Takayama Guide: Things to Do, Shirakawa-go, Getting There and When to Go

Takayama sits at about 570 m in the Hida mountains of Gifu Prefecture, roughly halfway between Tokyo and Kyoto but well inland, surrounded by the peaks of the Northern Japan Alps. You’ll often see it called Hida-Takayama, after the old province it was the capital of.

Its isolation is why it survived. For centuries the town’s carpenters were famous across Japan, and in the Edo period (1603 to 1868) Takayama was ruled directly by the shogun for its timber and silver. Rich merchants built the wooden townhouses you see today, and the town has protected them ever since.

Takayama is compact and easy to walk: the station, the old town and the river are all within 10 to 15 minutes of each other.

Walk the old town (Sanmachi Suji). Three narrow parallel streets of Edo-period merchant houses with latticed fronts, low eaves and little water channels. Go early or late in the day, before and after the tour groups. Look for the ball of cedar leaves (sugidama) hanging over a doorway: it marks a sake brewery, and many offer tastings.

Takayama Jinya. The shogunate’s government office for the Hida region, and the only one of its kind still standing in Japan: offices, tatami reception rooms, a rice store and an interrogation room, all in wood.

The morning markets. Every morning from about 7am to noon, farmers sell vegetables, pickles, flowers and crafts at the Miyagawa market along the river and the smaller Jinya-mae market in front of the Jinya. Breakfast here, then walk to the old town.

Merchant houses. Two grand townhouses near the old town are open to visitors, with huge exposed timber frames, and show how wealthy Takayama families lived.

Hida Folk Village (Hida no Sato). An open-air museum of more than 30 old farmhouses, including thatched gassho-zukuri houses, set around a pond on the hill above town, about 10 minutes by bus. It’s quiet, and a good alternative if you can’t get to Shirakawa-go.

The Higashiyama walking course. A 3.5 km path along the eastern hills past a dozen temples and shrines, ending at Shiroyama Park and the ruins of the old castle. Beautiful in autumn.

The festival floats. If you can’t be here for the festival, the floats exhibition hall next to Sakurayama Hachimangu shrine shows several of the real floats all year.

Crafts and sake. Watch woodcarvers at work, buy lacquerware or a sarubobo, the faceless red doll that is Takayama’s lucky charm. Six breweries still work in the old town, and from January to March many hold open days as the new sake is made.

Hida beef is the local wagyu, finely marbled and as good as the better-known names. In the old town you’ll find it as beef sushi served on a rice cracker, grilled on skewers and in buns. At dinner, try hoba miso: beef and miso cooked at the table on a dried magnolia leaf over a small burner.

Takayama ramen (chuka soba) is light, with a soy broth and thin curly noodles. Mitarashi dango, rice dumplings grilled with soy sauce, are the snack of choice in the old town.

Most ryokan serve a multi-course kaiseki dinner with Hida beef and mountain vegetables. If you’re vegetarian, tell us early, as dashi (fish stock) is in almost everything.

Shirakawa-go is a village of steep thatched farmhouses in a narrow valley about 50 minutes’ drive from Takayama. With the Gokayama villages next door, it has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1995.

The houses are called gassho-zukuri, “built like hands joined in prayer”: the thatched roofs are steep to shed the heavy snow, and the big attics were used to raise silkworms. Some are more than 250 years old. Families still live in many of them, and the roofs are rethatched by the whole village working together.

What to do: walk up to the viewpoint above the village (about 20 minutes, or a shuttle bus) for the classic view, visit one of the larger farmhouses that are open as museums, and cross the suspension bridge over the river. Day visitors leave by late afternoon, so it’s far more peaceful if you stay the night in a farmhouse inn, with dinner around the hearth.

From Tokyo: take the shinkansen to Nagoya (about 1 hour 40 minutes), then the Limited Express Hida through the mountains to Takayama (about 2.5 hours), around 4.5 hours in total. The Hida line is one of Japan’s most scenic train rides, along river gorges; sit on the right going north. You can also go via the Hokuriku shinkansen to Toyama and take the Hida south (about 1.5 hours), or take a direct highway bus from Shinjuku (about 5.5 hours).

From Kyoto or Osaka: shinkansen to Nagoya, then the Hida, about 3.5 hours in total. One Hida train a day runs direct from Osaka and Kyoto.

From Kanazawa: highway buses take about 2 to 2.5 hours, most stopping at Shirakawa-go. From Matsumoto: buses take about 2.5 hours via Hirayu Onsen.

Takayama to Shirakawa-go: Nohi buses take about 50 minutes, several times a day. Seats sell out in busy seasons, so reserve ahead. The Hida express is covered by the Japan Rail Pass; the buses are not.