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8Day Trip to Kyoto/Shirakawa-go/Takayama

jessminl
jessminl
about 10 years ago
2 responses

Hello there

I am planning on a 8-day trip with my 21 year old son to visit Kyoto, Shirakawa-go and Takayama and would like to know what is the best way to travel.

1) I shall be flying into Osaka Kansai International Airport and from here enroute to Kyoto. What is the best way to reach Kyoto from Osaka?

2) From Kyoto, should I travel to Takayama first or Shirakawa-go first? Which is the better route?

3) Is it easy to travel around Shirakawa and Takayama if we do not speak Japanese? And I would love to stay in one of those ryokan or traditional houses in these places, any good recommendations?

4) Should I join a day tour in Shirakawa or Takayama or is it possible to tour the place on our own?

5) How best can I travel back from either Takayama or Shirakawa-go to Osaka to catch my flight back to Singapore?

Thank you very much for any help I can get.

avatar
Daniel-san
18835 posts
about 10 years ago
Expert

Hi there,

1.) Travel from Osaka - Kyoto is very easy. You can use the JR Kyoto line from Osaka station, which travels directly to Kyoto. Trains depart every 10 minutes and only take 29 minutes.

2.) Shirakawago can only be reached by bus from either Takayama or Kanazawa, so it would be best to travel to Takayama and take the bus from there.

3.) Yes you should not have to worry about speaking Japanese, there's an English speaking tourist information office at Takayama station which is a great help with booking the bus to Shirakawago.

4.) I would recommend visiting the village on your own. This way you just have more freedom on what to see and do. I did it last year and it worked out great.

5.) The best way to travel to Osaka from Takayama is to take the Wide View Express to Nagoya and transfer there to the Shinkansen bound for Osaka. Here's an example route for you.

I hope this helps!
Daniel

jessminl
jessminl
2 posts
about 10 years ago

Hello Daniel-san

Thank you very much for your reply, your suggestions are most useful for us. I will take note of the advice you have given.

Have a nice day ahead.

Warm regards
Jessmin


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