Introduction to: Takayama

Edit 15 October 2019: Updated prices to reflect the increase in Japan's national sales tax.

Takayama (高山) is a city in the northern half of Gifu Prefecture (formerly Hida Province).  Despite, or rather because of, its isolated and mountain-logged location, the city thrived economically during the Edo period through the high reputation of its wooden crafts.  Today, Takayama is most famous for its festivals, which are held semi-annually April and October, and rank among the top three festivals in all of Japan.  Even outside of festival times, Takayama attracts visitors with its historic old town, and other attractions such as the Hida Folk Village open-air museum.  Takayama also makes an ideal base camp for excursions into more rural areas of the northern Chubu region, such as Shirakawa-go, Oku-Hida, and Kamikochi.

Main Attractions

1) Hachiman Shrine and Yatai Kaikan: A Shinto shrine and a neighbouring museum of festival floats.

By Bernard Gagnon [GFDL or CC BY-SA 3.0], from Wikimedia Commons

2) Kusakabe Heritage House: A former merchant's home preserved as a museum.

3) Showa-kan Museum: A museum of nostalgic goods and scenery from the postwar decades.

4) Old Town: A neighbourhood of museums, shops, cafes, and sake breweries, preserved from the Edo period.

User: Bgabel at wikivoyage shared [GFDL or CC BY-SA 3.0], from Wikimedia Commons

7) Takayama Jinya: An Edo-period government office preserved as a museum.

By Bernard Gagnon [GFDL or CC BY-SA 3.0], from Wikimedia Commons

6) Higashiyama Temple Town: A walking trail, lined by many Buddhist temples, leading to a former castle site atop a hill.

7) Hida Folk Village: An open-air museum of farmhouses transplanted from rural regions nearby.

Opqr [CC BY-SA 4.0], via Wikimedia Commons

8) Festival Forest: An out-of-the-way, but excellent museum about the Takayama Festival.

Orientation and Transportation

Takayama is bisected by the Miyagawa river, with the old town and most other sights on its east side.  The Takayama train station and bus terminal are both to the west of the river.  To reach the bus terminal from the station, turn left out of the East Exit.

Takayama is a highly walkable town, with most sights within 15 minutes on foot from the station.  There are also a couple of loop buses, both of which start at the bus terminal.  The "Machinami" bus goes east into the old town, departs hourly in both clockwise and anticlockwise directions, and costs ¥100 per ride.  The "Sarubobo" bus goes west to Hida Folk Village and the Festival Forest, departs twice per hour in alternating routes (one heads straight back from Hida Folk Village), and costs ¥210 per ride.  A one-day pass for both buses costs ¥630, and also offers discounts at select attractions.  This ticket may be purchased from the bus terminal.  Information and schedule: (English)

Access

To get from Tokyo to Takayama, your options are:

• Take the Tokaido Shinkansen from Tokyo or Shinagawa to Nagoya (100-120 minutes, 2 Hikari/6 Nozomi per hour), and from there take the Wide View Hida limited express to Takayama (140 minutes, 1 per 1-2 hours).  The entire journey costs ¥14,980 for reserved tickets and, unless you take a Nozomi train to Nagoya, is fully covered by the Japan Rail Pass.
• Take the Hokuriku Shinkansen from Tokyo or Ueno to Toyama (130-150 minutes, 1-3 per hour), and from there take the Wide View Hida to Takayama (90 minutes, 4 per day).  The entire journey costs ¥16,120 for reserved tickets, and is fully covered by the Japan Rail Pass.  While this is potentially faster than going through Nagoya, there are fewer connections via Toyama.
• Take the Azusa or Super Azusa (160 minutes, 1-2 per hour, ¥6,620 reserved) limited express to Matsumoto, and from there take a highway bus to Takayama (145 minutes, 1 per 1-2 hours, ¥3,250 one-way/¥5,660 round-trip).  The train is covered by the Japan Rail Pass, but the bus is not.  More information: (English)
• However, if you have a JR East Nagano-Niigata Area Pass, not only is the train covered, but you can also buy a round-trip bus ticket between Matsumoto and Takayama for a discounted ¥4,500.
• Take a highway bus from Shinjuku Station's bus terminal (4½ hours, every 1-3 hours, ¥6,500 on weekdays / ¥7,000 on weekends and holidays).  More information: (English)

From western cities, your best bet is to go via Nagoya.  Take the Tokaido Shinkansen from Kyoto (35-50 minutes) or Shin-Osaka (50-65 minutes) to Nagoya, and the Hida express from there to Takayama.  The entire journey, for reserved tickets, costs ¥10,140 from Kyoto or ¥10,800 from Shin-Osaka.

Note: If you wish to visit Takayama during either the spring (14-15 April) or autumn (9-10 October) festivals, be aware that accommodation in the city is liable to be booked months in advance.  If needs be, you can try booking a room in another nearby city, like Furukawa or Gero Onsen (see below).  Any farther, and you risk not being able to make it back late at night.

Excursions

1) Shirakawa-go: A village famous for its thatched-roof farmhouses, where one can stay overnight.
Access: Bus from the Takayama Hida Bus Centre to Shirakawa-go (50 minutes, 1-2 per hour, ¥2,600 one-way / ¥4,600 round-trip).  More information: (English)

2) Furukawa: A small town with its own history of crafts and festivals.
Access: JR Takayama line from Takayama to Hida-Furukawa Station (15-20 minutes, 1 per hour, ¥240, JR Pass OK).

3) Hirayu Onsen: A hot-spring resort town at the foot of the Oku-Hida region.
Access: Bus from the Takayama Hida Bus Centre to Hirayu Onsen (60 minutes, 2 per hour, ¥1,600).  More information: (English)

4) Shin-Hotaka Ropeway: A double-decker cable car leading up to a mountain trailhead.
Access: Bus from the Takayama Hida Bus Centre to Shin-Hotaka Ropeway (90 minutes, 2 per hour, ¥2,200).  More information: (English)

5) Kamikochi: A national park in the northern Japan Alps.  Open only from April through November.
Access: Bus from the Takayama Hida Bus Centre to Hirayu Onsen (60 minutes, 2 per hour), followed by another bus to Kamikochi Bus Terminal (25 minutes, 2 per hour, total ¥2,780).  More information: (English)

6) Gero Onsen: An urban, but famous, hot-spring resort straddling the Hida river.
Access: JR Hida limited expess from Takayama to Gero Station (45 minutes, 1 per hour, ¥2,280 reserved, JR Pass OK).