got in Shirakawa-go and Takayama, even if it let us just get a taste of this region. I completely understand why people stay here for multiple days as a base to explore. 

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!